"Gulf Statistician": The non-oil sector leads balanced growth for countries’ economies "cooperation"
Muscat, May 10, 2025 – Data issued by the Statistical Center for the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf showed that the GCC economy recorded a positive and balanced performance during the third quarter of 2025, as the non-oil sector led balanced growth with the continued structural transformation towards diversifying sources of income.
The data indicated that the gross domestic product of the GCC countries, at current prices, amounted to about 595.8 billion US dollars, compared to 583 billion US dollars in the same quarter of 2024, achieving an annual growth of 2.2%, while the gross domestic product at constant prices reached 474.4 billion US dollars, recording a real growth of 5.2%, in a clear indication that economic growth was not driven only by rising prices, but also by an actual increase in Volume of economic activity.
The Gulf economy recorded a quarterly growth (compared to the second quarter of 2025) of 1.6% at constant prices, which reflects the continued economic momentum.
The data showed an acceleration of the shift towards a non-oil economy, as the contribution of the non-oil sector reached 78% of the nominal GDP, compared to 22% for the oil sector, while the contribution of the non-oil sector to the level of real output reached 70.7%, compared to 29.3% for the oil sector.
This transformation reflects the decline in relative dependence on oil and the success of economic diversification policies in the GCC countries.
The data showed that the Gulf economy has become more diversified. The contributions of economic activities (at current prices) were distributed to reach 12.4% for manufacturing industries, 9.7% for wholesale and retail trade, 8.4% for construction, 7.5% for public administration and defence, 7.0% for finance and insurance, 5.8% for real estate activities, 27.3% for other activities, and 22.0% for oil and gas extraction, which highlights the expansion of the production base and the high role of the service and industrial sectors in supporting growth.
Non-oil activities also recorded strong growth rates, most notably real estate activities at 10.2%, accommodation and food services at 8.2%, wholesale and retail trade at 8.0%, electricity, water and gas at 7.4%, and other services at 7.3%, which reflects the vitality of the service economy and the growing local and tourist demand.
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