Saudi economy to grow 7% in 2022, faster than other GCC countries, says World Bank report

Saudi economy to grow 7% in 2022, faster than other GCC countries, says World Bank report

Riyadh: The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) economies are projected to expand by 5.9 per cent overall in 2022, with this recovery likely to continue in the medium-term, driven by the hydrocarbon and non-hydrocarbon sectors. The UAE’s economic recovery is projected to continue in 2022, with growth anticipated to reach 4.7 per cent driven by oil and non-oil sectors, the World Bank said in a new report. In Saudi Arabia, growth is expected to accelerate to 7 per cent, driven by stronger oil output following OPEC+ production cuts and continued growth in non-oil sectors, and supported by stronger consumption, increased tourism, and higher domestic capital spending, the report added. Bahrain’s economy is expected to accelerate to 3.5 per cent, Kuwait 5.7 per cent, Oman 5.6 per cent, and Qatar 4.9 per cent. The latest issue of the World Bank’s Gulf Economic Update (GEU) “Achieving Climate Change Pledges” describes the GCC countries as rebounding robustly from the COVID-19 pandemic in the course of 2021 and at the beginning of 2022. It attributes the rebound to a broadly successful vaccination rollout across the GCC, the easing of pandemic restrictions, and developments in the hydrocarbon market. As a result, fiscal deficits have markedly improved,