The economies of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) showed steady growth in 2024, with increasing oil production with increasing contributions from non-oil areas. The actual GDP rose 3.3% in the fourth quarter, supported by strong performance in manufacturing, trade and construction. It marks a continuous change away from oil dependence, reinforced by national reform programs and an increase in investment in non-hydrocarbon industries.
Real GDP – Increase despite the contraction of the oil field
In the conditions of continuous value, or in the actual GDP, the total production of six GCC countries rose 3.3% in Q4 2024, USD reached 456.3 billion as compared to USD 442.3 billion in 2023. Quarter-on-quarter, region’s economy increased by 1%, Q3 increased by USD 452.2 billion in 2024. The wholesale of this actual GDP came from non-oil areas, which was 70.6% of the total actual GDP in Q4. In contrast, oil -related activities contributed the remaining 29.4%. Given the whole year, the overall actual GDP increased by 2.4%in GCC. However, this is a remarkable deviation between areas:
- Non-oil GDP increased by 3.7%, which is inspired by strong growth in industry and services.
- Oil GDP declined by 0.9%, mainly due to a cut in voluntary production under OPEC+ Framework.
Country-wise, Qatar recorded a highest annual growth of 4.5%in the actual GDP, followed by UAE 3.6%and Saudi Arabia 2.8%. In Saudi Arabia, non-oil activities increased by 4.6%, while oil activities increased by 4.5%, indicating adequate changes in the country’s economic structure.
Nominal GDP – Growth Tempords from Market Prices
Nominal terms (ie, unknowingly for inflation), GCC GDP increased by 1.5% year-on-year, reaching USD 587.8 billion by the end of Q4 2024, above the USD 579 billion in Q4 2023. Unlike real GDP, nominal GDP reflects current market prices, and may be affected by inflation or deflation. While the overall growth was modest, the contribution of the non-oil sector to the nominal GDP was more than 77.9%, which shows a wide diversification trend in monetary terms. The remaining 22.1% came from oil activities, much less than their contribution. This inequality suggests that while the oil remains a large physical output driver, the price pressure and production curb has reduced its monetary weight in the economy.
Sector contribution – manufacturing and business leadership
Breaking close to nominal GDP shows the growing role of diverse non-oil industries:
- Manufacturing: 12.5%
- Wholesale and retail trade: 9.9%
- Construction: 8.3%
- Public Administration and Defense: 7.5%
- Finance and Insurance: 7%
- Real Estate Activities: 5.7%
- Other non-oil activities: 27%
These areas have underlined the non-oil expansion of GCC, each of which has consistently contributed to the national and regional outputs. In Saudi Arabia, in particular, the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP) contributed to SAR 986 billion (USD 262.8 billion) to non-oil gross domestic product, accounting for 39% of Saudi Arabia’s non-oil economic production. Non-oil activities now represent 55% of Saudi Arabia’s total GDP. This growth has been supported by government spending, which increased by 2.6% in Saudi Arabia during 2024, leading to speed in infrastructure, services and industry.
Improvement agenda and future approach
Changes in comprehensive economic flexibility from GCC’s oil-dependence are no longer policy ambition-this is rapidly reflected in comprehensive economic data. The increase in 2024 was operated by lined areas with national strategic reforms:
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Saudi Vision 2030 -
UAE Economic View -
Qatar National Vision 2030 - Oman Vision 2040
These schemes emphasize tourism, logistics, manufacturing, finance and digital infrastructure, supported by regulatory changes and significant public-private investment. The data of the year confirms that these structural changes are not only running, but also to give tangible economic diversification. Despite the failures from the instability of the oil market, the region is expanding into actual production, creating its industrial base, and rearving its sources of long -term development.
Real vs nominal GDP – simplified
To help the readers understand the two matrix used:
- The actual GDP adjusts to inflation, showing actual physical production growth or contraction. It is more useful to compare the economic performance over time.
- Using the monetary size of the nominal GDP economy, items and services using the monetary size of the economy have the total value, but the price change can be slanting.
In the case of GCC, the actual GDP growth (3.3%) defeated nominal GDP growth (1.5%), which suggests that while the area is producing more goods and services, the price impact (eg low oil prices) reduced the clear price increase.
