Officials and Credit Agencies Note Abu Dhabi's Record Quarterly GDP and License Growth

Abu Dhabi's real GDP hit AED 325.7 billion in Q3 2025, a 7.7 percent year-on-year increase that Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi recorded as the highest quarterly total on file. The non-oil economy added AED 175.6 billion in value during the same period, growing 7.6 percent and representing 54 percent of the total.

Rating Agencies Reaffirm Outlook

S&P Global kept Abu Dhabi's AA sovereign credit rating in place in May 2025, while Moody's and Fitch each maintained a stable outlook. These assessments followed nine months of 5 percent overall GDP growth and 6.8 percent non-oil expansion through September 2025, according to the same Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi releases.

The 2024 full-year GDP stood at AED 1.2 trillion, with non-oil sectors already supplying 54.7 percent of output. Officials at the Statistics Centre have linked the steady quarterly gains to utilities, construction and transport activity that together lifted the non-oil share.

License Data Show Investor Response

New economic licences rose 21 percent in Q1 2026, the Gulf News report on Statistics Centre figures stated. Active licences increased 12 percent over the same stretch, a direct measure of business formation tracked by the emirate's licensing authorities.

These licence gains build on the 18 consecutive quarters of expansion logged by the Statistics Centre through the end of 2025. The pattern indicates that diversification measures already embedded in the 2024 GDP split continue to draw formal registrations into non-oil fields.

Further licence and GDP releases scheduled for later quarters will allow officials to track whether the 7.7 percent Q3 pace holds. Investors and regulators can review the same Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi series and the May 2025 rating statements to assess ongoing momentum without waiting for new policy announcements.