RIYADH: Dubai’s real gross domestic product totalled approximately 473 billion dirhams ($129 billion) in the first half of 2026, down 2.3 percent year on year, official data showed. 

GDP at current prices reached 505 billion dirhams, up 0.2 percent, according to data from the Dubai Data and Statistics Establishment at Digital Dubai, as reported by the Emirates News Agency, or WAM. 

The financial and insurance activities sector recorded real growth of 8.8 percent, with value added reaching 65.9 billion dirhams, accounting for 14 percent of Dubai’s real GDP. Human health and social work activities grew 14.3 percent, while information and communication expanded 2.7 percent. Construction activity rose 2.4 percent. 

Regional uncertainty clouds growth outlook 

This comes as the UAE’s real GDP grew 0.4 percent year on year to 961.9 billion dirhams in the first half of 2026, supported by non-oil activities, which expanded 1.8 percent and accounted for 79.2 percent of the economy. However, real GDP contracted 2.1 percent in the second quarter, with regional developments disrupting activity in tourism, transport and trade, according to the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre.  

In July, the International Monetary Fund said the UAE economy had shown resilience amid the conflict in the Middle East but projected slightly slower growth in 2026 following strong expansion in 2025. It expected growth to rebound in 2027 as hydrocarbon production increased and non-oil activity recovered with the normalisation of tourism and trade flows.  

Dubai’s Economic Agenda D33 aims to double the size of the emirate’s economy by 2033. Its targets include attracting 650 billion dirhams in foreign direct investment over the next decade and achieving 25.6 trillion dirhams in foreign trade in goods and services over the same period. 

Dubai pursues investment and long-term growth 

Helal Saeed Almarri, director general of the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, said: “Dubai’s GDP performance during the first half of 2026 reflects the strength of an economy capable of navigating periods marked by significant global volatility with great efficiency.” 

He said continued year-on-year growth across several strategic and future-focused sectors demonstrated the strength of Dubai’s economic fundamentals and the effectiveness of its focus on sectors expected to drive long-term growth.  

Almarri added: “As we continue to strengthen the drivers of growth and establish the necessary enablers to support various sectors, we enter the second half of 2026 from a position of strength and with clear momentum.” 

Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, director general of Digital Dubai, said the diversity of Dubai’s economic base was a key strength, reflected in the growth of several strategic sectors during the first half of 2026 despite changes in the global economic environment. 

“Such diversity is the result of a long-term vision that has invested in building new sectors, developing existing ones, and enhancing the economy’s capacity to adapt to various changes,” he added.