UAE forecasts GDP growth at 7.6% in 2022 and 3.9% in 2023

REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah

The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates expects real gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 7.6 percent this year, up from its previous expectation of 6.5 percent, state-owned WAM news agency reported.

In its Q3 2022 review, the apex bank attributed the upward review to the robust performance of some non-oil sectors, including tourism, hospitality, real estate and manufacturing.

The review expected non-oil GDP to grow by 6.1 percent in 2022, against 4.3 percent previously, with oil GDP forecast to grow by 11 percent this year.

Overall real GDP continued to grow at a robust pace in Q3 2022, following significant growth in the first half of the year, underpinned by a rise in oil production and improvement in real non-oil GDP, as well as the removal of most Covid-19-related restrictions.

It was also buoyed by the recovery in the global travel and tourism sector, continued growth in the real estate and construction sectors, and the expansion of manufacturing activities, and various global events.

The central bank revised its expected real GDP growth for 2023, indicating it will grow by 3.9 percent, with non-oil GDP expected to rise by 4.2 percent.

In October, the UAE government approved the federal budget for 2023 to 2026, with a total expenditure of AED 252.3 billion ($68.69 billion).

Total revenue over the period is estimated at AED 255.7 billion, marginally more than spending. In 2023, revenue is seen to grow 11 percent while spending will increase just under four percent.

Total revenue in 2023 is projected at AED 63.6 billion, and expenditure is estimated at AED 63.1 billion.