The research reveals some startling differences in savings habits among residents of the different Gulf countries, reflecting the economic environment. Oman, for example, had the highest percentage of respondents who are spending more money on groceries, utility bills and eating out, but the lowest across the entire GCC in terms of spending more on buying luxury products and travel outside their country.

The survey covered 1,107 residents of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman, gathering insight into their attitudes toward the current savings environment, their own savings potential and their outlook on the future. The GCC Index, now in its second year, complements the annual National Bonds UAE Savings Index to provide a comprehensive overview of saving sentiments across the GCC.

The results of the index, which converts respondents' attitudes into a base value that can be used to compare countries against themselves or against one another from year to year, showed that over the past year, residents of Saudi Arabia demonstrated the biggest increase in their savings sentiments, followed by Kuwait and then Oman. Bahrain and the UAE's results regressed, displaying slightly more negative savings sentiments compared to last year, while Qatar was last with a relatively large decline.

More worrying however is the fact that 90 percent of Saudi residents and 84 percent of other GCC countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar) believe that their savings are not adequate for their future. In addition, an average of 68 percent of respondents across all five countries above admitted that their savings are less than they had originally planned, revealing a need for better education on the mechanisms and tools of savings. The majority of respondents (64 percent) said that they save less than a fifth of their monthly income.

On the positive side, 60 percent of the respondents in the Kingdom and 63 percent of respondents in Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain displayed optimism, with plans to start or increase their savings in the next six months.

The biggest contrast among residents in the same country was Qatar, which, despite having the highest percentage of respondents in the GCC who claimed to have saved more that they did last year (29 percent), also had the highest percentage of people who saved 'significantly less' (28 percent), showing a clear financial divide within the country.

While personal priorities differed amongst GCC residents, children's education was unanimously chosen as one of the top reasons for saving money. For residents of Saudi, purchase of property to live in was the number one reason for savings, and the factor was similarly prioritized among other GCC countries apart from Kuwait, where it was only the fifth highest priority. Interestingly, the number one reason for savings in Oman was for weddings, a factor that featured lower on the list for all other countries.

Expenditure on groceries was the biggest reason for increase in spending across all countries, followed by utility bills and household items. Interestingly, eating out was also one of the biggest expenditures across the GCC, with 28 percent of all respondents citing it as a cause for increased spending. There were some stark differences among countries though, with residents of Bahrain spending the least on transportation (15 percent) and rents (13 percent). Compared to Bahrain, double the number of respondents in Oman (33 percent)  and Qatar (32 percent) said they were spending more money on transportation.

The savings instruments being used the most by residents of the GCC were simple current bank accounts or bank savings accounts, however some big differences emerged in these results. Bahrain had the highest percentage of people using savings scheme linked to a prize draw (34%), which was seven times higher than the Kingdom (4 percent) and Qatar (5 percent). In addition, Qatar had the highest number of people using gold as a savings instrument (16 percent), which was double the average of the remaining four markets (8 percent).

When questioned about the top factors taken into consideration when choosing a savings instrument, the overall top three factors were Shariah-compliance, reputation of the provider and attractive annual returns. The amount needed to begin savings (the entry-level) was also cited as an important factor in the choice. One big difference in mindset was clear with regards to savings products specifically designed for nationals; for residents of Qatar this was the No. 1 reason to choose a savings instrument, while for Bahrain and Kuwait this did not even feature in the top ten.

Mohammed Qasim Al-Ali, CEO, National Bonds Corporation, said: "Our UAE and GCC savings indices have become eagerly awaited measurement tools, revealing the extent to which positive savings sentiment are being shared or rejected among the people in our communities. This year's results show that challenges still exist in different scales in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain, as they do in the UAE."

"One of the positives we take from the results is that there is willingness to save, with over two thirds of the GCC population indicating plans to start saving this year, and a strong preference for Shariah-compliant products with strong returns and a credible reputation such as National Bonds. This opens up many more opportunities for us in the near future to fill a gap in the market, which we intend to capitalize on," he added.

National Bonds is currently the leading Shariah-compliant savings scheme of its type in the region, with a customer base that has crossed the 630,000 customer mark from 200 different nationalities. The program has enjoyed huge success since its launch in 2006 due to it loyalty program of prizes and rewards, with over one million prizes distributed worth over 280 million dirhams including a monthly one-million dirham prize.

Despite not having presence outside the UAE currently, National Bonds facilitates bond purchase for interested regional and international customers through bank wire transfers.  It also has recently launched a brand and product awareness campaign on the web targeting the GCC. Bondholders can also purchase National Bonds certificates through the website, or through requesting a standing Instruction order.