The economies of the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – are now recovering and growth this year is likely to average 4.4% and then rise to 4.7% in 2011, following just 0.3% growth in 2009, forecast the Institute of International Finance (IIF). It noted that prospects vary considerably across the region.
The IIF, the leading global association of financial institutions, published its semi-annual GCC Regional Economic Overview today. The report noted that the GCC region was not spared the fallout from the global financial crisis even if it fared better than other emerging regions. Nominal GDP of the GCC economies declined from $1,064 billion in 2008 to $855 billion in 2009. But the overall impact on real levels of economic activity was contained by larger government spending supported by strong fundamentals and strengthened financial buffers. The nonhydrocarbon sector, where more than 95% of the labor force is employed, grew by 2.7% in 2009 as compared with 7.0% in 2008.
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