Einar H. Dyvik
Research expert covering Nordics and global data for society, economy, and politics
Special economic zones in the Gulf Cooperation Council - statistics & facts
The creation of special economic zones (SEZ) since the 1950s have contributed to increasing globalization of world trade. Today they are established in over 140 countries worldwide. The main purpose of a special economic zone is to provide an area within a country for liberalized business and tax legislation in order to encourage foreign trade, generate job opportunities and de facto increase state revenue. Special economic zones can be broken down into free trade zones (FTZ), free economic zones (FEZ), free ports, industry parks and special urban enterprises in the case of the GCC.
