UAE economy grows 3% in Q1 2026 to AED 485 billion

The United Arab Emirates’ real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 3% during the first quarter of 2026, reaching AED 485 billion at constant prices.

According to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), non-oil GDP expanded by 4.8%, raising its share of the national economy to 79.4%, reflecting the continued strength of non-oil economic activities. This growth was achieved despite regional challenges in the first quarter of the year, which were confined to a limited number of sectors and did not affect the overall trajectory of economic growth.

Data from the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre showed that the contribution of non-oil activities to GDP rose to 79.4% in the first quarter of 2026, up from 78% in the same period last year.

Several economic sectors recorded growth in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period last year. Financial and insurance activities led with a growth rate of 17.3%, followed by construction at 8.1%, while information and communications activities grew by 5.9%.

The data also showed notable growth in several other sectors: real estate activities grew by 4.8%, public administration, defense, and mandatory social security by 4.5%, and wholesale and retail trade by 2.6%.

In terms of actual contribution to growth, financial and insurance activities topped the list, contributing 2.44 percentage points to non-oil GDP growth, followed by construction with a contribution of 1.04 percentage points, wholesale and retail trade with 0.42 percentage points, and real estate activities with 0.36 percentage points.

For his part, Thani bin Ahmed Al Ziyoudi, Minister of Foreign Trade, stated that non-oil exports grew by 23.9% in the first half of 2026 to reach AED 452.8 billion, achieving the highest growth rate among the state’s foreign trade components.