Manama, Bahrain – Bahrain has reported a 4.09 percent increase in its real GDP in the fourth quarter of 2022 YoY, driven by a growth of 4.91 percent in the non-oil sector, as a result of its economic diversification initiatives.
The high-achieving sectors include the financial corporations sector which grew by 8.22 percent, the trade corporations, growth rate 6.04 percent.
With 18.57 percent of the GDP, the financial corporations sector contributed the most to Bahrain’s economy, followed by the crude oil and natural gas sectors.
Trade between Bahrain and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries grew by 17 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021.
Bahrain’s tourism sector in Q4 2022 exceeded pre-pandemic levels, as inbound tourism flows increased by 62 percent compared to the same quarter of 2021.
The inflation rate increased by 8.8 percent worldwide in 2022, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) data, but is expected to decrease to 6.6 percent in 2023. The consumer price index in Bahrain increased by 3.6 percent in December 2022 compared to December 2021. As a result, interest rates on commercial loans in Bahrain increased in various sectors during the fourth quarter of 2022 on an annual basis.
The IMF expected real GDP growth to reach 2.9 percent globally and 3.2 percent in the Middle East and Central Asia in 2023.