The World Bank has ranked Morocco as the most business-friendly country in North Africa and second across the African continent, behind Rwanda, highlighting the Kingdom’s growing attractiveness as an investment destination amid global economic uncertainty.
According to Business Insider Africa, the ranking is based on the World Bank’s B-READY 2025 report, which assessed 101 economies worldwide using three main indicators: the regulatory framework, public services, and operational efficiency. The report tracks the full life cycle of a business, from creation and operation to expansion.
Morocco stood out particularly in the regulatory framework indicator, scoring 70.06 points, a result that reflects the strength of its legal environment and public policies supporting business creation, investment promotion, and market competition. This performance placed Morocco at the top of North African countries in this category.
The report also noted that Morocco is among a group of African countries—alongside Rwanda and Mauritius—that have made tangible progress in improving their business environment. These countries have succeeded in establishing more attractive legal and regulatory frameworks for both domestic and foreign investors.
At the continental level, Morocco ranked second after Rwanda, which led the African rankings due to its strong performance in operational efficiency. Mauritius placed third among Africa’s top ten countries for ease of doing business, particularly in terms of the quality of public services.
While most of Africa’s top ten countries remain classified globally in the third tier, the World Bank pointed out that Morocco is among the economies best positioned to leverage regulatory reforms to further enhance national economic attractiveness.
Despite the progress recorded, the report underlined that challenges related to the quality of public services and operational efficiency persist in several African economies. However, countries such as Morocco and Rwanda were cited as being more capable of translating public policies into concrete, on-the-ground results.
This positive assessment comes as Morocco recorded what the Ministry of Economy and Finance described as an “exceptional” increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in 2025. FDI reached 39.3 billion dirhams by the end of August, marking a 43.4% increase compared to the same period last year, according to a statement by Finance Minister Nadia Fettah Alaoui before Parliament in October.
This surge is considered one of the strongest increases in FDI inflows in recent years, particularly notable given the sharp global economic disruptions and financial market volatility, reinforcing Morocco’s image as a resilient and attractive investment destination.
Economists attribute this sustained performance to political stability and the clarity of Morocco’s economic vision in recent years, especially in attracting investments in advanced industries, renewable energy, automotive manufacturing, aerospace, and defense sectors.
The positive momentum also coincides with the decision by US credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) to restore Morocco’s sovereign rating to investment grade, a status the Kingdom had lost in 2021 following the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
S&P explained that the upgrade was driven by improved economic indicators and ongoing reforms, noting that the Moroccan economy has demonstrated strong resilience in the face of global challenges.
Regaining investment-grade status is expected to provide Morocco with easier access to international financial markets under more favorable financing conditions, lower borrowing costs, and increased confidence among international investors and financial institutions.
Analysts believe that the combination of the World Bank’s business climate ranking and the recovery of investment-grade status will directly contribute to attracting new waves of foreign investment, particularly from sovereign wealth funds and international institutions that require such ratings before committing capital.
