Oman Achieves Notable Progress in Several Global Indicators in 2024Muscat, 31 May (ONA) —— The National Competitiveness Office has released the third edition of its Annual Oman Competitiveness Report 2024, which assesses the Sultanate of Oman’s performance across international indicators tracked by the office.The report aims to raise local awareness of global benchmarks, serving as a reference for government and private institutions, as well as researchers interested in Oman’s current rankings across various fields compared to other nations. It also identifies top-performing countries in these indicators to serve as benchmarks for enhancing Oman’s competitiveness.The report highlighted Oman’s significant progress in several global indices. The most notable leap was in the Environmental Performance Index (EPI), where Oman surged 94 places to rank 55th out of 180 countries. It also secured the top global position in several EPI sub-indicators, including: Strictness of marine protection; Black carbon emissions growth rate, and Bottom trawling in exclusive economic zones.Additionally, Oman climbed 39 spots in the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom, now ranking 56th globally.The country’s economy was upgraded from the “Mostly Unfree” to “Moderately Free,” reflecting improvements in key sub-indicators, namely Government Spending (rising from 59.4 to 70.8 out of 100), Investment Freedom (increasing from 60 to 70) and Fiscal Freedom (jumping from 50 to 60).The Network Readiness Index also saw progress, with Oman advancing four places to 50th globally, outperforming many nations in sub-indicators such as: 9th worldwide in government promotion of emerging tech investment, 11th worldwide in the gender gap in internet usage and 23rd worldwide in ICT skills within the education system.In the Future of Growth Report, Oman scored 50.59 out of 100, surpassing the global average. It ranked first globally (with a perfect 100) in:ICT capital per capita (USD) and Rural electrification gap.As for Worldwide Governance Indicators, Oman showed improvement across most metrics, particularly those aligned with Oman Vision 2040: Rule of Law (70.2/100); Regulatory Quality (66.5/100) and Government Effectiveness (62.2/100).Dr. Salim Abdullah Al Sheikh, official spokesperson of the Ministry of Economy, emphasized that the National Competitiveness Office continues to monitor Oman’s standing in key global indices and reports, which attract significant attention from tens of thousands of individuals and organizations worldwide.In a statement to Oman News Agency, he said: “The office remains committed to supporting national teams in enhancing Oman’s position through targeted programs and initiatives, while addressing challenges that may arise in these efforts.”—— Ends/AH