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The Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre announced on October 9 that the UAE’s real GDP reached Dh961.9 billion at constant prices in the first half of 2026. The FCSC data showed overall growth of 0.4 per cent compared with the same period in 2025 while non-oil GDP expanded 1.8 per cent and lifted the non-oil share of the economy to 79.2 per cent from 78.1 per cent a year earlier. Oil activities accounted for the remaining 20.8 per cent according to the centre.
FCSC figures placed real GDP for the second quarter of 2026 at Dh476.9 billion. The centre reported a 2.1 per cent decline from the second quarter of 2025 with non-oil activities contracting 1.1 per cent as tourism, transport and trade faced pressure from regional developments and travel disruptions. The FCSC noted these Q2 results in its half-year compilation.
The Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre listed financial and insurance activities as the fastest growing sector in the first half with a 14.8 per cent rise. Information and communication activities followed at 7.3 per cent, health and social work at 6 per cent, construction at 5.1 per cent, government services at 3.6 per cent and real estate at 2.3 per cent, the centre’s breakdown showed. The FCSC attributed the pattern to diversification across trade, finance, construction, manufacturing and real estate.
The Central Bank of the UAE cited FCSC statistics for 2025 that recorded full-year real GDP growth of 6.2 per cent with non-oil GDP rising 6.8 per cent. That central bank quarterly report from September 2026 placed non-oil expansion at 4.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2026 before the softer second quarter. The FCSC continues to supply the underlying sectoral data for these official releases.
A Central Bank of the UAE assessment forecast overall real GDP growth of 1.6 per cent for the full year of 2026 with non-hydrocarbon GDP projected to expand 1.3 per cent. The bank based its medium-term projections on FCSC historical series and anticipated normalisation in hydrocarbon output alongside sustained non-oil investment. The FCSC is scheduled to update its own third-quarter 2026 estimates before year-end.
The Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre gathers the GDP statistics from federal ministries, local authorities and industry surveys before publishing consolidated releases through WAM. The centre has conducted a national review of GDP and national accounts that may lead to future revisions of the preliminary H1 2026 numbers. FCSC publications consistently present both headline totals and percentage contributions to allow tracking of structural shifts in the economy.
