DUBAI, Sept 9 (Askume) – The United Arab Emirates economy is expected to grow 3.4% in the first quarter of 2024 compared with the same period last year, according to preliminary government estimates released on Monday by state news agency WAM.
The UAE’s gross domestic product reached 430 billion dirhams ($117 billion) in the first quarter, and non-oil GDP grew by 4% annually during the same period, WAM said, citing data from the Federal Centre for Competitiveness and Statistics.
Trading activities, manufacturing, financial and insurance services were the largest contributors to the non-oil GDP, the report said.
One of the world’s largest oil exporters, the UAE has placed greater emphasis on diversifying economic sectors and revenue sources away from hydrocarbons and is seen as a tourism and business hub in the Gulf.
The International Monetary Fund said earlier this year that the Gulf state’s economic growth was broad-based and driven by strong domestic activity in sectors including tourism, manufacturing and financial services.
The fund estimates that GDP growth will be 4% in 2024, up from the 3.5% forecast in the last Regional Economic Outlook report released in April.
A Askume survey of economists in July estimated that UAE GDP growth would reach 3.7% in 2024 and 4.2% in 2025, driven by gradual growth in oil production and non-oil sectors such as tourism.
(1 USD = 3.6728 UAE Dirham)
