A poll conducted by Reuters among economists indicates that increased oil production and efforts towards economic diversification will enable most Gulf economies to experience accelerated growth this year compared to 2024.
The United Arab Emirates is anticipated to outperform its Gulf Cooperation Council counterparts with a growth rate of 4.8% in 2025 and 4.6% in 2026, surpassing earlier projections of 4.5% and 4.2% from an April survey.
Another survey forecasts that the average price of Brent crude oil will reach $67.86 per barrel in 2025, having hovered around $70 for most of this year.
Since April, OPEC has ramped up oil production to regain market share from competing producers like the United States, while also promoting tourism to diversify income sources.
The survey, which included 20 economic analysts and was conducted between July 15 and July 28, predicts that Saudi Arabia’s GDP will grow by 3.8% this year, which is nearly three times the 1.3% growth achieved in 2024.
Daniel Richards, an analyst at Emirates NBD focusing on the Middle East and North Africa, stated, “We always expected OPEC+ to return greater volumes of oil to the market this year than initially anticipated, but the pace of this growth has even surpassed our expectations.”
Qatar’s economy is projected to grow by 2.7% this year, with a surge to 5.4% in 2026, marking the fastest growth in 13 years, coinciding with the launch of a major liquefied natural gas expansion project next year.
Both Qatar and the UAE are working to reduce their reliance on oil by positioning themselves as tourist destinations.
Bader Al Saffar, a researcher at Standard Chartered, remarked, “Qatar benefits from gas revenues, and both countries are well-positioned due to their strong reserves and ongoing diversification of their non-oil economies.”
Inflation in the Gulf region is expected to remain moderate. The survey indicated that inflation in the area will stabilize within a range of 1% to 2.5% in 2025.