Preliminary estimates issued by the Federal Authority for Competitiveness and Statistics indicate growth in the economic performance of the UAE in general, which came as a result of growth in oil resources and rise in international oil prices and growth in non-oil sectors, Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, said.
The minister lauded UAE’s success in economic diversification, expansion of the economic production base, and the importance of strategic initiatives and programs aimed at increasing reliance on non-oil sectors and the sector’s contribution to the country's GDP.
The minister stressed the importance of ongoing economic developments in the country, making it attractive for foreign investments on a continuous basis. Adding to that, he reiterated the importance of foreign trade data to country and opening up to the world as a component of international economic relations, as it can enhances the success of economic policy and its integration with the nation’s sustainable development and economic prosperity.
According to National Accounts preliminary estimates by the Federal Authority for Competitiveness and Statistics for 2017, the general results of the preliminary estimates of UAE macroeconomic indicators indicated growth of GDP by 0.8% in real (constant) prices in 2017 compared to 2016.
The data also show that GDP estimates for 2017 at real prices (base year 2010) amounted to approximately Dh1422.2 billion in the UAE, compared to about Dh1411.1 billion in 2016.
From an economic diversification perspective, preliminary estimates indicate that estimates of GDP at current prices of non-oil sectors amounted to approximately Dh1,092 million, with a growth rate of 3.2% (current prices) and 2.5% (constant prices) the end of 2017 compared to 2016.
In terms of contribution of economic sectors to the current GDP, data showed that activities related to the Extraction of Crude Oil and Natural Gas, has contributed to about 22.3%. Both Wholesale and Retail Trade activities contributed to 12.3% and manufacturing activities amounted to approximately 4.8%, while construction activity contributed with 8.7%.
The contribution of financial services activities, on the other hand, amounted to 9.6%. The public administration, defense and social security sector also showed an increasing contribution to the GDP, reaching about 7%. In terms of the growth rate of the activities and the economic sectors, which constitute the GDP of 2017 compared to 2016, oil activities achieved a positive growth of about 23.7%. The public administration, defence and social security sector also marked a growth of about 11.4%.
Non-oil activities, on the other hand, showed mostly positive growth. Electricity, gas, water and waste management activities achieved the highest annual growth rate of 9.4%, followed by human health and social services activities by 6.3%. Administrative services and support services increased by 5.5%, while manufacturing activity grew by 4.8%. Arts, entertainment, promotion and other services activities grew by 3.8%, education activity grew by 2.9%, while growth rate in the transport and storage sector reached 2.5%.
In real prices, the highest growth rate was recorded by accommodation and food services activity by 8.5%. Electricity, gas, water and waste management activities grew by 8%. The general government sector achieved a growth of 6.2%, health and social services by 4.4%, while the oil sector achieved negative growth (-3%) due to the government's policy of reducing production, as a result of the increase in global oil prices and other sectors.
