Dubai’s GDP increases by 1.9 per cent in 2018

According to a report released by the Dubai Statistics Centre, Dubai’s GDP in 2018 increased 1.94 per cent year-on-year with a value added of Dhs398.129bn.

The GDP growth was mainly driven by the performance of trade activities, which grew by 1.3 per cent in 2018 from a year earlier, representing 18.1 per cent of the total growth achieved last year.

Real estate activity also picked up in 2018 and contributed to 25 per cent of the total economic growth.

Arif Al Muhairi, Executive Director of DSC, said, “The improvement in the performance of all economic activities clearly features the extent of flexibility of Dubai’s economy. The flexibility and constructive economic policies played a key role in achieving such a balanced economic performance and growth while considering the current slow economic conditions dominating the global economy.”

Apart from trade and real estate, the other key performing sectors were the transport and storage industry that grew 2.1 per cent, accounting for 13 per cent of the total GDP growth.

The growth in the transport sector was also aided by a 1 per cent growth in passenger traffic to Dubai International Airport which recorded a total of 90 million passengers last year.

The accommodation and food services (hotels and restaurants) also grew by 4.5 per cent in 2018 accounting for 11.5 per cent of the overall growth. Reservations at hotel and hotel apartments also grew by 3.2 per cent in 2018.

On the financial sector front, the financial and insurance sector grew 0.6 per cent accounting for 3.3 per cent of overall growth. The total credit of all banks in the UAE increased by 4.8 per cent last year to touch Dhs1.6trillion by the end of last year.

Twenty-two per cent of this credit was allocated personal and consumption purposes among residents, 21 per cent was for real estate activity among residents, and 10 per cent was for trading activities among residents.

The Central Bank of the UAE indicated that the total deposits in all UAE banks increased 7.4 per cent among residents and 11 per cent for non-residents of which corporate deposits totalled 39 per cent while individual deposits were 25 per cent of the total deposits.

The Dubai Statistics Centre also released data for the government sector which recorded a 1.4 per cent growth last year, accounting for 3.6 per cent of Dubai’s total economic growth.

A 32 per cent increase in government infrastructure expenditure in 2018 contributed to a 4.5 per cent growth of the construction sector which in turn contributed 14.5 per cent of the total economic growth.