Thanks to a strong rebound in domestic activities and higher oil prices, the latest International Monetary Fund (IMF) report suggests the GCC economies to expand further than previously expected.
The UAE’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth, for example, will exceed 6 percent this year, up from 3.8 percent in 2021, while inflation is likely to average just above 5 percent, the Washington-based lender said.
In 2023, the UAE economy will grow 4.2 percent, outpacing Saudi Arabia (3.7 percent), Bahrain (3 percent), Oman (4.1 percent), Kuwait (2.6 percent), and Qatar (2.4 percent), to become the fastest growing economy in the Arabian Gulf.
For 2022, the IMF predicts Kuwait to have the Gulf’s fastest growing economy, at 8.7 percent, just edging out Saudi Arabia’s 7.6 percent. The UAE economy will hit 5.1 percent growth.
Here is what’s in store for the Gulf region as per the revised IMF estimates:
