Abu Dhabi: The emirate of Abu Dhabi’s gross domestic product (GDP) at current prices rose 7.7 per cent on year in 2012 to reach a record Dh911.59 billion, latest data from Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi (SCAD) showed on Wednesday.

The non-oil activities and sectors contributed about 43.5 per cent of the emirate’s GDP at current prices last year.

“Oil accounted for 56.5 per cent of the Abu Dhabi’s GDP at current prices and only for 52 per cent of the GDP at constant prices in 2012 despite the considerable rise in oil prices during the past years,” SCAD said in a report.

In 2011, Abu Dhabi’s GDP at current prices was valued at Dh846.68 billion.

The preliminary data announced by SCAD also indicated a rise in the annual growth rate of non-oil sectors to 9.6 per cent, surpassing all earlier forecasts and estimates in this regard.

“Abu Dhabi is benefiting from two things — high oil prices and increased spending in infrastructure which is helping its non-oil sector. I think, we will see continued growth in the non-oil sector, although the (global) oil prices are likely to moderate this year,” Nasser Saidi, a Dubai-based economist told Gulf News by telephone, commenting on the SCAD figures.

“The Western Emirates are also increasingly benefiting from Abu Dhabi’s growth, which enhances and supports regional economic development,” Saidi added.

SCAD said these results “underline the robustness, stability and competitive advantage of the Emirate’s economy, boosting its appeal to local and foreign investors. The detailed figures point to a significant growth in all activities and oil and non-oil sectors as the growth in the emirate’s 2012 GDP at current prices achieved a net gain of Dh64.9 billion, surpassing all forecasts and estimates,” said SCAD.

“The high flexibility of Abu Dhabi economy combined with the huge financial surpluses, strong growth in non-oil sectors, high oil prices, along with several other significant factors have all contributed to the stability and sustained growth of the local economy,” it added.

SCAD said the GDP time series indicates that the Abu Dhabi GDP at current prices has increased 2.4 times from 2005 to 2012, increasing from Dh383.43 billion to Dh911.591 billion.

The size of non-oil activities and sectors also doubled 2.4 times over the same period, from Dh167.98 billion in 2005 to Dh396.74 billion in 2012 at current prices, making these sectors a key driving force for the Emirate’s economy.

SCAD said there has been an upward trend in non-oil activities over the course of the past few years, with the non-oil GDP at constant prices growing from Dh200.21 billion in 2005 to Dh325.43 billion in 2012.