Bahrain’s economy showed signs of growth in the first three months of the year, led by a strong performance from the non-oil sector.
The Ministry of Finance and National Economy published the quarterly economic report of the Kingdom of Bahrain for the first quarter of 2023.
The report sheds light on Bahrain’s economic indicators, as well as the most important developments in terms of strategic projects, and the Kingdom’s performance in global competitiveness indices.
Bahrain economic growth
According to preliminary national accounts data issued by the Information and eGovernment Authority, Bahrain’s economy grew by 2 per cent at constant prices on an annual basis, supported by the growth of the non-oil sector by 3.5 per cent.
Since the start of the implementation of the economic recovery plan, the average quarterly growth on an annual basis of non-oil GDP has reached about 5.7 per cent.
On an annual basis, the non-oil economic sectors at constant prices posted positive growth, as the transportation and communications sector achieved the highest rate, growing by 11.2 per cent.
It was supported by the growth of various sector indicators such as the increase in the number of arrivals through Bahrain International Airport by 42.3 per cent, and the total aircraft movement witnessed an increase by 32.1 per cent.
Broadband subscriptions also increased by 5 per cent.
The real estate activities and business services sector grew by 5.3 per cent, supported by an increase in the value of real estate trading transactions.
The sector recorded, for the second time in a row, the highest contribution to the GDP, with its contribution reaching 17.9 per cent, surpassing the oil sector.
The indicators showed an increase in the value of electronic financial transfers by 17.6 per cent, and the total value of bank deposits from non-banks grew by 5.9 per cent, as well as an increase in the total value of loans extended to residents – excluding banks – by about 4.3 per cent.
The hotels and restaurants sector, recorded a growth of 4.3 per cent, and the total number of visitors through all outlets witnessed an increase of 71.9 per cent, and the increase in hotel occupancy (four and five-stars) was about 8.4 per cent.
The trade sector recorded a similar growth rate of 4.2 per cent, and the statistics of inbound and outbound trucks through the King Fahd Causeway indicate a growth of 16 per cent, while new commercial registrations for companies increased by about 10.8 per cent.
The government services sector grew by 3.5 per cent.
Social and personal services, grew by 1.1 per cent, while the manufacturing sector witnessed a decline of about 1.1 per cent.
As for the building and construction sector, it recorded a decline of 1.3 per cent.
In terms of development projects funded via the Gulf Development Programme, which continued its progress with awarding
Projects worth $25m were awarded under the Gulf Development Programme, bringing the total value of projects awarded to about $6.14bn since the launch of the scheme, up by 2.1 per cent on an annual basis.
During the first quarter of 2023, several contracts were awarded for the Sports City project and the dialysis centre project.
As for other projects, Bahrain witnessed developments in several vital schemes, as the completion rate of the Bapco refinery modernisation project reached 91.6 per cent.
The positive economic performance was reflected in the classification of Bahrain in global reports and indicators, as the Kingdom advanced by five ranks and achieved 25th place globally out of 64 countries in the Global Competitiveness Ranking 2023 issued by the International Institute for Administrative Development (IMD).
Bahrain moved up 25 notches to rank 34 globally out of 139 countries in the 2023 Logistics Performance Index issued by the World Bank.
The Kingdom was also ranked among the top 10 incubating environments for startups in the Middle East and North Africa region in the Global Emerging Ecosystems Report 2023 issued by Startup Genome and the International Entrepreneurship Network.
With regard to the labour market, Bahrain was ranked among the first category in combating trafficking in persons for the sixth consecutive year in the US Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report 2023.
Bahrain is the only country in the Middle East and North Africa region within the top tier.
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