Real gross domestic product climbed 3.2% to $60.9 billion in first six months of the year
Dubai’s economy expanded an annual 3.2 per cent in the first half of 2023 to reach Dh223.8 billion ($60.9 billion), driven by 3.6 per cent growth in the second quarter of the year and solidifying the emirate’s position as a global economic hub.
The emirate’s transport and storage sector outperformed all other industries, expanding 10.5 per cent in the first six months of the year, according to government data.
The sector, which includes land, sea and air transport and logistics, contributed 42.8 per cent to overall growth and injected Dh31.4 billion into the economy.
“This economic expansion is consistent with the goals of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33 to double GDP growth over the next decade and consolidate the emirate’s position as one of the world’s top three urban economies,” Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai and chairman of The Executive Council
The emirate’s rapid economic growth is a “natural outcome” of the country’s strategy to “invest in people and create the conditions to ensure continuous development of Dubai’s investment environment,” he said.
Dubai’s trade sector grew 1.7 per cent in the first half of the year from the same period in 2022, injecting Dh53.6 billion. It contributed 23.9 per cent of the economic output and 12.9 per cent of total growth.
Dubai, the travel and tourism hub of the Middle East, said its air transport sector benefited from increased demand for travel, with national airlines recording 56 per cent growth year-on-year in passenger numbers in the first half of 2023.
The emirate’s hotel and food services sector expanded 9.2 per cent in the first six months of 2023, adding Dh7.9 billion to the economy. The sector contributed 3.5 per cent to the GDP and 9.5 per cent to overall growth.
