UAE External Debt (% of GDP)

UAE Economy

The UAE's economy in numbers:

Nominal GDP of USD 507 billion in 2022.

GDP per capita of USD 51,393 compared to the global average of USD 10,589.

Average real GDP growth of 3.3% over the last decade.

Share of the region's population
Share of the region's GDP

Economic structure:

In 2020, services accounted for 58% of overall GDP, manufacturing 10%, other industrial activity 31%, and agriculture 1%. Looking at GDP by expenditure, private consumption accounted for 39% of GDP in 2020, government consumption 14%, fixed investment 22%, and net exports 25%.

GDP by economic sector
GDP by type of expenditure

International trade:

In 2020, manufactured products made up 9% of total merchandise exports, mineral fuels 71%, food 4%, ores and metals 3% and agricultural raw materials 0%, with other categories accounting for 13% of the total. In the same period, manufactured products made up 58% of total merchandise imports, mineral fuels 17%, food 7%, ores and metals 3% and agricultural raw materials 0%, with other goods accounting for 15% of the total. Total exports were worth USD 323 billion in 2021, while total imports were USD 244 billion.

Key exports
Key imports
Key export partners
Key import partners

Economic growth:

The economy recorded average annual growth of 3.3% in the decade to 2022. To read more about GDP growth in the UAE, go to our dedicated page.

Fiscal policy:

UAE's fiscal surplus averaged 2.4% of GDP in the decade to 2022. Find out more on our dedicated page.

Unemployment:

The unemployment rate averaged 2.4% in the decade to 2022. For more information on UAE's unemployment click here.

Inflation:

Inflation averaged 1.5% in the decade to 2022. Go to our UAE inflation page for extra insight.

Monetary Policy:

The UAE monetary policy rate ended 2022 at 4.40%, up from 1.00% a decade earlier. See our UAE monetary policy page for additional details.

Exchange Rate:

From end-2012 to end-2022 the dirham stayed on the same level vs the U.S. dollar. For more info on the dirham, click here.
Annual GDP growth in Q1 likely exceeded the 10-year average of 3.0% for the 11th time in the past 12 quarters, despite easing from Q4. Supporting this, data released over the past two weeks shows that GDP in the quarter expanded 3.3% and 3.2% in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, respectively. Momentum in both was supported by non-oil activities, with the financial, hospitality and transportation sectors performing strongly. Turning to Q2, our panelists expect nationwide GDP growth to have slipped slightly below 3.0%, weighed on by April’s floods, as well as snarled supply chains as a result of the Red Sea crisis. The non-oil PMI dipped to a 16-month low in June; non-oil output expanded at a slower speed, and backlogs accumulated at one of the sharpest paces on record. More positively, oil production fell at the weakest pace since Q1 2023 over Q2 thanks to a low base effect.
Projections out to 2033.

51 indicators covered including both annual and quarterly frequencies.

Consensus Forecasts based on a panel of 22 expert analysts.

Want to get insight on the economic outlook for UAE in the coming years? FocusEconomics collects projections out to 2033 on 51 economic indicators for UAE from a panel of 22 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts, and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. This means you avoid the risk of relying on out of date, biased or outlier forecasts. Our Consensus Forecasts can be visualized in whichever way best suits your needs, including via interactive online dashboards , direct data delivery and executive-style reports which combine analysts' projections with timely written analysis from our in-house team of economists on the latest developments in the UAE economy. To download a sample report on the UAE's economy, click here. To get in touch with our team for more information, fill in the form at the bottom of this page.

UAE Economic Data

2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Population (million) 9.5 9.3 9.6 9.6 9.7
GDP (USD bn) 418 349 415 507 -
GDP per capita (USD) 43,973 37,644 43,430 52,620 -
GDP (AED bn) 1,535 1,283 1,525 1,862 -
Economic Growth (Nominal GDP, ann. var. %) -2.1 -16.4 18.8 22.1 -
Economic Growth (GDP, ann. var. %) 1.1 -5.0 4.4 7.5 3.6
Economic Growth (GDP non-Oil, ann. var. %) 2.7 -5.4 6.5 7.2 -
Economic Growth (GDP Oil, ann. var. %) -2.6 -3.8 -1.1 9.5 -
Private Consumption (ann. var. %) 10.0 -12.5 - - -
Government Consumption (ann. var. %) 10.0 0.7 - - -
Fixed Investment (ann. var. %) 0.0 5.8 - - -
Exports (G&S, ann. var. %) -1.3 -7.0 - - -
Imports (G&S, ann. var. %) -5.5 -6.4 - - -
Industrial Production (ann. var. %) 27.7 -3.7 4.2 2.8 3.2
Oil Production (mn barrels per day, aop) 3.08 2.80 2.72 3.07 2.95
Unemployment (% of active population, aop) 2.3 4.3 3.1 2.9 2.7
Fiscal Balance (% of GDP) 2.6 -2.5 4.0 9.9 6.3
Public Debt (% of GDP) 26.8 41.1 35.9 30.0 -
Money (ann. var. of M2 %) 8.0 4.6 5.7 9.0 18.7
Inflation (CPI, ann. var. %, eop) -1.6 -2.2 2.3 4.6 1.9
Inflation (CPI, ann. var. %, aop) -2.0 -2.1 0.2 4.8 1.7
Base Rate (%, eop) 2.00 1.25 1.50 4.40 5.40
Stock Market (ann. var. of DFM %) 3.3 -0.6 68.2 20.3 -6.2
Exchange Rate (AED per USD, eop) 3.67 3.67 3.67 3.67 3.67
Current Account Balance (USD bn) 37.3 21.1 48.0 - -
Current Account Balance (% of GDP) 8.9 6.0 11.6 - -
Merchandise Trade Balance (USD bn) 80.4 60.3 79.0 - -
Merchandise Exports (USD bn) 314 272 323 - -
Merchandise Imports (USD bn) 233 212 244 - -
Merchandise Exports (ann. var. %) -2.3 -13.3 18.8 - -
Merchandise Imports (ann. var. %) -0.9 -9.2 15.3 - -
Foreign Direct Investment (USD bn) 17.9 19.9 20.7 22.7 30.7
International Reserves (USD bn) 107 103 128 134 185
International Reserves (months of imports) 5.5 5.8 6.3 - -

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