Abu Dhabi: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has ranked first in the Arab world and 20th globally for economic opportunities offered to residents and investors.
This came according to a report issued by the World Citizenship Report 2023 in ‘Economic Opportunity Rankings’ list of 128 countries, positioning it higher than Iceland, Malaysia, China, Qatar, Italy, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Turkey and others.
UAE has announced a number of initiatives to make it easier to do business such as introducing a new long-term visa regime, 100 per cent foreign ownership for foreigners, zero income tax, very low corporate income tax, and signing the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with a number of of countries to facilitate and facilitate trade with major economies like India, Israel, etc.
Globally, Singapore, the United States, Hong Kong, the Netherlands and Japan are among the top five countries with the best economic opportunities.
Top 10 Arab countries for economic opportunities
| Country | Score | Rank |
| United Arab Emirates (UAE) | 75.0 | 20 |
| Qatar | 72.9 | 24 |
| Saudi Arabia | 70.0 | 30 |
| Bahrain | 65.4 | 40 |
| Kuwait | 65.1 | 41 |
| Oman | 63.6 | 46 |
| Turkey | 62.1 | 53 |
| Jordan | 60.9 | 61 |
| Iraq | 59 | 63 |
| Palestinian territory | 59.9 | 63 |
