World Bank revises UAE’s 2023 and 2024 growth forecast upward

World Bank revises UAE’s 2023 and 2024 growth forecast upward

The latest figures released by the World Bank showed the UAE economy is estimated to expand at 3.4 per cent in 2023 and 3.7 per cent in 2024 as compared to earlier forecasts of 2.8 per cent and 3.4 per cent.

In the post-pandemic period, key sectors such as travel and tourism, aviation, hospitality, real estate, trade and logistics have boosted the UAE’s economic growth and helped the country expedite the recovery.

The International Monetary Fund also said earlier that the UAE economy has quickly survived the economic impact of Covid-19, with near-term economic growth being strong, underpinned by a rebound in domestic activity, while elevated oil prices support high surpluses in the fiscal and external balances.

However, the UAE’s GDP will slow down from 6.6 per cent last year after Gulf economies in the region peaked after hitting record lows during the pandemic years.

In the GCC region, growth in 2023 is projected to average 1 per cent, 2.2 percentage points less than forecast in April 2023 and considerably less than the 7.3 per cent in 2022.

The World Bank projected in its October report that as a result of lower oil production levels amidst subdued prices, economic activity in Saudi Arabia is projected