The Statistical Centre for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf (GCC-Stat) reported that the gross national income (GNI) of GCC countries stood at US$2.143 trillion at current prices in 2023. This figure marks a 2.7 percent decrease compared to US$2.2027 trillion recorded in 2022. Disposable national income, which reflects the amount available for consumption and savings after taxes and transfers, reached US$1.989 trillion. This represents a 3 percent drop from US$2.515 trillion in the previous year.
The value added by the non-oil sector stood at US$513 billion, while the oil sector contributed US$603.5 billion. Notably, the non-oil sector’s share of GDP at current prices increased to 71.5 percent in 2023, up from 65 percent in 2022, reflecting a 6.4 percent annual growth rate. Mining and quarrying activities maintained the highest contribution to the GCC economy over the past five years with an average share of 28.3 percent. Within the non-oil sector, manufacturing activities ranked first, contributing an average of 11.7 percent to GDP.
Economic Activities and Sector Performance
Most economic activities recorded positive growth in 2023. Financial and insurance services led with an 11.7 percent growth rate, followed by transportation and storage at 11.6 percent. Real estate activities grew by 8.1 percent, public administration and defense by 7.9 percent, wholesale and retail trade by 7.6 percent, and education by 5.5 percent. However, mining and quarrying activities fell by 18.8 percent, while manufacturing declined slightly by 0.7 percent.
GDP Expenditure Components Highlight Trends
According to GCC-Stat, exports of goods and services reached US$1.2587 trillion in 2023, representing 59.5 percent of GDP at current prices, but declined by 7.1 percent compared to the previous year. Final consumption expenditure amounted to US$1.245 trillion, recording a 7.5 percent annual growth rate. In addition, total capital formation, which includes fixed capital and asset formation, stood at US$601.8 billion with a 5.5 percent increase.
