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19 March 2024

Foreign trade accounts for 73% of Abu Dhabi GDP

The Statistical Yearbook of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi sheds light on a whole range of development indicators in Abu Dhabi. (FILE)

Published

The new issue of Abu Dhabi Statistical Yearbook shows that the emirate's economy had been growing remarkably in the course of the few years preceding 2009; the period which saw a marked drop in the GDP due to the decline in oil prices in the wake of the global financial crisis.

Despite the consequent drop in the Emirate's average per capita GDP in 2009, it remained one of the highest worldwide.
 
The 2009 GDP at current prices stood at Dh546.5bn, while fixed capital formation grew to Dh79.840bn, up from Dh72.673bn in 2008.
 
The Statistical Yearbook of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi – 2010 was released by Butti Ahmed Mohammed bin Butti Al Qubaisi, Director General of Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi (SCAD), on Tuesday at a news conference at the centre's premises.
 
 
FOREIGN TRADE
 
The yearbook reveals that foreign trade accounted for 73 per cent of the Emirate's GDP in 2008, reflecting the Emirate’s robust and highly developed level of commercial activity and economic significance of foreign trade through its exports and imports components.
 
The total value of commodity imports to Abu Dhabi in 2009 amounted to Dh93.9bn, the main imports being capital goods and industrial equipment, which accounted for 64.2 per cent  of imports. The top supplier was the US, from which the Emirate received imports worth Dh12.6bn.
 
Non-oil exports totaled Dh9.5bn, with key goods being plastics and basic metals, which constituted 65 per cent  of the total.
 
Re-exports in 2009 were valued at Dh8.7bn. The top category was machinery and equipment, which made up 50 per cent  of total re-exports.
 
PRICES
 
In regard to price statistics, the yearbook points to a decline in the inflation rate to 0.78 per cent compared to 14.88 per cent  in 2008, as evident from the slight rise in the in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from 114.9 (2007 = 100) in 2008 to 115.8 in 2009.
 
A downward trend was also exhibited by the Building Materials Price Index (BMPI) in 2009, which retreated 7.7 per cent  below its level in 2008, reflecting the net drop in the prices of the materials that make up the index basket.
 
FINANCIAL STATISTICS
 
Abu Dhabi Statistical Yearbook monitors the growing role of financial intermediation, setting forth the key indicators of this activity and including statistics from the Survey of Banks and Financial Establishments for 2007, in addition to the main performance indicators of the Abu Dhabi Securities Market.
 
The section also provides data financial establishments in the Emirate which reached 191 establishments in 2009. The percentage contribution of financial and insurance establishments to GDP in 2009 was 5.8 per cent .
 
In the securities market, the value of shares traded had been making steady gains prior to 2009, which saw the trend reverse. However, the market capitalization of the shares traded remained unaffected, reaching Dh294.6bn.
 
Moreover, the companies listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Market increased to 67 companies in 2009.
 
WAGES AND COMPENSATION
 
SCAD's Yearbook - 2010 also presents statistics on labour compensations. These include the salaries and wages of employees and their benefits in cash and in kind.
 
The compensation received by workers in all economic activities totalled Dh90.080bn in 2009, compared with Dh83.018bn in 2008 and Dh72.201bn in 2007.
 
Labour compensation in the construction sector was the highest compared with other economic activities, amounting to Dh12.078 and Dh14.817bn in 2007 and 2008, respectively, while "public administration and defense" was the activity within which employees received the largest share of labour compensations in 2009 (Dh15.952bn).
 
INDUSTRY AND BUSINESS
 
Prominent among the economic indicators of are Abu Dhabi's oil reserves, which stood at 92.2 billion barrels in 2009 and the Emirate’s total natural gas reserves for the estimate of which for the same year amounted to 212 trillion cubic feet. In 2008, average production of crude oil was 2.464 million barrels per day, while that of natural gas was 5,674 million cubic feet per day.
 
Electrical power generation grew 14 per cent  to 39189 GWH in 2009, up from 34452.1 GWH in 2008. However, per capita electricity consumption in 2009 actually fell to 14.73 MWH from 14.76 MWH in 2008.
 
In the tourism sector, the number of hotel establishments increased by 13 per cent  to 110 establishments in 2009. The year under review also saw the number of guests grow by about 2.5 per cent , the number of hotel rooms by 34 per cent . Occupancy rate was 72 per cent , while the average length of stay in 2009 was 2.8 nights.
 
In the transport sector, 668,830 new and renewed vehicle road permits were issued during 2009. Aircraft movements via the airports of Abu Dhabi and Al Ain reached 105,392 flights in 2009. The Emirate had 2898162 mobile phone lines.
 
INVESTMENT CLIMATE
 
One of the topics that SCAD's Yearbook touches on is the Emirate’s ideal investment climate as shown by the number of trade licenses issued, which grew 4.2 per cent  from 73,677 in 2008 to 76.943 in 2009.
 
MANUFACTURING
 
In the section dedicated for manufacturing, Abu Dhabi Statistical Yearbook shows that this activity made up 29.3 per cent  of the total output of industrial activity and accounted for 12.4 per cent  of the value added in 2009.
 
One of the Emirate’s key manufacturing activities is the basic metals industry, which is key to the development of the manufacturing activity, having accounted for 4.5 per cent  of value-added and 36.2 per cent  of gross fixed capital formation of manufacturing activity in 2009.
 
OIL AND GAS
 
The statistical yearbook reviews the remarkable progress the Emirate has made in the investment and development of its oil wealth and natural gas. It worth noting that oil revenues constitute the main source of funding for Abu Dhabi's programmes of sustainable development and income diversification. The value added of this activity contributes 60 per cent  of the Emirate’s GDP, leading the Government to adopt a plan aimed at diversifying the economic base and reducing this ratio to 36 per cent  by 2030. Such diversification is regarded as the only true guarantee of balanced and sustainable development.
 
This section presents statistics on oil and natural gas activities, including oil production and exports, in addition to data on gas liquefaction and oil refining.
 
PETROCHEMICALS
 
Abu Dhabi Yearbook - 2010 illustrate the notable development in the petrochemical industry of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi has been evolving constantly, benefiting from the availability of the basic inputs, which give this sector the opportunity to manufacture high-quality products and ensure market success. It provides data on the Emirate's basic petrochemical products, which include polyethylene and fertilisers, such as urea and ammonia.
 
ELECTRICITY AND WATER
 
According to Abu Dhabi Statistical Yearbook, there are now seven companies producing electrical power and desalinated water. The government fully owns two of them and has a 60 per cent  stake in the remaining five. Altogether, the companies operate 17 power and desalination plants. There are also four ADWEA affiliates dealing with water supplies and power transmission and distribution, all fully owned by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
 
CONSTRUCTION
 
This section of the Statistical Yearbook provides data on the major economic indicators of the construction activity, along with new tables and updated information on the building permits issued by the municipalities, with unified terminology used in the tables issued by all municipalities.
 
The number of building permits issued in 2009 for residential buildings was 6,662, marking an increase of 77 per cent  over the number issued in 2008. In addition, 5,961 non-residential building permits were issued in 2009. Some 20 per cent  of the licenses issued were for construction of new buildings, while 32 per cent  of the total licenses issued were for buildings' additions permits.
 
TRANSPORT
 
The statistics laid out in this section highlight the main features of the transport sector and include detailed data on licensed vehicles, traffic accidents, length of roads, air and maritime transport, in addition to data on mail and telecommunication services in 2009.
 
In 2009 the number of vehicles and heavy equipment in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi was 668,800 vehicles. The total length of the Emirate's highways in that year was 2099.5 km.
 
Aircraft movement through the emirate's two international airports (Abu Dhabi Airport and Al-Ain Airport) in 2009 was 105,392 flights, up 9.8 per cent  compared to 2008, while passenger traffic was 9.765 million passengers, marking a rise of 6.5 per cent  compared to 2008.
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
 
According to the data presented in this section, the number of internet users in the Emirate rose to 413,000 or 25 per cent  of the Emirate's total population in 2009, compared to only 12 per cent  in 2007.
 
Estimates show that subscribers to the broadband internet service and mobile phones in 2009 made up 12 per cent  and 176 per cent  of the population, respectively.
 
These figures stand as testimony to Abu Dhabi Government's endeavours to evolve into an excellent provider of quality services to nationals and residents through gradually adopting the concept of electronic government. Abu Dhabi ranks top within the Arab World and among the world's top 30 countries in terms of information and communication technologies (e-Maturity).
 
This section of the Statistical Yearbook sets out the key indicators in the Emirate's ICT sector.
 
HOTELS
 
The data presented in SCAD's Statistical Yearbook - 2010 show that the number of Abu Dhabi hotel establishments increased by 13 per cent  to 110 establishments in 2009 up from 97 hotel establishments in 2008. This was accompanied by a growth of 34 per cent  in the number of hotel rooms, while the number of guests reached 1540. This significant rise in the number and capacity of hotels reduced the occupancy rate from 83.6 per cent  in 2008 to 72.2 per cent  in 2009, even though the number of hotel guests rose by 2.5 per cent  in 2009.
 
POPULATION AND DEMOGRAPHY
 
Population estimates reveal that Abu Dhabi Emirate's population in mid-2009 was 1,643,344 people, of whom 1,068,759 are males and 1,130,516 live in urban areas. Population estimates for the regions of Abu Dhabi Emirate are: Abu Dhabi region 970,322. Al Ain region 530,299, the Western region 128,686 and Abu Dhabi Islands 14,037.
 
The 2009 population pyramid for Abu Dhabi nationals shows a broad-based age-sex structure, with an even decrease in population figures due to mortality effects of an aging population and the near absence of external migration among nationals from one age group to the next, up to the second last age group (75-79 years).
 
The age structure by broad age-groups shows that 40.2 per cent  of nationals are below the age of 15, 57.6 per cent  of them are aged 15-64 years and 2.2 per cent  are elderly (aged 65 years and above) Population This part of the Yearbook presents data on the size, distribution and structure of the population of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, as well as figures on births, deaths, marriages and divorce, in addition to arrivals and departures of individuals to and from the Emirate.
 
In 1975, the total population of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi was 211,812 people. This figure grew 6.6 times to reach 1,339,484 inhabitants according to the results of the December 2005 census. The Emirate's average annual population growth rate between the last two censuses (2001 and 2005) was 4.4 per cent . Based on this rate, the population of the Emirate in mid-2009 was estimated at about 1.643 million, of whom about 25 per cent  are Emirati nationals. About 47 per cent  of the Emirate's population resides in Abu Dhabi City.
 
BIRTH AND FERTILITY AND MORTALITY
 
The data given by SCAD's Yearbook - 2010 on this show that the 2009 crude birth rates for nationals, non-nationals and the total population are 33.1, 12.6 and 17.7 births per 1000 population respectively. The 2009 life expectancies at birth for nationals, non-nationals and the Emirate's total population are 75.5, 73.9 and 74.9 years respectively.
 
MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE STATISTICS
 
The number of registered marriages increased from 5,552 contracts in 2005 to 5,911 contracts in 2009, an overall increase of 6.47 per cent  over the (2005-2009) period or an average annual increase of 1.62 per cent . On the other hand the number of registered divorces declined by 1.4 per cent  from 1,804 cases in 2005 to 1,779 cases in 2009, whereas the corresponding decline in the Crude Divorce Rate (CDR) was much larger (17.6 per cent ) Social Development Abu Dhabi Statistical Yearbook - 2010 explores the Emirate's remarkable achievements in the various spheres of social development, such as education, health and social welfare. The Government of Abu Dhabi has spared no effort in providing high quality education facilities, health and social welfare services. This has been reflected in significant increases in the number of pupils and students enrolled in the Emirate's schools and universities. In addition, preventive and therapeutic health and medical services as well as health insurance coverage in the Emirate have reached levels comparable to highly developed societies.
 
EDUCATION
 
Abu Dhabi Statistical Yearbook - 2010 provides detailed educational statistics for the academic year 2008 / 2009, in which the number of schools in the Emirate was 481 (301 government and 180 private), comprising 12,446 classrooms, with 278,764 pupils, 20,275 teachers and 4,989 administrators. The number of pupils per teacher was 13.7 and the number of pupils per classroom was 22.4.
 
The Emirate of Abu Dhabi is home to nine universities in addition to 16 other institutions of higher learning.
 
The academic year 2007/2008 witnessed the graduation from higher education of 5,987 students, of whom 1457 students graduated from the private universities and institutions. The number of students studying abroad on scholarships was 823, of whom 173 students graduated the same academic year.
 
EDUCATION INFRASTRUCTURE
 
During the academic year 2008/2009 the number of schools in the Emirate was 481, of which 51 were kindergartens, 77 cycle 1 schools, 61 cycle 2 schools, 44 secondary schools, and 248 multi-stage schools. The number of Government schools was 301, of which 44 were kindergartens, 77 cycle 1 schools, 61 cycle 2 schools, 44 secondary schools, and 75 multi-stage schools. The total number of private schools was 180, of which 7 were kindergartens and 173 multi-stage schools. During the same academic year (2008/2009) there were nine universities, of which two belong to government and seven are private. Of the 16 additional higher education colleges and institutes three are government institutions while 13 belong to the private sector.
 
EDUCATIONAL ENROLLMENT
 
The Statistical Yearbook data shows that the number of pupils enrolled in all educational stages up to the secondary level for the school year 2008/2009 was 278,764, of whom 137,260 were female and 141,504 male (a 0.97 female/male ratio). The female/male ratio is highest in the secondary stage for both government and private education combined (1.07) and for government education (1.03). This can be attributed to males withdrawing from the educational system and looking for jobs or joining the labour market earlier than females.
 
HEALTH
 
Abu Dhabi Statistical Yearbook - 2010 points out the impressive strides achieved in Abu Dhabi Health services in terms of quality and expansion. . This is evident from the significant rise in the number of hospitals and health clinics in the Emirate in 2009 to reach 39 and 207 respectively.
 
The year 2009 data also reveal an increase in the number of health professionals and resources. In this regard, the number of nurses grew to 8,142 and the number of hospital beds reached 3,621. The number of physicians/1000 population, the number of nurses/1000 population and the number of beds/1000 population are 2.6, 5.0 and 2.2 respectively.
 
Health insurance receives particular attention in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, which led to an increase in the number of insurance companies and initiatives. This in turn favoured the increased provision of medical treatment in general, with the number of encounters (inpatient/outpatient) reaching 11,468,080 in 2009 compared to 9,178,046 in 2007. The number of patients admitted to Government hospitals in 2009 was 105,100. The number of persons insured decreased by around 0.4 percentage points between 2008 and 2009.
 
SOCIAL WELFARE
 
According to the social welfare statistics set out in Abu Dhabi Statistical Yearbook - 2010, the value of social assistance provided to nationals in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi reached Dh619.345m, with 128,321 beneficiaries in 2009. In December 2009 alone, Dh51.723m of social assistance was distributed to 10,861 beneficiaries.
 
The largest proportion of beneficiaries among nationals was the elderly, with 3,077 cases receiving social aid amounting to Dh15.596m during December 2009.
 
CULTURE AND HERITAGE
 
The Statistical Yearbooks section on culture and heritage notes that the number of museums in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi rose to three, namely, Al-Ain National Museum, Al- Ain Palace Museum and the new Dalma Museum. The number of lectures organized by the Cultural Foundation increased from 51 in 2008 to 62 in 2009.
 
The number of visitors to the National Library rose from 123,772 in 2008 to 132,859 in 2009, and the number of borrowers increased from 19,600 to 22,332 during the same period. The number of books available at the National Library increased from 343,909 in 2008 to 363,713 in 2009. The number of visitors to the Zoo, Museums and Public Parks retreated from 3,703,161 in 2008 to 3,148,631 in 2009. In 2009 there were 110 printing press facilities, 206 book stores, 180 publishers and distributors, 83 newspapers and magazines, 328 advertisers, and 17 cinemas. The number of programmes broadcast from Abu Dhabi Radio Station was 43, of which 39 were produced locally and four abroad.
 
LABOUR FORCE
 
According to the results of the population censuses taken in 1985 and 2005, the size of the labour force grew from 297,406 in 1985 to 815,311 in 2005 SCAD's mid-2008 estimate in this regard reveals the size of the labour force to be 919,298 people (aged 15 years and over) of whom around 10.5 per cent  are nationals and 15.9 per cent  are female.
 
UNEMPLOYMENT
 
Unemployment estimates show that the unemployed population increased from 28,573 people in 2005 to 29,881 in 2008, 33.6 per cent  of whom were nationals and 27.3 per cent  were females. The largest portion of the unemployed (24.5 per cent ) is in the age group 20-24 years. This finding applies to nationals and non-nationals, males and females alike.
 
EMPLOYMENT BY ECONOMIC ACTIVITY
 
The 2008 distribution of employed people by economic activity shows that construction was the economic activity that accounted for largest proportion of the employed population (19.9 per cent ), followed by public administration and defence (13 per cent ), agriculture, hunting and forestry (11.3 per cent ) and other economic activities in smaller percentages. This general pattern is very similar to that of non-nationals, while the corresponding pattern for nationals is somewhat different, with six out of every ten employed nationals working within the "public adminstration and defence" activity.
 
AGRICULTURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT
 
The statistical yearbook just released, which draws on agricultural and environmental data supplied by Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority and Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi, concedes that the agricultural sector is confronted with daunting challenges such as the scarcity of water, high soil salinity, elevated temperatures and high humidity. Thanks to sound agricultural policies and planning, however, the sector is able to overcome these difficulties and proves beneficial, not only in terms of the sector's output and its contribution to the economy, but in other ways as well, such as improving air quality, since the vegetation reduces airborne particulate matter by 40-80 per cent  and absorbs up to 70 per cent  of the toxic gases polluting the air, such as carbon monoxide (CO) and sulphur dioxide (SO2) as confirmed by relevant studies.
 
In 2009, the average minimum temperature in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi was 22.6 C, while average maximum temperature was 33.7 C. Average annual rainfall rose 8.5 mm to 81.8 mm but no significant changes were observed in regard to average relative humidity and atmospheric pressure. Relative humidity ranged between a minimum of 33 per cent  and a maximum of 79.8 per cent , while atmospheric pressure hovered around 1009.5 hectopascal.
 
Air quality indicators remained generally within the normal range, although reading vary according to the site of the monitoring station.
 
About 4,892 million tons of the Emirate's solid waste was transferred to designated disposal sites in 2008. Some 96 per cent  of the collected waste was disposed of at landfills. The Emirate of Abu Dhabi as a whole generated more than 13,000 tons of waste per day, i.e. about 5 million tons annually.
 
AGRICULTURE AND LIVESTOCK
 
The statistics presented in this section of the yearbook include data on the number and area of farms and indicators of the area under crops and the quantities and values of agricultural yield. In 2009, there were 24,097 agricultural holdings in the Emirate, with a total area of 737,957 donums. About 89 per cent  of area was put to various kinds of agricultural land use. The sheep and goats inventory in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi totaled about 2.3 million head. The bulk is concentrated in Al-Ain area, where 63 per cent  of the sheep and goats are raised. The camel inventory totaled 378,000 head, 54 per cent  of which are in Al-Ain region. Cattle farms are more or less evenly spread over the Emirate's three regions.
 
ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES
 
The data presented in this section of the yearbook, which uses data provided by the National Center for Meteorology and Seismology, show that average minimum temperature in 2009 was 22.6 degrees celsius while the average maximum temperature was 33.7 degrees celsius. Average yearly rainfall increased from 46 mm in 2008 to 81,8 mm in 2009. Average minimum relative humidity was 33 per cent  while average maximum relative humidity was 79.8 per cent . Average atmospheric pressure was 1009.5 hectopascal and the daily average solar radiation exceeded 7,000 Watt /m?/h in some regions.
 
The book also includes important statistics on diverse environmental issues, such as waste management, air quality, water consumption, wastewater treatment and food safety.