Moving forward, lower oil revenues will continue to pose challenges to the Saudi economy and its overall targets. Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that Saudi Arabia faces a new test: how to sustain reform momentum in an era of potentially lower oil revenues without slipping back...

In the post-digital world, Bahrain’s center of activity, the city of Manama, has stiff yet healthy competition from the GCC financial centers such as Dubai, Riyadh and Doha. However, one must acknowledge that when it comes to reforms and financial services Bahrain has been the pioneer in the region, the...

The non-oil economy expanded 6.6 percent year-on-year to AED174.1 billion — the highest quarterly value on record — and accounted for 56.8 percent of GDP for the first time in a second quarter.

Dubai, UAE - Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with XSOLLA, a global company that helps developers monetise and scale their video games. The joint venture will also highlight key activities and thought leadership initiatives within the gaming sector. The partnership was signed under the framework...

Human Health and Social Work activities registered the highest growth rate, rising 26 percent compared to the same period last year.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia's real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 3.9 percent in the second quarter of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), flash estimates of GDP for Q2 2025, released today by the General Authority for Statistics...

Looking ahead, the IMF expects the world economy to expand 3.1 percent next year, an improvement from the 3.0 percent it earlier predicted.

Muscat, Oman -- The nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries reached US$587.8 billion by the end of the fourth quarter of 2024, up from US$579 billion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, reflecting a growth rate of 1.5 percent. The latest...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia’s first quarter real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 3.4 percent year-on-year, according to the latest report from the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), primarily driven by a 4.9 percent surge in non-oil activities and a 3.2 percent rise in government activities. GASTAT’s data...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised upwards its forecast for Saudi Arabia's economic growth to 6 percent in 2025, an increase from the earlier prediction of 5.5 percent. This adjustment from earlier estimates reflects the impact of extended oil production cuts and a slower-than-expected rebound...

The World Bank announced Tuesday it will provide Jordan with $1.1 billion in new financing to support economic reforms and expand social protections as the kingdom struggles with mounting debt.

Non-oil sectors' contribution to GDP reaches 75%. Economy minister Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri says the growth reflects the dynamic nature of the country's economy.

Abu Dhabi, UAE -- Abu Dhabi's GDP increased by 4.1 percent during the second quarter of 2024, compared to the same period in 2023, according to the preliminary estimates revealed by the Statistics Centre – Abu Dhabi (SCAD). SCAD data said Abu Dhabi's GDP continued to record growth in total...

Paris, France - The world's richest one percent increased their fortunes by a total of $42 trillion over the past decade, Oxfam said Thursday, ahead of a G20 summit in Brazil where taxing the super-rich tops the agenda. Despite this windfall, taxes on the rich had plummeted to "historic lows", the...

The financial and insurance sector saw a 5.6% rise, reaching USD 4.1 billion (AED 15.1 billion), supported by significant growth in credit and deposit balances.

The investment climate in the Kingdom of Bahrain is positive and relatively stable. Bahrain maintains a business-friendly environment and a proactive approach to attracting foreign investment and business, the US Department of State statement revealed on Wednesday. State-owned enterprises (SOE) are the primary engines for growth, but Bahrain aims to...

GCC tourism's GDP contribution will rise from $130 billion in 2023 to over $340 billion by 2030, driven by aviation growth and infrastructure investments.

Factors such as increased foreign investment, ambitious urban projects, and favorable regulatory reforms are expected to propel the real estate market forward, creating new opportunities for investors and stakeholders alike.

MENA's debt-to-GDP ratio surged 23% in 6 years due to pandemic fallout, with only 8 of 19 countries returning to pre-pandemic levels by 2023.

But slashing greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as possible remains crucial to avoid even more devastating economic impacts after mid-century, researchers reported in the journal Nature. The study projects that -- absent climate impacts after 2020 -- global GDP would double by 2050 from $100 trillion in 2022.

Emirate's new tourism strategy aims to increase the sector’s contribution to GDP from $13.34 billion in 2023 to $24 billion by 2030.

GCC countries collaborate on comprehensive tourism strategy, leading global recovery post-pandemic with remarkable growth rates and ambitious plans for sustainable development.

Abu Dhabi, UAE -- The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) expects the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to grow by 4.2 percent in 2024, rising to 5.2 percent in 2025, while maintaining its estimate for a 3.1 percent growth in 2023. In its quarterly economic review report...

The non-oil economy contributed more than 53 percent to the total GDP, with significant growth in construction, finance and insurance, transportation and storage activities. Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi (SCAD) said the results demonstrate the economy's ability to expand thanks to diversification efforts.

New York, US- Wall Street stocks saw a mixed start to Thursday, as traders digested the latest economic data ahead of the Good Friday holiday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.2 percent to 39,829.51. The broad-based S&P 500 Index was flat at 5,247.74, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index retreated...

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – Non-oil activities in the Kingdom have achieved a historic milestone, reaching a 50 percent share of the country's real GDP in 2023 – the highest level on record, according to an analysis of the General Authority for Statistics data by the Ministry of Economy and Planning....

Doha, Qatar - The women returning to the workforce following a career break have the potential to contribute nearly US$385bn to the GDP across nine countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. says a PwC Middle East’s survey. 82% of these women believe that they can progress...

Tunisians usually prepare for Ramadan -- when daytime fasting is followed by festive but often costly meals with family and friends -- by stocking up on large amounts of food. But this year things are different, with purchasing power greatly diminished because of soaring prices, a recession and rising unemployment.

Hong Kong, China - Asian markets largely fell on Tuesday after China set an ambitious five percent annual growth target and Wall Street shares dropped ahead of the release of key US economic indicators. Tokyo finished flat, a day after Japan's benchmark Nikkei index hit a record high, closing above 40,000...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - About 89% of CEOs in Saudi Arabia are optimistic about the country's economic growth over the next 12 months, surpassing the global average of 44%, the Middle East average of 73%, and the GCC average of 81%, reveals the 27th Annual CEO Survey by the PwC...

ABU DHABI, UAE – Emirates Development Bank (EDB) has unveiled its 2023 results, showcasing an extraordinary year of achievements and strategic milestones. EDB revealed a significant 80 percent surge in its contribution to the UAE’s industrial GDP, which has grown from US$653 million (AED2.4 billion) in 2022 to US$1.1 billion...

Abu Dhabi, UAE -- The economies of the UAE and Gulf countries will outpace the global forecast for 2024, helped by the domestic multi-year investment cycle in the region, a report says. Despite recent geopolitical headwinds and muted global recovery, national and regional growth is expected to be driven by...

China last year recorded one of its worst annual growth rates since 1990, dampening hopes for a rapid economic recovery following the end of draconian Covid restrictions in late 2022. In January, consumer prices fell at their quickest rate in more than 14 years, piling pressure on the government to...

Overall, Israel's GDP grew by 2.0 percent in 2023, short of the 2.3 percent projection made by the Bank of Israel after the war's outbreak in October, the Central Bureau of Statistics figures showed.

Beijing, China--China maintained a basic balance in its international payments last year, with its current account surplus amounting to US$264.2 billion, the country's foreign exchange regulator said on Sunday. According to China Central Television, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) disclosed that the ratio of the current account surplus...

Jeddah, UAE--The Arab Tourism Organization (ATO) has signed a partnership agreement with the International Strategic Management (ISM) company to achieve growth and innovation within the tourism sector in Arab countries. The agreement comes as an extension of the ATO’s efforts to develop and enhance the tourism industry in the Arab...

New defense technologies including artificial intelligence-powered gunsights and robotic drones form a bright spot in an otherwise dire period for Israel's tech industry. Over 150 countries in December backed a UN resolution identifying "serious challenges and concerns" in new military tech, including "artificial intelligence and autonomy in weapons systems."

Abu Dhabi, UAE-- The UAE's real GDP will grow 5.3 percent in 2024, compared to 3.4 percent in 2023, according to S&P Global Ratings, the world's leading credit rating agency. The credit rating agency in a new report said that UAE banks reported exceptional profits for the full year 2023...

Cairo, Egypt - Egypt's antiquities ministry said on Saturday it was setting up a committee to review the restoration of Giza's Menkaure Pyramid after a public outcry over the project. A week ago, the head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziri, posted a Facebook video showing workers setting blocks...

China is the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases driving climate change, but it is also the top producer of wind and solar energy. Faced with soaring energy consumption, the country has turbocharged its use of renewables -- but also in 2022 approved its largest expansion of coal-fired power plants...

Real estate soared by 4 percent, while financial and insurance activities surged 2.7 percent. The knowledge economy improved with a 2.6 percent increase in education, while electricity, gas, water and waste management activities grew by 2.2 percent.

Long alarmed by falling fertility, the government has relaxed its decades-long one-child policy in recent years to allow three children per family, while rolling out subsidies and calling on women to become homemakers. But the incentives and exhortations are doing little to change what demographers describe as an economic crisis...

Davos, Switzerland--A new World Economic Forum report titled the Future of Growth Report 2024 foresees a significant economic slowdown, estimated to fall to the lowest rate in three decades by 2030, amid ongoing economic and geopolitical shocks. The report released today, offers a re-evaluation of global economic growth, introducing a...

Women spend a quarter more of their lives suffering from poor health than men, a disparity that includes an unequal focus on men across medical research, diagnosis and treatment, the report said. Closing this gap would boost the global economy by $1trn annually by 2040, a 1.7% rise in per...

The country's national bureau of statistics said that GDP grew 5.2 percent to hit 126 trillion yuan ($17.6 trillion) as the country battled a crippling property crisis, sluggish consumption and global turmoil. Official GDP figures remain a key source of insight into the health of the world's second-largest economy.

Among the Arab countries, Egypt recorded the highest debt-to-GDP ratio of 92.7 percent while US and China are on an unsustainable fiscal path.

WASHINGTON, US - The World Bank expected the UAE's real GDP to grow by 3.4 percent in 2023, rising to 3.7 percent in 2024 and to 3.8 percent in 2025. According to the Global Economic Prospects report released on Tuesday, the World Bank forecast the growth in the Gulf Cooperation...

Dubai, UAE -- Jordan's public debt till the end of October 2023 has risen to $46.1 billion, 89.6 percent of the country's GDP. The Ministry of Finance said the government had borrowed $3.8 billion in the first ten months of 2023. In December, the government approved the 2024 budget with...

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA- The Insurance Authority (IA) has issued its first report on the performance of the sector in the Kingdom for the third quarter of 2023, highlighting the developments, financial results and its contribution to the Kingdom’s gross domestic product (GDP). The report was issued to provide transparent, accurate...

ABU DHABI, UAE - The Statistics Center - Abu Dhabi (SCAD) has reported a substantial 7.7 percent growth in the real non-oil Gross Domestic Product (GDP) the Emirate during the third quarter of 2023, in comparison to the same period in 2022. This growth is attributed to the success of...