The UAE economy solidified its position in 2025 as one of the world's fastest-growing economies, driven by the boom in non-oil sectors, quality foreign and local investments, and flexible economic legislation and incentives that support business growth, as well as the stability and security environment the country enjoys. Non-oil foreign trade grew by 24.5% in the first half of 2025, reaching 1.7 trillion dirhams, compared to the first half of 2024, which is 14 times the global rate. According to the UNCTAD 'World Investment Report 2025', the UAE ranked 10th globally in foreign direct investment inflows, valued at 167.6 billion dirhams. The International Monetary Fund, in turn, raised its growth forecast for the country's economy to 4.8% for 2025. Fitch, Moody's, and S&P Global agencies affirmed the country's sovereign rating, confirming the strength of economic performance and the sustainability of financial policies. Data from the Central Bank of the UAE revealed that total banking assets rose to 5.199 trillion dirhams at the end of September 2025, while total credit reached approximately 2.478 trillion dirhams for the same period. The bank launched the National Financial Inclusion Strategy 2026-2030, aimed at enhancing individuals' access to financial services and strengthening the financial stability system. The UAE's real GDP grew by 4.2%, amounting to 929 billion dirhams during the first half of 2025, compared to the same period in 2024. The non-oil GDP grew by 5.7%, amounting to 720 billion dirhams, with non-oil activities contributing 77.5% to the real GDP, while oil activities contributed 22.5% during the first half of 2025. The UAE approved the federal budget for the fiscal year 2026 at 92.4 billion dirhams, the largest compared to previous years. In the industrial sector, the country witnessed the signing of five memoranda of understanding between the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology and several national banks to provide financing solutions exceeding 40 billion dirhams to support the industrial sector. Meanwhile, the 'Make in the UAE' platform concluded its fourth cycle with a total of industrial projects exceeding 11 billion dirhams and a record attendance of over 122,000 visitors. The Cabinet, at the beginning of the year, approved the National Investment Strategy 2031, which aims to make the country a leading destination for investments and a strategic hub for capital flows. The strategy includes 12 national programs and 30 initiatives aimed at increasing foreign direct investment inflows from 112 billion dirhams in 2023 to 240 billion dirhams by 2031, and increasing the stock of foreign investment to over 2.2 trillion dirhams. The Council announced the establishment of the National Investment Fund with an initial capital of 36.7 billion dirhams, subject to increase and revision, to encourage attracting global investments to the UAE. It also approved the UAE Strategy for Islamic Finance and the Halal Industry, aimed at enhancing the country's position as a leading global center for Islamic finance. During 2025, the 'UAE Future Companies List' was launched, featuring 50 startups across 15 future economic sectors, and the national campaign 'UAE, Capital of World Entrepreneurs' was launched, aiming to train and incubate 10,000 entrepreneurs and provide thousands of economic opportunities in the coming years. The country registered more than 220,000 new companies from the beginning of the year until the end of November, in addition to registering more than 36,000 trademarks during the same period, a growth rate of 48.2% compared to the previous year. The UAE continued its steps to empower the digital economy by launching a package of initiatives, the most prominent of which is the 'Digital Academy' to train national cadres, the national platform for digital economy job opportunities in cooperation with LinkedIn, and an incentive program targeting empowering more than 100,000 startups by 2029, in addition to the 'Chief Digital Economy Officer' initiative. The UAE enhanced its position as a major gateway for international trade routes through expanding comprehensive economic partnerships with countries worldwide, and announcing the 'UAE, a Global Trade Center' program, which aims to attract the world's top 1000 companies in international trade, and launching a digital platform that links UAE exporting companies with global markets. The number of registered national and international trademarks in the country reached 402,311 by the end of September last year, while 19,957 national and international trademarks were registered in the first half of the current year, a growth rate of 129% compared to the first half of 2024.
