Bahrain’s economy is growing, with GDP up 2 per cent on the same period last year.
According to preliminary data released by the Information and eGovernment Authority (iGA), the Kingdom of Bahrain recorded a 2 per cent year on year (YoY) real gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the second quarter of 2023.
Bahrain economic growth
This growth was supported by a 2 per cent increase in the non-oil sector and a 2.2 per cent increase in the oil sector, the report said.
The report shed light on the role of non-oil sectors in supporting economic growth in Bahrain.
The continued growth and diversification of the economy brought the real GDP contribution of the non-oil sector to 82.9 per cent in Q2 2023, according to the report.
Transport and telecommunications was the fastest growing sector at 13.3 per cent in reflection to increased cross-border mobility.
Within the sector, container vessel traffic grew by 52.4 per cent YoY, Bahrain International Airport recorded a 20.2 per cent YoY increase in the total number of passengers, and telecommunications saw a 12.8 per cent YoY increase in mobile subscribers.
The Hotels and restaurants sector grew by 9.6 per cent, as numbers of four- and five-star hotel guests increased by 29.3 per cent, boosting occupancy rates by 8 per cent.
The real estate and business activities sector recorded a 4.9 per cent, supported by a significant increase in the value of real estate trading at 19 per cent YoY.
The contribution of the financial corporations sector to the GDP reached 17.3 per cent, while achieving a YoY growth of 4.7 per cent.
The indicators of the see total value of Electronic Funds Transfer System (Fawri+, Fawri and Fawateer) increased by 12.4 per cent YoY.
The Trade sector had a YoY real-term growth of 4.7 per cent in Q2 2023.
Within the sector, total mall footfall increased by 20.7 per cent and the value of POS and e-commerce transactions increased by 5.2 per cent.
The manufacturing sector experienced a slight decrease of 0.9 per cent during Q2 2023, affected by the drop in global aluminium prices.
The report stated that foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow exceeded BD1.3bn ($3.4bn) during this quarter, bringing up the total investment balance to BD14.7bn ($39bn), growing by 13.9 per cent YoY from BD13bn ($34.5bn) in Q2 2022.
The financial and insurance services posted the highest increase in FDI inflows at BD982.9m ($2.6bn), while the real estate activities sector recorded BD129.2m ($343m).
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