The economy of the Emirates grew by 2.9% during 2019

The country of the emirates is ‘celebrating economically’, because during last year, 2019, the country's economy increased by 2.9%, even exceeding the expectations that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had predicted. The growth is remarkable, since the previous year (2018) the increase was 1.7, which translates into more than one point of increase.

These optimistic data are taken from the latest report of the UAE Central Bank, which also highlights the importance of the oil sector in this increase in the Emirate's economy. In its analysis, the Central Bank points out that the hydrocarbon sector grew by around 7.6% and had a greater increase in the last quarter of the year. In fact, the forecasts for this sector are still very positive for 2020 thanks to the discovery of two new gas fields, one in Sharjah and the other in Jebel Ali; which makes us hope that 2020 will continue to be a successful year in this sector.

On the other hand, sectors other than hydrocarbons (which have accounted for more than 1% of GDP) such as banking, tourism and construction have been other important pillars for economic growth in the UAE over the past year.

With less than a century of history, the United Arab Emirates is betting everything to become a country of great international relevance in almost every sense. Tourism is one of the sectors that has grown the most in recent years and that is reaping the most economic benefits.

With the development of Expo Dubai 2020, which was launched in October last year, great growth is expected in many sectors and that the overall profits of what is expected to be the biggest show in the world will be more than 100,000 million. This expo, which will begin in October 2020 and run until April 2021, will be attended by more than 190 participating countries and millions of visitors are expected. An event that will undoubtedly have a very positive impact on the UAE's economy. 

2019 has also been a successful year for the UAE's tourism sector; with record figures such as those achieved by Dubai, which managed to exceed 16.3 million tourists.  These unprecedented numbers highlight the significant potential that the region is now becoming. 

As we explained in a previous article, cities like Dubai are already on all the top lists of destinations to visit during 2020. What's more, the latest 'Top 100 City Destinations' report placed the most famous emirate, Dubai, among last year's top 10 most visited destinations, ahead of such iconic cities as New York. 

2020 looks set to be a successful year for the UAE economy as well, ranking first in global competitiveness according to various economic indicators assessed by the World Economic Forum. According to the agency's latest report, the Arab country ranked first internationally in terms of macroeconomic stability; second in terms of ICT adaptation and fourth in the field of goods markets.