Real GDP growth projected to expand by 4.3% in 2024: Central Bank

The UAE’s annual real GDP growth is expectecd to expand by 4.3 percent in 2024, the country’s central bank has projected.

“After three quarters of high growth, the UAE’s economy maintained a solid footing in Q4 2022, reflecting a strong performance of both the oil and the non-oil sectors,” the apex bank revealed in its Fourth Quarterly Economic Review.

For the whole year, growth is estimated at 7.6 per cent. In 2023, the CBUAE maintains its forecast unchanged at 3.9 per cent. While oil production is expected to moderate in line with the Opec+ agreements, the non-oil sector is expected to continue to support aggregate output, even if at a more modest pace.”

Oil production averaged 3.1 million barrels per day in Q4 and the UAE hydrocarbon GDP is estimated to have grown by 10 per cent year-on-year, in line with the Opec+ agreements (10.1 per cent for 2022).”

In the meantime, and following the robust growth in the previous quarter, the non-oil sector is estimated to have grown at a similar pace in Q4 2022. The CBUAE estimates non-oil GDP growth for 2022 at 6.6 per cent, according to the review.

The bank highlighted the main drivers of this strong performance to be the real estate and construction sectors and a dynamic manufacturing sector, such as refineries and aluminum production.

“In addition, the Fifa World Cup in Qatar and other global events that took place in the region boosted travel and tourism to the UAE. For 2023 and 2024.”For 2023 and 2024, the CBUAE projects the real non-oil GDP to expand by 4.2 per cent and 4.6 per cent respectively, in line with global growth trends.

• Business