Signal · Geopolitical Risk

‎UAE GDP grows 0.4% in H1 2026 to AED 961.9B

Argaam - UAE News Trade press Published 12th October 2026 UAE

What the source reported

Source-reported

‎<img src="https://argaamplus.s3.amazonaws.com/a210be9c-478d-4749-bb21-23bd7d81b7d1.jpg" > The UAE's non-oil GDP expands by 1.8%. <hr> The UAE's real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.4% in the first half of 2026 to AED 961.9 billion at constant prices. According to a report by the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre, as reported by WAM, the UAE's non-oil GDP rose 1.8%, with its contribution to the national economy increasing to 79.2% compared to 78.1% in the same period last year. In Q2 2026, real GDP reached AED 476.9 billion, down 2.1% from the same period in 2025. Non-oil activities declined 1.1%, reflecting pressures on a number of economic sectors, especially tourism, transport, and trade, due to regional circumstances. <table align="center" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" dir="ltr" width="100%"> <tbody> <tr > <td colspan="5" > UAE real GDP growth rate at constant prices </td> </tr> <tr > <td > Period </td> <td colspan="2" > GDP value (AED bln) </td> <td > Annual growth rate(%) </td> <td > Annual non-oil GDP growth rate (%) </td> </tr> <tr > <td > 2018 </td> <td > 1,501.1 </td> <td colspan="2" > +1.7% </td> <td > -- </td> </tr> <tr > <td > 2019 </td> <td > 1,517.8 </td> <td colspan="2" > +1.1% </td> <td > +2.7% </td> </tr> <tr > <td > 2020 </td> <td > 1,442.5 </td> <td colspan="2" > (5%) </td> <td > (5.4%) </td> </tr> <tr > <td > 2021 </td> <td > 1,505.3 </td> <td colspan="2" > +4.3% </td> <td > +6.5% </td> </tr> <tr > <td > 2022 </td> <td > 1,623.5 </td> <td colspan="2" > +7.9% </td> <td > + 7.2 % </td> </tr> <tr > <td > 2023 </td> <td > 1,708.0 </td> <td colspan="2" > +7.4 % </td> <td > +6.2% </td> </tr> <tr > <td > 2024 </td> <td > 1,776.0 </td> <td colspan="2" > +4.0 % </td> <td > +5.0 % </td> </tr> <tr > <td > 2025 </td> <td > 1,887.0 </td> <td colspan="2" > +6.2% </td> <td > +6.8% </td> </tr> <tr > <td > H1 2026 </td> <td > 961.9 </td> <td colspan="2" > +0.4% </td> <td > +1.8% </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <div > Several economic sectors recorded growth in H1 2026 compared to the same period last year. Financial and insurance activities led with growth of 14.8%, followed by information telecoms at 7.3%, while health and social services activities grew by 6%. In terms of actual contribution to growth, wholesale and retail trade activities topped the list with a 16.2% share of non-oil GDP growth, followed by financial and insurance activities at 15.2%.</div> <table align="center" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" dir="ltr" width="100%"> <tbody> <tr > <td colspan="3" > <a target="_blank">Growth of main activities during H1 2026</a> </td> </tr> <tr > <td > Sector </td> <td > Annual growth rate </td> <td > Actual contribution to non-oil GDP growth </td> </tr> <tr > <td > Financial and insurance activities </td> <td > +14.8% </td> <td > 15.2% </td> </tr> <tr > <td > Information and communications activities </td> <td > +7.3% </td> <td > -- </td> </tr> <tr > <td > Health and social services activities </td> <td > +6.0% </td> <td > -- </td> </tr> <tr > <td > Construction activities </td> <td > +5.1% </td> <td > 13.1% </td> </tr> <tr > <td > Government activities </td> <td > +3.6% </td> <td > -- </td> </tr> <tr > <td > Real estate activities </td> <td > +2.3% </td> <td > 7.9% </td> </tr> <tr > <td > Wholesale and retail trade activities </td> <td > -- </td> <td > 16.2% </td> </tr> <tr > <td > Manufacturing </td> <td > -- </td> <td > 11.8% </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <div ></div> <div ></div> <div> <div> <div id="_com_1" uage="JavaScript"> </div> </div> </div>

Publication: Argaam - UAE News · Trade Publication
Published: 12th October 2026
Original report: argaam.com

ProcIntel stores what the source published in its feed — a headline, a summary and a link. It does not store or reproduce the full article.

What ProcIntel recorded

ProcIntel-derived

Category: Geopolitical Risk
Geography: UAE
Organisations: None identified
Collected: 12th October 2026 · 06:19

Initial assessment ProcIntel's automatic, provisional read of this individual Signal -- Initial Significance and Initial Confidence, computed deterministically before any Event extraction or human review.

A provisional, automatically computed reading of this individual Signal, before Event extraction or human review. Not a final rating.

Significance 1 · Low

Confidence 2 · Low

Initial Significance Low (14.0/100). Strongest contributor: Procurement Impact (6.0/30 points). Limiting factor: Geographic Breadth (0.0/10 points). Initial Confidence Low (39.0/100, data sufficiency: Partial). Strongest contributor: Source Authority (20.0/40 points). Limiting factor: Extraction Quality (3.0/15 points).

Strongest contributor: Procurement Impact
Limiting factor: Geographic Breadth

Possibly the same underlying story as UAE's real GDP reaches Dhs961.9 billion in first half of 2026 — flagged automatically, never merged automatically.

What the source reported

What ProcIntel recorded

Initial assessment ⓘMore about Initial Signal AssessmentProcIntel's automatic, provisional read of this individual Signal -- Initial Significance and Initial Confidence, computed deterministically before any Event extraction or human review.

Initial assessment ProcIntel's automatic, provisional read of this individual Signal -- Initial Significance and Initial Confidence, computed deterministically before any Event extraction or human review.