Economy Overview
The UAE has an open economy with a high per capita income and a sizable annual trade surplus. Successful efforts at economic diversification have reduced the portion of GDP from the oil and gas sector to 30%. Since the discovery of oil in the UAE nearly 60 years ago, the country has undergone a profound transformation from an impoverished region of small desert principalities to a modern state with a high standard of living. The government has increased spending on job creation and infrastructure expansion and is opening up utilities to greater private sector involvement. The country's free trade zones - offering 100% foreign ownership and zero taxes - are helping to attract foreign investors. The global financial crisis of 2008-09, tight international credit, and deflated asset prices constricted the economy in 2009. UAE authorities tried to blunt the crisis by increasing spending and boosting liquidity in the banking sector. The crisis hit Dubai hardest, as it was heavily exposed to depressed real estate prices. Dubai lacked sufficient cash to meet its debt obligations, prompting global concern about its solvency and ultimately a $20 billion bailout from the UAE Central Bank and Abu Dhabi Government that was refinanced in March 2014. The UAE’s dependence on oil is a significant long-term challenge, although the UAE is one of the most diversified countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council. Low oil prices have prompted the UAE to cut expenditures, including on some social programs, but the UAE has sufficient assets in its sovereign investment funds to cover its deficits. The government reduced fuel subsidies in August 2015, and introduced excise taxes (50% on sweetened carbonated beverages and 100% on energy drinks and tobacco) in October 2017. A five-percent value-added tax was introduced in January 2018. The UAE's strategic plan for the next few years focuses on economic diversification, promoting the UAE as a global trade and tourism hub, developing industry, and creating more job opportunities for nationals through improved education and increased private sector employment.
Agriculture Products
dates, cucumbers, tomatoes, goat meat, eggs, milk, poultry, carrots/turnips, goat milk, sheep milk
Industries
petroleum and petrochemicals; fishing, aluminum, cement, fertilizer, commercial ship repair, construction materials, handicrafts, textiles
Industrial Production Growth Rate
1.8% (2017 est.)
Labor Force
5.344 million (2017 est.)
Labor Force by Occupation
Agriculture: 7%
Industry: 15%
Services: 78% (2000 est.)
Unemployment Rate
0: 1.6% (2016 est.)
1: 3.6% (2014 est.)
Youth Unemployment Rate
Total: 14%
Male: 12.5%
Female: 18.7% (2020 est.)
Population Below Poverty Line
19.5% (2003 est.)
Household Income or Consumption by Percentage Share
Lowest 10%: NA
Highest 10%: NA
Distribution of Family Income Gini Index
32.5 (2014 est.)
Budget
Revenues: 110.2 billion (2017 est.)
Expenditures: 111.1 billion (2017 est.)
Note: the UAE federal budget does not account for emirate-level spending in Abu Dhabi and Dubai
Budget Surplus
-0.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Public Debt
0: 19.7% of GDP (2017 est.)
1: 20.2% of GDP (2016 est.)
Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate
Market Value of Publicly Traded Shares
Reserves of Foreign Exchange and Gold
0: $95.37 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
1: $85.39 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
Debt External
0: $237.6 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
1: $218.7 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
Stock of Direct Foreign Investment at Home
Stock of Direct Foreign Investment Abroad
Exchange Rates
0: Emirati dirhams (AED) per US dollar -
1: 3.67315 (2020 est.)
2: 3.67315 (2019 est.)
3: 3.67315 (2018 est.)
4: 3.673 (2014 est.)
5: 3.673 (2013 est.)
