Growth a result of high oil prices and expansion
Strong oil prices allied with expansion in non-hydrocarbon sectors due to high public spending boosted the UAE's real GDP by 4.4 per cent in 2012, official data showed.
From around Dh982.7 billion in 2011, GDP expanded to Dh1,025 billion in 2012, showed the figures by the national statistics bureau.
In current prices, GDP swelled by about 10.1 per cent from Dh1,280 billion to Dh1,409 billion as a result of an increase in average oil prices to around $112.03 a barrel in 2012 from$109.02 in 2011, the bureau said in a report.
"Many factors contributed to GDP growth last year, including higher oil prices and expansion in almost all non-oil sectors," it said.
The report showed the non-oil sector remained the dominant component of GDP, indicating the success of efforts to diversify the country's economy, the second largest in the Arab world after Saudi Arabia.
Non-oil GDP was estimated at around 690.3 billion in 2012 or about67.3 per cent while the oil sector's contribution stood at Dh335.2 billion.
The report put inflation at only 0.66 per cent in 2012 and gross capital formation (public and private investment) at Dh309.1 billion compared with Dh281.7 billion in 2011.
© Emirates 24|7 2013
