UAE economy sees 1.4% growth last year
2011-05-16 15:24:43
The gross domestic product (GDP) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) grew by around 1.4 percent in 2010 thanks to increasing oil prices and expansion in other sectors, official data showed Sunday.
In current prices, the Gulf nation's economy gained nearly 100 billion dirhams (27.25 billion U.S. dollars) to smash through the 1 trillion dirhams (272.5 billion dollars) mark for the first time since the country was established four decades ago, Dubai-based news website Emirates 24/7 reported, quoting the figures released by the National Statistics Center.
The UAE's nominal GDP surged to 1.093 trillion dirhams (297.8 billion dollars) in 2010 from 992.8 billion dirhams (270.5 billion dollars) in 2009 to maintain its position as the second-largest Arab economy after Saudi Arabia, according to the report.
The figures showed that the country's real GDP rebounded by around 1.4 percent after a contraction of 1.6 percent in 2009 due to lower oil prices and the repercussions of the 2008 global fiscal distress.
The surge in 2010 was a result of a sharp rise in oil prices which swelled to an average 80.1 dollars a barrel from 62.5 dollars in 2009, the center said.
"Another factor was the expansion in many non-oil sectors ... the GDP in the oil sector stood at 343.9 billion dirhams (93.7 billion dollars) while the non-oil sector's contribution stood at around 749.2 billion dirhams (204.14 billion dollars)," it added.
The expansion in the non-oil economy boosted its contribution to the UAE's GDP to 69 percent last year from 66 percent in 2009, the figures showed.
The UAE is the world's third largest oil exporter, with more than 90 percent of its oil reserves located in the capital Abu Dhabi.