UAE Harvest 2025/The economy continues its rise and strengthens its position among the fastest growing in the world

Abu Dhabi, December 17, 2025: The UAE economy has consolidated its position as one of the fastest growing global economies in 2025, driven by the booming performance of non-oil sectors, qualitative foreign and local investments, flexible legislation and economic incentives that support business growth, and the stable and secure environment that the country enjoys.

Non-oil foreign trade recorded a growth of 24.5% during the first half of 2025 to reach 1.7 trillion dirhams, achieving a growth rate of 24.5% compared to the first half of last year, i.e. 14 times the global average.

The World Investment Report 2025, issued by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), showed that the UAE ranked tenth globally in foreign direct investment flows, with a value of 167.6 billion dirhams.

The International Monetary Fund raised its forecast for the country’s economic growth to 4.8% during 2025, and Fitch, Moody’s, and S&P Global affirmed the country’s sovereign rating, in confirmation of the strength of economic performance and the sustainability of financial policies.

UAE Central Bank data revealed an increase in total banking assets of 5.199 trillion dirhams at the end of September 2025, and total credit to about 2.478 trillion dirhams for the same period, while the bank launched the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion 2026-2030, which aims to enhance individuals’ access to financial services and strengthen the financial stability system.

The real GDP of the UAE recorded a growth of 4.2%, with a value of 929 billion dirhams during the first half of 2025, compared to the same period in 2024, while the non-oil GDP achieved a growth of 5.7%, with a value of 720 billion dirhams, and the percentage of contribution of non-oil activities to the real GDP reached 77.5%, while oil activities contributed by 22.5% during the first half of the year. 2025.

The UAE approved the general budget of the Union for the fiscal year 2026 at a value of 92.4 billion dirhams, which is the largest compared to previous years.

In the industrial sector, the country witnessed the signing of five memorandums of understanding between the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology and a number of national banks to provide financing solutions exceeding 40 billion dirhams in support of the industrial sector, while the “Made in the Emirates” platform concluded its fourth session with a total of industrial projects exceeding 11 billion dirhams, and with a record attendance exceeding 122 thousand visitors.

At the beginning of this year, the Council of Ministers approved the National Investment Strategy 2031, which aims to make the country a leading destination for investments and a strategic hub for capital flows.

The strategy included 12 national programs and 30 initiatives that contribute to raising foreign direct investment flows from 112 billion dirhams in 2023 to 240 billion dirhams by 2031, and increasing the stock of foreign investment to more than 2.2 trillion dirhams.

The Council announced the establishment of the National Investment Fund with an initial capital of 36.7 billion dirhams, subject to increase and review, with the aim of encouraging the attraction of global investments to the UAE. It also adopted the UAE Strategy for Islamic Finance and the Halal Industry, which aims to strengthen the country’s position as a leading global center in Islamic finance.

The year 2025 featured the launch of the UAE List of Future Companies, which includes 50 emerging companies in 15 future economic sectors, and the launch of the national campaign, “The UAE is the Entrepreneurial Capital of the World,” which aims to train and incubate 10,000 entrepreneurs and provide thousands of economic opportunities in the coming years.

The country witnessed the registration of more than 220,000 new companies from the beginning of the year until the end of last November, in addition to the registration of more than 36,000 trademarks during the same period, with a growth rate of 48.2% compared to the previous year.

The UAE continued its steps to empower the digital economy by launching a package of initiatives, most notably the “Digital Academy” to train national competencies, the national platform for digital economy job opportunities in cooperation with LinkedIn, and an incentive program aimed at empowering more than 100,000 startup companies by 2029, in addition to the “Technical Director for the Digital Economy” initiative.

The UAE has strengthened its position as a major gateway to international trade routes by expanding comprehensive economic partnerships with countries around the world, announcing the “UAE Global Trade Center” program, which aims to attract the 1,000 most important global companies in the field of international trade, and launching a digital portal linking UAE export companies to global markets.

The number of national and international registered trademarks in the country as of the end of last September reached 402,311 trademarks, and 19,957 national and international trademarks were registered during the first half of the current year, with a growth rate of 129% compared to the first half of 2024.

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