São Paulo – The economies of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are expected to grow by 3.6% in 2024 and 3.7% in 2025, according to estimates in the Gulf Economic Update (GEU) published by the World Bank. The report predicts that the GCC economies will expand this year by 1%, mainly due to a 3.9% contraction in the oil sector. On the other hand, however, there is an expectation for the region’s non-oil sectors to grow by 3.4% this year, stimulated by consumption, investments, and accommodation of fiscal policy.
The document highlights, however, that the region’s nations need to “stay committed” to structural reforms and the diversification of their production and export activity beyond oil and its byproducts. According to the World Bank’s director for the GCC, Safaa El Tayeb El-Kogali, “the downside risks persist” due to regional conflicts in the Middle East, especially if these conflicts spread to other countries. “As a result, global oil markets are already witnessing high volatility,” said El-Kogali in the statement released by the World Bank in Riyadh this Wednesday (22).
The document, entitled “Structural Reforms and Shifting Social Norms to Increase Women’s Labor Force Participation,” also highlights the increased participation of women in the job market, especially in Saudi Arabia (pictured above, a woman in an air conditioning assembly line in Dammam). The job market in the Saudi private sector has grown steadily, reaching 2.6 million workers earlier this year. Women’s participation in the workforce grew from 17.4% in 2017 to 36% in the first quarter of 2023.
“Saudi Arabia’s achievements in advancing women’s economic empowerment in just a few years is impressive and offers lessons for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and the world,” said World Bank senior economist Johannes Koettl.
Growth expectations for this year for the GCC countries, according to the World Bank, are 2.8% for Bahrain, 0.8% for Kuwait, 1.4% for Oman, 2.8% for Qatar, -0.5% for Saudi Arabia, and 3.4% for the United Arab Emirates.
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
