Saudi Arabia is the most competitive country in the Middle East and the 13th in the world, according to the latest World Bank rankings.
The bank’s Doing Business 2010 report put the kingdom ahead of Bahrain, the UAE and Qatar in the region, and in front of advanced economies like Japan, Germany, France and Switzerland, for the ease of doing business.
Over the past five years, the kingdom has risen dramatically in the rankings, from 67 in 2004 to 38 in 2006, 16 in 2007 and to 13 this year.