Browse additional economic indicators and data sets, selected by Global Finance editors, to learn more about The UAE economic outlook, debt to GDP ratio, international trade performance and population trends. Rankings of the country’s best banks and safest banks are also available.

A key trade and investment hub for the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia, the UAE’s economy benefits from its political and economic stability, excellent infrastructure and sophisticated financial services. While it owes much of its prosperity to its vast reserves of oil and natural gas, which account for about 30% of the gross domestic product, the Gulf state is actively taking steps to lessen its reliance on hydrocarbon revenues by fostering development through clean and renewable energy technologies. It notwithstanding remains vulnerable to oil price fluctuations. Regional challenges to its trade hub status, a high dependence on foreign labor (with over 80% of the population being foreign) and the concentration of the workforce in the public sector are other areas of concern.

The chart at left compares UAE’s debt-to-GDP ratio to the regional average. It illustrates how the country has been successful at keeping its debt burden in line with its national productive capacity.