The UAE’s GDP is expected to peak at Dh1.248 trillion in current prices this year to maintain its position as the largest in the Arab world after Saudi Arabia’s economy.
The increase will be a result of higher prices, with Dubai’s crude price averaging at as high as $101 in the first 10 months of 2011, nearly 34.6 percent above the $75 average price in the same period of 2010, EIB said. It showed the nominal GDP has raced by nearly 34 percent annually over the past five years because of strong oil prices, pushing the country’s per capita income to a projected Dh174,000 from Dh100,000.
Despite the global crisis, GCC countries will record good growth rates in 2011 thanks to the surge in their income and the fact that their exposure to European banks and other institutions is minimal.
Non-oil GDP hit an all-time high of around Dh749bn in 2010 compared with nearly Dh511bn in 2006, it said. The report showed the UAE’s fiscal balance would record a surplus of 10.3 percent of GDP this year and 9.2 percent in 2012 against seven percent in 2010.
