Dubai, the second wealthiest emirate, accounts for 22 per cent of the UAE’s GDP. The largest sector in Dubai is real estate & construction which accounts for 23 per cent of Dubai’s GDP, followed by trade (16 per cent) and financial services (11 per cent). Notably, oil & gas only accounts for only 7 per cent of Dubai’s GDP.
The UAE is the 3rd largest economy in the Middle East with an estimated annual GDP of $420 billion for 2014. It ranks behind Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
The UAE is well-endowed with energy resources. It has the 7th largest oil reserves in the world and is the world’s 8th largest oil producer. It is also a major producer of natural gas.
Oil and gas is the largest domestic sector, accounting for 37 per cent of UAE’s GDP in 2014. Other major sectors include trade (19 per cent), real estate and construction (15 per cent) and financial services (7 per cent) according to the IMF World Economic Outlook.
The country’s major export partners in 2014 included Japan (24 per cent of exports), India (17 per cent), Singapore (8 per cent), South Korea (8 per cent) . Major export products for the year included crude petroleum (46 per cent), refined petroleum (13 per cent), gold (9 per cent) and petroleum gas (7 per cent).
Investment in Dubai has been spurred by the development of free zones, with the largest and most high-profile of the free zones being Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza), which hosts over 6,000 companies from more than 100 countries. (SH)
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India