Abu Dhabi’s economy is projected to grow by about 6 per cent this year, driven by the easing of oil production cuts by Opec+ and a strong real estate sector, the International Monetary Fund has said.
The emirate's economy, which grew by nearly 4 per cent annually in the second quarter, is being supported by increased oil output, state news agency Wam cited the fund as saying.
Opec+, which includes the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Russia, is increasing production, bringing to an end to 1.65 million barrels a day of voluntary cuts announced in April 2023 after fully ending a 2.2 million bpd reduction announced in November 2023.
This month, the group agreed to another output increase of 137,000 bpd for November, similar to the October expansion, amid “healthy market fundamentals”, it said.
Abu Dhabi’s real estate sector is also performing strongly, supporting the emirate's economic diversification plans.
Property deals in the first half of 2025 surged by 42 per cent on an annual basis as demand remained strong amid a population increase and robust economic growth, according to the latest report from Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre.
The total value of deals over the six months to the end of June reached Dh54 billion ($14.7 billion), driven by residential unit sales that rose by 38 per cent to Dh25 billion. The number of property transactions jumped 25 per cent to 15,578.
Abu Dhabi is diversifying its economy away from oil, with a focus on industrial growth, tourism and technology.
Meanwhile, Dubai’s economy is forecast to expand by 3.4 per cent this year, contributing to UAE-wide growth of 4.8 per cent, increasing to 5 per cent in 2026, said Jihad Azour, the IMF's director for the Middle East and Central Asia, Wam reported.
The UAE's growth will be “driven primarily by service sectors, such as tourism, financial services and real estate”, Mr Azour said in Dubai on Tuesday.
Last month, the UAE Central Bank increased its 2025 growth forecast from 4.4 per cent to 4.9 per cent amid a surge in non-oil activity.
The economy is projected to further expand by 5.3 per cent in 2026, the banking regulator said in its Quarterly Economic Review.
The revised projection for this year is supported by the “anticipated strong momentum in the non-hydrocarbon activities and a robust increase in the hydrocarbon sector following updated Opec+ production plans”, the Central Bank said.
In the first quarter of the year, the UAE’s economy grew by 3.9 per cent year-on-year, with non-oil gross domestic product recording a growth of 5.3 per cent during the period.
Economies in the Middle East and North Africa remain vulnerable to economic headwinds despite demonstrating “surprising resilience”, while relative peace in Lebanon and Syria bodes well for the broader economic growth prospects, the IMF said this week.
The aggregate output of the region, where the economic outlook has been marred by one geopolitical crisis after another in the past two years, is set to rise gradually, the Washington-based multilateral lender said in its Regional Economic Update on Tuesday.
