(MENAFN) Abu Dhabi's economy continues to flourish, with strong growth in the non-oil sector driving a 10.5 percent year-on-year expansion in the first nine months of 2022, according to Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi. This makes it the fastest growing economy in the Middle East and North Africa region. The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development attributes this success to government initiatives aimed at diversifying the economy, boosting private sector contributions, and investing in human capital.
At the end of the third quarter of 2022, Abu Dhabi's various sectors continued to experience growth. The non-oil sectors contributed 50.3 percent to the gross domestic product, with an increase of 39 billion dirhams (USD10.6 billion) to reach 417.3 billion dirhams in total. The real estate sector experienced a remarkable 20.3 percent growth compared to the same period in the previous year, with investors flocking to Abu Dhabi's famed waterfront and island communities. The accommodation and food services sector also grew 20.2 percent in the first nine months of 2022.
According to data from the Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi welcomed 4.1 million international visitors during the same period, with Indian visitors accounting for 12 percent of all non-Emirati hotel guests in Abu Dhabi, totaling 480,000 visitors, a 31 percent increase from the previous year. The wholesale and retail trade sector reached 45 billion dirhams, with a 17.4 percent increase year-on-year, accounting for 5.4 percent of Abu Dhabi's nine-month GDP.
The transport and storage sector also experienced growth of 11.4 percent during the nine-month period, boosting the Emirate's GDP by 1.7 percent. This is reflected in the 15.9 million passengers that Abu Dhabi's five airports handled in 2022, three times the passenger volume from a year ago, according to Abu Dhabi Airports.
The manufacturing sector in the UAE's capital grew 8.1 percent, contributing 8 percent to the GDP during the first nine months of 2022. The Abu Dhabi government is investing 10 billion dirhams across six industrial programs to more than double the size of the Emirate's manufacturing sector to 172 billion dirhams by 2031. The new strategy will boost Abu Dhabi's trade with international markets, with the aim of increasing the Emirate's non-oil exports by 143 percent to 178.8 billion dirhams by 2031.
Meanwhile, the financial sector grew by 6.9 percent in the first nine months of 2022, with a value of 28 billion dirhams, accounting for 5.5 percent of the GDP. These impressive figures demonstrate Abu Dhabi's progress towards becoming a global economic powerhouse.
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