UAE personal wealth hits record highs
A surge in oil prices to historical high levels allied with growing crude output to boost the UAE's GDP per capita income to a record Dh196,100 in 2008, one of the highest levels in the world, official figures showed yesterday.
The per capita income last year was higher by nearly 16 per cent over the 2007 income of Dh168,900 and more than double its level of Dh90,400 in 2003, showed the figures released by the Ministry of Economy.
Analysts expect the per capita income to decline this year because of a projected contraction in the economy and a rise in the population.
Last year's per capita was the highest achieved in the UAE in current prices and second only to Qatar's GDP per capita in the Arab World.
The report put the UAE's nominal GDP at Dh937bn in 2008 while the population was estimated at nearly 4.77 million. Forecasts by the Saudi American Bank Group (Samba) showed the UAE's nominal GDP could plunge to $216bn (Dh792bn) in 2009 as a result of a decline in oil prices of nearly $40 a barrel and in the country's crude output to about 2.2 million bpd from 2.6 million bpd last year.
At that GDP level and a population of around five million, the UAE's per capita income could dip to nearly Dh158,000 in 2009. But analysts believe it remains one of the highest per capita incomes in the world.
In 2008, the UAE's per capita was more than double that in Saudi Arabia of SR70 billion (Dh68.6bn) although the kingdom is the world's largest oil exporter. But its population is nearly five times that of the UAE.
The surge in the UAE's per capita last year came after the economy leaped by 24 per cent in nominal terms, mainly because of strong crude prices.
The report showed all other GDP indicators were at a record high level in 2008, with the GNP per capita peaking at Dh199,000.
Per capita of the net national income stood at Dh175,500 while that of disposable income was as high as Dh192,600.
Per capita of the final consumption, which includes government and private consumption, peaked at Dh128,400.
The per capita was estimated at Dh75,200 in national saving, Dh42,100 in gross fixed capital formation, Dh184,400 of exports and Dh154,400 of imports.
|
|
