Dubai’s economy delivered a robust start to 2025, with quarterly growth of 4% and a total GDP value of Dhs119.7 billion in the first quarter. This expansion reflects a diversified mix of sector performances, underpinned by sustained activity across consumer-driven services, real estate, finance, and industrial production. The quarterly uptick comes after a year in which Dubai posted a sizable 5.8% growth during 2024, signaling that the emirate’s economic momentum remains resilient as it navigates global headwinds and leans into strategic development initiatives. The latest data, released by the government, confirms a broad-based recovery where several key industries added value and helped lift overall output. While some segments cooled modestly or softened, the collective performance clearly demonstrates a balanced growth engine rather than reliance on a single subsector. This emphasizes how government data, corporate investment, and policy measures converge to sustain momentum in a dynamic economy that is already known for its diversification and adaptability.
Dubai’s Q1 2025 GDP Growth: An Overview
Dubai’s Q1 2025 GDP grew 4% quarter over quarter, reaching a total output of Dhs119.7 billion. This figure marks another milestone in Dubai’s ongoing effort to maintain a diversified growth trajectory while continuing to attract capital, talent, and enterprise across multiple sectors. The growth pattern in the first quarter reveals a thoughtful combination of consumer demand, investment activity, and productivity improvements across industries. It also underscores the government’s success in cultivating an environment where both traditional strengths and emerging industries can contribute meaningfully to overall output.
The quarterly growth was driven by a mix of pronounced gains in health and social work activities, real estate, financial and insurance activities, and other services that collectively anchor Dubai’s robust expansion. In particular, human health and social work activities surged by a remarkable 26% to reach Dhs1.9 billion, underscoring the pivotal role of health-related services in the broader economy. Real estate rose by 7.8% to Dhs9 billion, reflecting ongoing demand in housing, commercial spaces, and property-related services that support the city’s urban development strategy. The financial and insurance sector expanded by 5.9% to Dhs16 billion, signaling sustained capital market activity, financial intermediation, and risk management services that are central to investor confidence.
Other notable contributors included accommodation and food services, which grew by 3.4% to Dhs4.9 billion, reflecting the continued recovery of tourism, hospitality, and dining demand. Transport and storage rose by 2% to Dhs15.7 billion, highlighting Dubai’s critical role as a global logistics hub and a nexus for cross-border trade. Wholesale and retail trade expanded by 4.5% to Dhs27.5 billion, demonstrating resilient consumer activity and the importance of a well-functioning distribution network for goods and services. Manufacturing increased by 3.3% to Dhs8.7 billion, indicating steady industrial output and the contribution of manufacturing to the emirate’s value chain. Information and communications grew by 3.2% to Dhs5.3 billion, illustrating ongoing investments in digital infrastructure, services, and technology-driven enterprises that support the knowledge economy.
Collectively, these sectoral performances fed into Dubai’s broad growth momentum, reinforcing the city’s reputation for a diversified economy that is better equipped to weather global volatility than an economy reliant on a narrow set of industries. This broad uptrend follows Dubai’s 2024 expansion trajectory, where a 5.8% year-over-year expansion demonstrated the economy’s capacity to sustain momentum across cycles. The Q1 2025 results align with the vision of a forward-looking economy that emphasizes innovation, service sector strength, and real asset development while maintaining a strong emphasis on trade, tourism, and international business activity. The data thus serve as a reliable basis for policymakers and business leaders to calibrate strategy, allocate resources, and chart forward-looking plans that are resilient to external swings.
Younus Al Nasser, the chief executive of the Dubai Data & Statistics Establishment, commented that the results provide a reliable basis for policymaking and business decisions. He emphasized that the Q1 2025 outcomes reflect Dubai’s ongoing economic progress, enabling policymakers, researchers, and businesses to make well-informed decisions. This reflects a broader theme in which data-driven governance supports evidence-based planning, policy refinement, and performance monitoring for sectors that face rapid evolution, whether from technological change, demographic shifts, or global trade dynamics. The message is clear: timely data empower strategic choices that strengthen Dubai’s competitive positioning and guide investment decisions across the public and private sectors.
Hadi Badri, CEO of the Dubai Economic Development Corporation (DEDC), highlighted Dubai’s enduring appeal to investors and entrepreneurs. He stressed that public-private collaboration and strategic initiatives are essential drivers of sustained economic performance. In his view, the emirate’s ability to mobilize broad-based collaboration helps maintain growth at a level that supports employment, innovation, and competitiveness. He also noted that Dubai’s performance through 2024 and into the first quarter of 2025 reflects a consistent momentum towards achieving the goals of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33, underscoring the alignment between macroeconomic results and the strategic long-term plan for a diversified, knowledge-driven, and globally integrated economy.
At a glance: Dubai GDP growth and key sector performance
- Human Health and Social Work: GDP around Dhs1.9 billion, with a growth rate of 26%, contributing to the economy in ways that reflect resilient health services and social support activities, alongside a meaningful contribution to overall growth.
- Real Estate: GDP around Dhs9.0 billion, growth at 7.8%, with substantial effect on economic expansion and a notable contribution to growth.
- Financial and Insurance: GDP around Dhs16.0 billion, growth at 5.9%, representing a major engine for capital formation, financial intermediation, and risk management.
- Accommodation and Food Services: GDP around Dhs4.9 billion, growth at 3.4%, highlighting tourism and hospitality as a steady, recovering pillar.
- Information and Communications: GDP around Dhs5.3 billion, growth at 3.2%, reflecting ongoing investment in digital infrastructure and technology-enabled services.
- Wholesale and Retail Trade: GDP around Dhs27.5 billion, growth at 4.5%, a critical channel for consumer activity and trade logistics with a strong contribution to growth.
- Manufacturing: GDP around Dhs8.7 billion, growth at 3.3%, underscoring steady industrial output and manufacturing value chains.
- Transport and Storage: GDP around Dhs15.7 billion, growth at 2%, recognizing Dubai’s role as a global logistics hub with efficient supply chains.
- Other Activities: Slight contraction noted at -1.9%, which still integrated into the overall growth narrative as part of the economy’s broader mix.
This structured view reveals a resilient, multi-channeled growth engine where consumer services, real estate, finance, and logistics form a cohesive backbone. It also illustrates how the economy benefits from a broad spectrum of activities that are interconnected—real estate supports construction, finance underpins investment, and logistics fuels both trade and tourism. The systemic strength evident in the first quarter of 2025 positions Dubai to maintain momentum into the rest of the year, provided that policy consistency and market confidence persist. The interplay among sectors is a core feature of Dubai’s economic model, which seeks to balance capital-intensive projects with service-led growth to sustain long-term development.
Sector-by-Sector Performance in Q1 2025
Human Health and Social Work
The health and social work sector showed remarkable vigor, reporting a 26% year-over-year surge to Dhs1.9 billion, with a central role in the quarter’s growth story. This leap underscores the emirate’s commitment to expanding health services, social welfare, and related support activities—an area that benefits from both public investment and private involvement. The growth in this sector is not merely about medical service delivery; it is also tied to broader social programs, aging populations, and the increasing sophistication of health ecosystems that include diagnostic services, rehabilitative care, and community health initiatives. The elevated activity in health services supports employment, stimulates ancillary services, and reinforces Dubai’s reputation as a hub for medical tourism and advanced healthcare provision.
Beyond the direct figures, the health and social work sector’s expansion signals policy alignment with long-term welfare and resilience objectives. It contributes to the broader social infrastructure that underpins human capital development and quality of life, both of which are essential for sustaining a competitive economy. In the context of Dubai’s growth strategy, this sector’s performance reinforces confidence that the economy can balance high-value services with the urgency of public health and social needs. For policymakers, the health sector’s strength highlights areas where continued investment, digital health innovations, and partnerships with private providers can yield high returns in the form of improved outcomes and productivity gains across the economy.
Real Estate
Real estate advanced 7.8% to Dhs9.0 billion, confirming ongoing demand in both residential and commercial markets and signaling the sustainable importance of property markets to Dubai’s growth trajectory. The real estate sector sits at the core of urban development, investment climate, and the construction value chain. Its growth reflects not only property transactions but also the associated activities that support a healthy real estate ecosystem, including property management, maintenance services, valuation and brokerage, and urban planning services. The buoyancy in real estate also has multiplier effects on related sectors, such as professional services, finance, and construction materials manufacturing, thereby reinforcing overall economic momentum.
From a strategic viewpoint, real estate performance aligns with Dubai’s long-term development narrative, which emphasizes smart city initiatives, sustainable housing, and a robust supply of commercial space to accommodate an expanding knowledge economy and diversified business operations. This sector’s strength aids in sustaining demand for construction activity, which in turn fosters employment and ancillary services across the supply chain. For investors, the real estate trend offers signals about asset allocation, rental yields, and long-horizon development opportunities, while for policymakers it underscores the need to manage supply effectively, ensure affordability, and maintain a transparent, well-regulated housing market to support inclusive growth.
Financial and Insurance Activities
Financial and insurance activities rose 5.9% to Dhs16.0 billion, underscoring the sector’s pivotal position as a financial hub and risk-management center. This expansion indicates continued growth in financial intermediation, banking services, capital markets, asset management, and insurance-related activities. The financial sector’s strength is critical for mobilizing capital for investment in infrastructure, technology, and business expansion, all of which fuel broader economic activity. The insurance segment’s performance contributes to risk transfer mechanisms and stability, strengthening confidence among lenders, borrowers, and entrepreneurs.
A healthy financial and insurance landscape supports a dynamic business environment, enabling smoother access to credit, better risk assessment, and improved financial inclusion. It also reflects Dubai’s status as a global financial center where capital flows, regulatory oversight, and innovative financial products converge. For policymakers and industry leaders, the takeaway is clear: sustaining prudent regulation, fostering fintech innovation, and maintaining a transparent policy environment will help preserve the sector’s capacity to fund growth across other pillars of the economy.
Accommodation and Food Services
The accommodation and food services sector grew 3.4% to Dhs4.9 billion, illustrating the ongoing revival of tourism and hospitality as Dubai’s economy leverages its status as a global destination. This subsector is inherently linked to travel demand, visitor arrivals, convention activity, and the broader hospitality ecosystem, including restaurants, cafes, entertainment venues, and related services. The measured growth reflects resilience in tourism, a key driver of job creation and consumer spending, as well as the sector’s integral role in shaping Dubai’s brand as a visitor-friendly city.
Tourism-related activity provides spillover effects across retail, entertainment, events, and transportation, reinforcing the importance of a well-integrated tourist experience. For industry stakeholders, the moderating growth rate suggests a sustainable recovery rather than an overextended surge, allowing operators to optimize pricing, capacity, and service quality. Policymakers can leverage this momentum by continuing to promote tourism diversification, improve visitor experiences, and invest in security, infrastructure, and hospitality training to maintain a competitive edge.
Information and Communications
Information and communications grew by 3.2% to Dhs5.3 billion, reflecting ongoing investments in digital infrastructure, telecommunications, software services, and IT-enabled business solutions. This sector’s growth signals the city’s commitment to building a knowledge-based economy, with technology-enabled services driving productivity across other sectors and enabling new business models. The information and communications sector supports innovation ecosystems, data-driven decision making, and improved connectivity that enhances both public services and private sector performance.
The expansion in ICT also complements Dubai’s broader strategic goals, including digital governance, smart city initiatives, and digital trade infrastructure. The sustained emphasis on digital industries helps attract tech firms and startups, contributing to employment, research and development, and high-value service offerings. For businesses, this sector’s trajectory highlights opportunities in software development, cybersecurity, cloud services, e-commerce platforms, and digital marketing—areas that synergize with the rest of the economy’s growth engine.
Wholesale and Retail Trade
Wholesale and retail trade advanced by 4.5% to Dhs27.5 billion, underscoring resilient consumer demand and efficient distribution channels. This sector serves as a key intermediary between producers and consumers, enabling a steady flow of goods and services across markets. The growth in wholesale and retail reflects not only household consumption but also the efficiency of supply chains, inventory management, and the availability of a broad product mix in a competitive retail environment. The sector’s performance also speaks to Dubai’s status as a regional trade hub, where cross-border commerce and logistics capabilities support commerce on a large scale.
As a barometer of consumer confidence and market activity, wholesale and retail trade signals a healthy domestic demand side and a strong role for retail networks, e-commerce platforms, and wholesale distributors. For policymakers, sustained growth in this sector indicates successful retail policies, fair competition, and the maintenance of a vibrant consumer market. Businesses can leverage this trend by optimizing supply chains, pricing strategies, and customer experiences to capitalize on demand patterns and seasonal cycles that typically characterize the sector.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing rose 3.3% to Dhs8.7 billion, revealing steady industrial output and continued strength in Dubai’s manufacturing value chain. The sector’s performance reflects a combination of traditional manufacturing activities, electronics, machinery, consumer goods, and other industrial products that support both domestic demand and export-oriented activity. Manufacturing growth contributes to job creation, the development of local supplier ecosystems, and the integration of advanced manufacturing practices, all of which feed into the broader innovation and productivity narrative that Dubai pursues.
A stable manufacturing sector adds resilience to the economy by balancing services-led growth with tangible goods production. It also aligns with the city’s goals to diversify beyond service-based activities, supporting industrial policy, logistics, and export-oriented sectors. The 3.3% growth rate suggests a measured expansion that remains compatible with quality control, investment in automation, and workforce training that bolster long-term competitiveness.
Transport and Storage
Transport and storage increased 2% to Dhs15.7 billion, highlighting Dubai’s role as a global logistics hub and a critical node in international trade networks. The growth in this sector is closely tied to supply chain efficiency, port and airport operations, freight forwarding, warehousing, and related logistics services. Dubai’s geographic position and infrastructure investments contribute to sustained demand for transport and storage capacity, underscoring the importance of efficient logistics to the city’s economic strategy and to the broader regional economy.
As trade flows remain robust, the transport and storage sector supports manufacturing, wholesale distribution, and tourism by enabling timely delivery of goods, seamless traveler movement, and the relocation of merchandise across markets. This sector’s performance is essential to maintaining Dubai’s competitive edge in logistics, supply chain management, and transnational commerce, thereby reinforcing the city’s status as a preferred base for multinational operations, regional headquarters, and global supply networks.
Other Activities
Other activities posted a contraction of 1.9%, reflecting industry-wide adjustments that often accompany quarterly data, as some components can experience temporary softness or rebalancing dynamics. While a negative figure in this category warrants attention, it does not derail the overall growth story given the breadth of positive performers across the economy. This sector’s reading highlights the importance of monitoring cross-cutting trends, ensuring that weaker elements do not undermine the strength of more resilient subsectors, and maintaining policy focus on structural improvements that support broad-based growth.
Consolidated Insights
The sector-by-sector analysis reveals a diversified engine in which services, real estate, finance, and trade-linked activities provide the bulk of momentum. The health sector’s explosive growth, real estate’s solid expansion, and the steady performances in finance, tourism-related services, wholesale and retail, ICT, manufacturing, and logistics together form a cohesive growth fabric. The only notable deviation comes from the “Other activities” category, which contracted, signaling the need to keep monitoring and adjusting as the economy evolves. The combined effect is a Dubai economy that remains well-positioned to navigate volatility, maintain employment, and sustain investment across multiple channels.
The broader takeaway for investors and business leaders is that Dubai’s first-quarter performance demonstrates resilience through a multi-paceted growth model. Public-private collaboration and targeted policy measures play a central role in sustaining momentum, as indicated by the leadership’s focus on the Dubai Economic Agenda D33. The results reinforce a positive outlook for continuity in development projects, infrastructure upgrades, and the expansion of high-value service sectors that contribute to long-term competitiveness. For policymakers, the data highlight the importance of maintaining a balanced portfolio of incentives, regulatory clarity, and investment-friendly conditions that support both established and emerging sectors. For businesses, the message is to pursue strategic investments, capitalize on cross-sector synergies, and leverage Dubai’s integrated market ecosystem to drive growth, scale, and innovation in a rapidly evolving environment.
Policy, Investment Climate, and Long-Term Outlook
Dubai’s Q1 2025 performance reaffirms the city’s strategic policy direction that emphasizes diversification, innovation, and collaboration across public and private actors. The growth in health services, real estate, finance, and the service economy aligns with continuous public investment in critical infrastructure, smart-city initiatives, and a robust regulatory framework that supports business confidence. This backdrop provides a fertile ground for investment in technology, healthcare, logistics, and asset-intensive sectors, while maintaining a climate of regulatory certainty and market openness that attracts global capital.
Leaders emphasize that the results offer a solid evidence base for policymaking and decision-making by researchers, policymakers, and business executives. They point to Dubai’s ongoing momentum toward achieving the goals of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33, a comprehensive plan that seeks to transform the emirate into a diversified, knowledge-driven, and globally integrated economy. The D33 framework places emphasis on strategic initiatives across sectors, with a focus on productivity, competitiveness, and the creation of an enabling environment for innovation and sustainable growth. The Q1 data reinforces confidence in the ability of the policy machine to translate macroeconomic performance into concrete development outcomes, including job creation, investment attraction, and the expansion of high-value sectors.
Investors and entrepreneurs continue to find Dubai attractive due to its stable yet dynamic business climate, the breadth of opportunities across sectors, and the city’s ability to sustain growth trajectories even in periods of global uncertainty. Public-private collaboration remains a central pillar, with sectoral development plans, infrastructure enhancements, and regulatory reforms designed to lower barriers to entry, streamline processes, and accelerate project delivery. This collaborative approach is essential for translating the data into tangible outcomes—new ventures, expanded capacity, and increased international engagement.
The tourism, real estate, and financial services sectors collectively benefit from an environment that is conducive to investment, including policy predictability, investor protections, and robust dispute resolution mechanisms. The emphasis on diversification reduces exposure to sector-specific shocks, reinforcing Dubai’s resilience to external shocks and market cycles. The data thus serve not only as a snapshot of current performance but also as a signal of sustained momentum that policymakers can harness to push forward reforms and investments that maximize the emirate’s long-term growth potential.
In the broader regional and global context, Dubai’s Q1 2025 results reinforce the city’s role as a regional powerhouse capable of guiding development through strategic planning and adaptive governance. The emphasis on data-driven decision-making, coupled with the ongoing rollout of large-scale infrastructure and technology initiatives, positions Dubai to capitalize on global trade dynamics, digitalization, and the evolving needs of international business. For companies seeking to expand in the Middle East and North Africa region, Dubai’s economic trajectory provides a compelling case for establishing or expanding presence, given the combination of market size, policy clarity, and access to a diversified, skilled workforce.
Practical Implications for Policymakers and Businesses
- Policymakers can use the Q1 2025 data to calibrate fiscal and regulatory incentives that reinforce sectoral strengths, particularly in health, real estate, finance, and tourism. Ensuring that growth translates into employment opportunities and inclusive prosperity will help sustain social and economic stability in the longer term.
- Businesses can coordinate investment and expansion plans around the sectors showing accelerated growth while maintaining risk controls and capital discipline. The momentum in health, real estate, finance, and services suggests promising opportunities across both domestic and international markets.
- The interlinkages between sectors highlight the importance of cross-sector collaboration. For example, growth in real estate supports construction, finance supports projects, and logistics underpin trade and tourism, creating a virtuous cycle that enhances overall competitiveness.
- Continued emphasis on digital transformation and ICT-related investments supports productivity improvements and innovation across multiple sectors, enabling Dubai’s economy to move up the value chain and sustain high-value activity.
- Sustaining a favorable investment climate requires maintaining transparent governance, efficient regulatory processes, and robust infrastructure. This combination encourages investment, supports business expansion, and ensures that Dubai remains a leading global hub for commerce, finance, and technology.
Conclusion
Dubai’s first-quarter 2025 performance demonstrates a resilient, diversified growth engine supported by solid gains across health and social work, real estate, finance, accommodation and food services, information and communications, wholesale and retail trade, manufacturing, and transport and storage. The overall 4% quarterly expansion to Dhs119.7 billion confirms that Dubai’s economy remains dynamic and adaptable, with momentum carried forward from a 2024 performance that posted a 5.8% expansion. The results underscore a governance framework built on data-driven decision-making, strategic public-private collaboration, and a clear road map toward achieving the Dubai Economic Agenda D33. As Dubai continues to attract investors and entrepreneurs, the combination of diversified strength, infrastructure investment, and policy clarity positions the emirate to sustain growth, create jobs, and deepen its role as a global hub for commerce, innovation, and tourism. The Q1 2025 data thus reinforce confidence that Dubai’s economy can navigate global headwinds while continuing to advance its development priorities and long-term vision.