UAE’s economy is the fastest-growing among GCC countries in 2023, the IMF says

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast GDP growth for the UAE economy this year at 3.4% and to rise to 4.0% next year, despite its dim forecasts about the continued slowdown in global economic growth, which is likely to reach only 3% this year.

The IMF’s forecasts showed that the UAE is the fastest-growing economy among the GCC countries during 2023 and 2024, and the pace of growth in non-oil sectors is expanding.

The IMF predicted that the inflation rate in the UAE will decline from 4.8% in 2022 to 3.1% this year and to 2.3% next year, to be among the lowest rates globally, estimating the current account balance in the UAE at about 8.2% of GDP in 2023 and about 7.7% in 2024.

While the IMF confirmed its previous forecast in its July update for global economic growth at 3% this year, it lowered its forecast for next year’s growth by 0.1% to about 2.9%.

The International Monetary Fund forecasted that the economies of the Middle East and Central Asia will grow by 2.0% this year and that growth will rise next year to 3.4%. It is likely that the oil-exporting countries in the region will grow by 2.2% this year and by 3.4% in 2024.