Dubai's economy expands by 4.4% in first half of 2025

Dubai's economy expanded by 4.4 per cent in the first half of 2025 as the push for diversification accelerated the pace of growth during the second quarter of this year.

The emirate's total gross domestic product (GDP) in the six months to the end of June reached Dh241 billion ($65.6 billion), with second quarter growth surging by 4.7 per cent annually to Dh122 billion, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence said in a post on X on Sunday.

Dubai continues to advance a future-focused model of innovation, diversification, and global competitiveness,” Sheikh Hamdan said.

“These results reflect the combined efforts of the public and private sectors and the dedication of Dubai’s wider team,” he added, bringing the emirate “closer to achieving the goals of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33".

Dubai aims to double the size of its economy to Dh32 trillion over the next decade and establish the emirate among the top three global cities as part of its D33 strategy, launched in 2023.

The plan aims to support 30 private companies in their push to become unicorns – start-ups valued at more than $1 billion.

The D33 agenda also aims to raise the contribution of foreign direct investment to Dubai’s economy from an average of Dh32 billion annually in the past decade, to an average of Dh60 billion annually in the next decade to reach a total of Dh650 billion over the next 10 years.

Dubai's tourism and property sector continues to grow, supporting the emirate's economy, with the number of tourists and property deals rising this year.

Dubai hosted 12.54 million international overnight visitors in the first eight months of 2025 − up 5 per cent year on year, according to the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET).

Dubai Airport, the world's busiest hub by international passenger traffic, expects to handle 95.3 million travellers this year and to cross the 100 million mark within 18 months, it said last month.

“Growth across all sectors is the fruit of reforms made a couple of years ago on long-term residency visas and migration from international jurisdictions with ever higher taxes,” Hasnain Malik, head of emerging and frontier market investment strategy at Tellimer, told The National.

The property sector is also performing strongly in the emirate amid government initiatives such as the expansion of the 10-year golden visa programme and robust economic growth.

In the first half of 2025, the volume and value of all real estate transactions in Dubai rose sharply, as more than 59,000 investors joined the market, the Dubai Media Office said in July, citing Dubai Land Department data.

The number of transactions reached 125,538, up nearly 26 percent on an annual basis, while the value of these transactions rose about 25 percent to about Dh431 billion, DLD data showed.

“Dubai’s growth is driven by all of its largest sectors: tourism, logistics, construction, finance, and health care,” Mr. Malik said. “The main risk from this point is maintaining a competitive cost of living, given the increase in real estate prices."

Dubai continues to grow in all sectors

The human health and social work activities sector achieved the highest growth rate in both the second quarter and the first half, expanding 20 percent in the first half to reach Dh3.3 billion, contributing 1.4 percent to total GDP.

The construction sector also maintained strong growth, with a total value of Dh16 billion, contributing 6.7 percent to GDP and recording 8.5 percent growth year on year in the first half.

The real estate sector expanded 6.4 percent in the second quarter, contributing 8.9 percent to GDP with a total value of Dh10.8 billion.

Over the first half of the year, it grew 7 percent annually, contributing 8.2 percent to GDP, with a total value added of Dh19.8 billion amid higher real estate sales.

The financial and insurance sector recorded 7.7 percent annual growth in the second quarter, reaching Dh14.2 billion, with a contribution of 11.6 percent to Dubai's economy, the latest statistics show.

For the first half, the sector achieved 6.7 per cent growth, contributing 12.5 per cent to Dubai's GDP, with a total value of Dh30.2 billion.

The information and communications sector also expanded during the period, with 7.4 percent growth in the second quarter, reaching Dh5.5 billion and contributing 4.5 percent to GDP.

In the first half, it expanded 5.3 percent, with a total value of Dh10.2 billion and contributing 4.5 percent to Dubai's GDP.

It grew by 4.9 percent in the first half, contributing 3.6 percent to GDP, with a total value of Dh8.7 billion, which “aligns with an increase in the number of international visitors, which reached 9.88 million in the first half of 2025, up 6 percent compared to the same period last year,” according to the media office statement.

“Dubai’s economy continues to demonstrate competitiveness, resilience, and agility across its bellwether sectors and new and high-growth horizons, consistently attracting investors, entrepreneurs, and talent from around the world, while also developing homegrown capabilities and becoming a launchpad for global expansion,” DET Director General Helal Almarri said.

“As we look ahead, we remain focused on building a future-ready, knowledge-driven economy that sustains momentum and also yields further opportunities for investment and innovation.”