UAE Economy Set for Strong Growth: Central Bank Predicts 5.2% Expansion by 2025

UAE, 02 April, 2024 : The Central Bank of the UAE predicts a robust economic growth of 5.2% in 2025, following a 4.2% rise in 2024 and a 3.1% expansion in 2023. The forecast includes a 4.7% increase in non-oil GDP for both 2024 and 2025, with oil GDP expected to grow by 2.9% in 2024 and 6.2% in 2025.

Financially, the UAE displayed a strong fiscal balance in the first nine months of 2023, with a surplus of 61 billion dirhams ($16.6 billion), equivalent to 4.4% of GDP. The country's total revenues amounted to around 370 billion dirhams against expenditures of approximately 309 billion dirhams.

The introduction of a federal corporate tax is anticipated to further bolster government finances, enhancing revenue diversification beyond the oil sector. Additionally, the non-oil private sector continues to exhibit strength, as indicated by a Purchasing Managers’ Index of 56.6 in January 2023, reflecting ongoing business confidence and economic dynamism.

The Central Bank's optimistic growth projections contrast with more conservative figures from the World Bank, which sets the UAE's real GDP growth at 3.4% for 2023, gradually rising to 3.7% in 2024 and 3.8% in 2025. In a broader regional outlook, similar modest growth forecasts are projected for other Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman.

Source : www.arabnews.com