Forbes List 2015: Israel Best Country For Business In Middle East

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu smiles during a news conference where he announced his approval of Israel's natural gas deal, at the Neot Hovav Industrial Park near the southern city of Beersheba, Israel December 17, 2015. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Israel has topped the Forbes list as the best country for business in the Middle East, while the global list has Denmark at the top.

The top five spots in the global list are captured by four European nations: Denmark, Norway, Ireland and Sweden. The United States comes at the 22nd position.

Israel (25) tops the Middle East, followed by the UAE (40), Qatar (48), Jordan (60) and Morocco (62). The UAE improved its gross domestic product growth by 2.6 percent to reach a GDP per capita of $33,100.

SABIC is the top Arab company in 2015 as the Saudi Arabian petrochemical company comes ahead of QNB, ETISALAT, Saudi Telecom, Saudi electricity, National Commercial Bank (Al Ahli Bank), Al Rajhi Bank, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Emirates NBD.

Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud is the richest Arab of the year. The Saudi investor comes before Joseph Safra and Mohammed Al Amoudi. On the global list, Bill Gates is on the top while Mexican telecom giant Carlos Slim Helu and U.S. business tycoon Warren Buffett take the second and the third spot consecutively.

Countries in the Indian subcontinent fared moderately in the year as India ranked 97th, Sri Lanka 91st, Pakistan 103rd and Bangladesh 121st. Other Asian countries, on the other hand, fared much better. Singapore (8) tops the Asian list while Hong Kong (11), Taiwan (21) and Japan (23) come one after another.

Chile (30) is the top South American country for business. Chad, a central African country with a GDP per Capita of $2,600, comes at the bottom of the list consisting of 144 countries.