UAE ranks seventh globally in per capita national income

The figure in the Emirates jumped to $87,729 based on purchasing power parity in July last year, Wam reports

There was an unprecedented growth in the UAE's non-oil foreign trade last year. Victor Besa / The National

The UAE is ranked seventh in the world in terms of per capita national income, the state news agency Wam reported, quoting World Bank data.

The per capita income in the Emirates, based on purchasing power parity (PPP) in current international dollars, jumped to $87,729 in July last year, an increase of $10,781 from 2021.

An international dollar would buy a country a comparable amount of goods and services that a US dollar would buy in the US, according to the World Bank definition.

This term is often used in conjunction with the PPP data.

The UAE's economy has recovered sharply from the Covid-induced slowdown on the back of higher oil prices and measures to mitigate the effects of the pandemic.

The government has adopted measures that have enhanced the resilience of its economy, despite global economic challenges such as volatile commodity prices, inflation, uncertainty with monetary policies, and supply chain disruptions, Abdulla bin Touq, the Minister of Economy, said in March.

Measures include the granting of 100 per cent foreign ownership, legislation to protect intellectual property and the launch of a strategy to attract talent and skills to enhance the country's position as a permanent centre for creativity and innovation.

The World Bank divides the world’s economies into four income groups – low income (less than $1,135); lower-middle income ($1,136 to $4,465); upper-middle income ($4,466 to $13,845); and high income ($13,845 or more).

The classifications are updated each year on July 1, based on the gross national income (GNI) per capita of the previous calendar year.

The GNI is expressed in US dollars under the World Bank's Atlas method, which was introduced in 1989.

The UAE is placed in the high-income economies category based on the Atlas method that smooths exchange rate fluctuations by using a three-year moving average, price-adjusted conversion factor.

In 1987, 30 per cent of reporting countries were classified as low income, while in 2022 only 12 per cent fell into this category, World Bank report said.

The per capita national income in the UAE, in current US dollars, increased to $48,950 last year from $43,460 in 2021, according to the Atlas method. It passed the pre-Covid level of $46,210.

The country's gross domestic product reached Dh1.62 trillion ($442 billion) at constant prices last year, up 7.9 per cent annually, supported by its non-oil sector as the country continues with its economic diversification strategy.

GDP stood at Dh1.86 trillion at current prices, representing annual growth of 22.1 per cent, state news agency Wam reported last month, quoting preliminary estimates from the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre.

There was also unprecedented growth in the country’s non-oil foreign trade as it crossed the Dh2.2 trillion mark for the first time last year, with an annual growth of 17 per cent.

It came as the Arab world’s second-largest economy accelerated efforts to reduce its dependence on hydrocarbons and boosts economic partnerships globally.

Last month, the UAE Central Bank also revised its forecast for the country's non-oil economic growth for 2023 to 4.5 per cent, from 4.2 per cent in March, amid a surge in travel and tourism.

After growing by 7.2 per cent in 2022, the non-oil sector is estimated to have grown at a slightly lower pace in the first quarter of this year, the banking regulator said in its Quarterly Economic Review.