Abu Dhabi’s Non-Oil Real GDP Expands By 4.1% In 2021
Abu Dhabi has announced data that reflects the rapid growth in most of Abu Dhabi’s oil and non-oil activities in 2021. This underscores the effectiveness of economic policies and the robustness of Abu Dhabi’s local economy. It also implements its recovery from the Covid-19 crisis. The results were announced by Scad which indicates that Abu Dhabi’s GDP grew 1.9 percent in 2021 compared to 2020.
The non-oil GDP at constant prices grew by 4.1%. Many non-oil economic activities showed positive growth rates at constant prices, during this year. Among them the most notables are agriculture, forestry and fishing activities. These expanded by 23.1 percent while the manufacturing activity expanded by 21.7 percent. Health and social service activities expanded by 19.7 percent. Arts, entertainment and recreation expanded by 17.3 percent. Wholesale and retail trade expanded by 15.3 percent. Accommodation and food service activities expanded by 14.7 percent. Transportation and storage expanded by 7 percent. Electricity, gas, water supply and waste management activities expanded by 6.9 percent.
Mohamed Ali Al Shorafa, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED), said in his comments on the estimates that the Emirate of Abu Dhabi has managed to overcome the consequences of the extraordinary global situation. All credit goes to the prudent economic and investment policies set by the wise leadership. This also includes several stimulus initiatives for business and household sectors.
Mohamed Ali Al Shorafa commented “The initiatives helped the coronavirus-hit sectors to recover and expand while laying the groundwork for a robust economy that can overcome various challenges as well as formulating policies and legislation which keep pace with global changes and support ease of doing business. These initiatives promoted a stimulating investment environment that can attract talent and innovative entrepreneurs, which is clearly reflected in the 2021 GDP results released by Scad”.
Rashed Abdulkarim Al Blooshi, the undersecretary of ADDED, has underscored the emirate’s economic performance during 2021. Rashed Abdulkarim Al Blooshi said “The emirate’s wise leadership has closely monitored the developments of the pandemic, and has taken the necessary actions to protect the impacted sectors to ensure a safe and stable transition to the post-Covid-19 phase. This was instrumental to maintain a rapid recovery of the economy and to achieve record growth rates.”
Rashed Abdulkarim Al Blooshi also added “The performance of Abu Dhabi’s economy, which made rapid strides for diversification, shows that it is moving from strength to strength, benefiting from a prudent administration that learns from past experiences in its endeavors to optimize opportunities. Although oil continues to be an important mainstay for Abu Dhabi economy, the emirate pursues an ambitious strategy for diversification of the economic base and income sources to support its sustainable development plans.”
Ahmed Mahmoud Fikri, director-general of Scad, said this strong growth in key economic activities confirms that Abu Dhabi has successfully navigated through the Covid-19 pandemic. It is also rapidly recovering from the repercussions which stands in testimony to the sound planning, excellent performance and the leadership’s clear vision.
According to the data released by Scad, mining and quarrying activity contributes approximately 50.3 percent of Abu Dhabi’s real GDP in 2021. The non-oil activities contribute 49.7 percent of the GDP at constant prices in 2021. The growth proves the remarkable progress Abu Dhabi has made to diversify its economic base and sources of income in line with its ambitious strategic plans.
Abu Dhabi’s economy was adversely impacted by the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic and the accompanying lock-downs in 2020. The emirate’s real GDP declined by 7.7 percent, oil-GDP by 3.9 percent and non-oil GDP by 11.5 percent. These declines are comparable to other global economies as a result of the challenges and conditions the world experienced during this unprecedented period.
