As one of the fastest-growing economies in the world in the early 2000s, the emirate’s GDP grew by 18% between 2006 and 2007 alone, according to the Dubai Statistics Centre. The biggest achievement during this period, however, was the successful diversification of the economy away from oil. While the government was the main driving force behind this...
A business-friendly environment and prime location have helped Dubai maintain a long-standing reputation a centre for trade. Building on a historical model that gave tax breaks to pearl traders, the emirate has attracted foreign investment by developing free zones that appeal to investors and businesses alike. Dubai’s free zones generally offer a...
Total government revenues for Dubai have quadrupled from Dh10bn ($2.7bn) in 2003 to an estimated Dh42bn ($11.4bn) in 2011, according to the IMF. The 2011 figures include an estimated Dh10bn ($2.7bn) in cash transfers from Abu Dhabi. Expenditures have been traditionally balanced to control the budget deficit, but the financial crisis in 2008 prompted...
Thanks in part to its role as a commercial centre, Dubai has long been a diverse place, host to dozens of languages and peoples from around the world. In recent years it has become even more so. Between 2006 and 2011, non-Emirati natural population growth – total natural births minus deaths – outpaced that of Emiratis, according to data from the...
The last decades of rapid economic growth in Dubai are a well-known phenomenon. Equally well known are the economic shocks the emirate witnessed in wake of the global financial crisis. The mood in Dubai, however, is swinging back towards a more guarded optimism as it regains its status among regional and international economies. Dubai is still...
The global financial crisis hit Dubai hard. Local government-backed investment companies were overextended and had taken on a high level of risk during the years of readily available capital from international banks, many of which had assumed the government would guarantee every deal. Exact figures vary, but estimates suggest that Dubai firms...
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