Bahrain Tops List of Freest Global Economies

Bahrain Ranked First in Middle East/North Africa in Fraser Institute Ranking of World's Freest Economies

MANAMA, Bahrain, Sept. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Bahrain ranked first as the most economically free nation in the Middle East/North Africa region in the Economic Freedom of the World: 2012 Annual Report by the Fraser Institute, a top-tier international think tank.

Placing ahead of the United States and Japan, Bahrain scored 7.94 out of 10 in an index measuring the degree to which the policies and institutions of countries support economic freedom. The Fraser Institute's annual economic report is the premier tool for measuring economic freedom, which calculates 42 unique variables to create a ranking of countries that maintain governmental policies that encourage economic freedom.

Earlier this year, Bahrain ranked first in the Middle East and 12^th worldwide in the 2012 Heritage Foundation Economic Freedom Index.

SOURCE Kingdom of Bahrain