Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi’s gross domestic product (GDP) at constant prices achieved a preliminary annual growth rate of 6.8 per cent last year, rising to Dh606.6 billion in 2011 while the emirate’s inflation stood at a low 1.9 per cent for the year, latest data from the Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi (SCAD) showed yesterday.
“Abu Dhabi GDP at constant prices grew from Dh567.8 billion in 2007 to Dh606.6 billion in 2011, achieving an annual growth rate of 6.8 per cent,” SCAD said in a statement.
Commenting on SCAD’s data, Mohammad Amerah, an Abu Dhabi-based economist told Gulf News the emirate’s GDP growth was “remarkable” and, more so because it managed to keep its inflation at exceptionally low levels.
“These are the first detailed figures confirming that the Emirate’s economy has evidently overcome the repercussions of the global financial crises, as detailed data point to significant growth in real terms across all activities and sectors, both oil and non-oil. Growth in the GDP at constant prices during 2011 surpassed all the forecasts and estimates made by local and international parties,” SCAD said in its report.
“These results demonstrate that the emirate’s economy has bounced to levels above those that dominated prior to the global financial crisis, giving it a huge competitive advantage and boosting its appeal to local and foreign investors,” it added.
Economic growth
SCAD said the per capita GDP has increased proportionally with this development, reaching Dh286,000 in 2011, the second highest GDP per capita in the world, adding the impressive economic growth experienced by the emirate in recent years has been “characterised by the rapid growth of the non-oil economy, with the pace of moving away from dependence on oil being the fastest in the region”.
SCAD said in recent years, the Abu Dhabi economy has advanced in leaps and bounds towards the establishment of a solid infrastructure, founded on economic diversity and comprehensive development.
“It has emerged as the most dynamic economy in the region, breaking through from an economy depending almost entirely on public spending, which is directly affected by fluctuating oil revenues, to a diversified economy that has evolved into regional financial, commercial and tourist centre,” SCAD added. SCAD said that oil accounted for only 52.4 per cent of Abu Dhabi’s GDP in 2011 at 2007 prices. Data also showed that non-oil activities contributed approximately 47.6 per cent of the emirate’s real GDP in 2011.
