Emirats Àrabs Units: Visió econòmica i política
The United Arab Emirates is among the world’s most dynamic markets in terms of foreign trade, with trade accounting for 168% of the GDP according to latest available data from World Bank. The country is one of the world's top 20 largest exporters and importers of commodities and the largest trading nation of the Middle East. Oil products are by far the largest item of exports (the country is the world’s 5th oil exporter), followed by radio-telephony transmission tools, gold, jewellery and diamonds. Petroleum oils and gold are also among major imports, along with radio-telephony transmission tools, jewellery, transport equipment (mostly cars), diamonds, machinery and foodstuffs. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the volume of trade dropped sharply in 2020, but recovered in 2021. According to IMF estimates, the volume of exports of goods and services increased by 2.2% compared to 2020, while the volume of imports increased by 1.1%. The IMF forecast a rebound in the volume of trade in 2022, with exports increasing by 4.5% and imports by 5.3%.
Saudi Arabia is the top destination of Emirati exports, followed by Iraq, India, Switzerland, Oman and China. China, the United States, India, Japan and Germany are among United Arab Emirates' main suppliers of goods and services. The recent UAE-Israel normalization deal, which comprises trade and technology cooperation and allows UAE oil to be sent directly to Europe via an Israeli pipeline, will positively impact trade. Bilateral trade between Israel and the UAE will reach USD 2 billion by 2022, up 50% from 2021, according to estimates by the UAE-Israel Business Council (Atalayar).
The United Arab Emirates has a structurally positive trade balance, but the surplus is closely linked to global oil prices. The UAE external balance on goods and services represented 26% of GDP in 2019 (World Bank). According to WTO data, in 2020 the UAE exported USD 319.3 billion worth of goods and USD 61.3 billion of services, importing USD 225.7 billion worth of goods and USD 58.2 billion worth services (Comtrade). Compared to 2018, exports of goods decreased by -2.9% in 2019, while imports increased by 3.6% (World Bank, latest data). Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, UAE’s non-oil foreign trade recorded a 27% growth in the first half of 2021 compared to the first half of 2020 (Emirates News Agency).
Foreign Trade Values | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
Imports of Goods (million USD) | 273,710 | 261,538 | 267,937 | 225,741 | 347,529 |
Exports of Goods (million USD) | 313,547 | 387,910 | 389,373 | 319,278 | 425,160 |
Imports of Services (million USD) | 70,581 | 71,014 | 86,862 | 58,162 | 76,106 |
Exports of Services (million USD) | 69,582 | 70,878 | 89,285 | 61,266 | 101,838 |
Source: World Trade Organisation (WTO) ; Latest available data
Foreign Trade Indicators | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
Foreign Trade (in % of GDP) | 170.9 | 172.8 | 157.9 | 167.4 | 166.6 |
Imports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) | 2.7 | 3.0 | 10.9 | -5.5 | -6.4 |
Exports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) | 3.4 | -2.5 | 11.5 | -1.3 | -7.0 |
Imports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) | 73.2 | 74.5 | 65.9 | 70.7 | 70.6 |
Exports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) | 97.7 | 98.3 | 92.0 | 96.7 | 95.9 |
Source: World Bank ; Latest available data
Foreign Trade Forecasts | 2022 | 2023 (e) | 2024 (e) | 2025 (e) | 2026 (e) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Volume of exports of goods and services (Annual % change) | 6.1 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 3.0 | 3.1 |
Volume of imports of goods and services (Annual % change) | 12.8 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 2.6 |
Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook ; Latest available data
Note: (e) Estimated Data
Main Customers (% of Exports) |
2021 |
Saudi Arabia | 6.2% |
India | 5.6% |
Iraq | 3.4% |
Hong Kong SAR, China | 2.5% |
Oman | 2.4% |
See More Countries | 79.9% |
Main Suppliers (% of Imports) |
2021 |
China | 14.9% |
India | 6.0% |
United States | 4.9% |
Japan | 3.1% |
Türkiye | 2.8% |
See More Countries | 68.4% |
Source: Comtrade, 2022. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.
Source: Comtrade, 2022. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.
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Actualitzacions: February 2023