Abu Dhabi’s nominal economic Output rises in 2010

Abu Dhabi’s nominal economic output rose 15.9 per cent in 2010, helped by recovery in its key hydrocarbon sector. With oil price recovery in 2010, the Abu Dhabi economy picked up speed again to see its nominal gross domestic product rise to Dhs620.3 billion ($169 billion), Abu Dhabi Statistics Centre’s (SCAD) yearbook showed. The UAE, the second-largest Arab economy and the world’s No. 4 oil exporter, booked real GDP growth of 1.4 per cent in 2010 after a 1.6 per cent contraction in the previous year. In Abu Dhabi, the hydrocarbon sector output grew by 28.9 per cent at current prices in 2010, contributing to nearly half of the emirate’s GDP, after a 42.1 per cent slump in 2009. Per-capita income in Abu Dhabi, home to nearly 2 million people, rose to Dhs315,300 ($85,800) in 2010, one of the highest in the world, from 293,100 in the previous year. Exports of crude, gas and oil products surged 41.4 per cent to 278.1 billion dirhams last year. They account for more than 92 per cent of total exports and 45 per cent of Abu Dhabi’s GDP, Abu Dhabi’s non-oil exports and re-exports jumped by 22.2 per cent and 26.4 per cent, respectively, while imports dropped 7.8 per cent, the data also showed. The number of new businesses registered i fell to 9,979 in 2010 compared with 12,725 in the previous year, with the total rising to 96,381.