Key Shifts in the 2026 GCC Economy

3.2 percent growth in 2025, accelerating to 4.5 percent in 2026. Sees momentum improving, with GCC output development predicted to increase from 1.7 percent in 2024 to 3.3 percent on average in 2025, showing a shift towards more favorable total conditions.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

The IMF's World Economic Outlook (October 2025) projects international growth easing to 3.1 percent in 2026, with innovative economies around 1.5 percent and emerging market and establishing economies simply above 4 percent. On that comparison, a 4.44.5 percent GCC expansion would put the area materially ahead of the world average and somewhat above (or broadly in line with) the emerging-market aggregate, enhancing the GCC's status as a reasonably high-growth pocketprovided that local danger conditions stay consisted of and reform momentum holds.

Information from the GCC Statistical Center show that non-oil sectors currently represent more than 73 percent of total GDP, a share that has continued to rise as governments broaden financial investment in services, infrastructure, and innovation. According to Oxford Economics, non-energy activity across the GCC is projected to grow by around 4.1 percent in 2026, supported by strong labor markets, enhancing credit conditions, and increasing financial investment in innovation and AI-related infrastructure.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Public-sector financial investment and reform stay main to sustaining this pattern. Policy steps targeted at drawing in foreign direct investment, easing foreign ownership rules, broadening capital markets, and supporting private-sector participation continue to underpin non-oil expansion and decrease the area's direct exposure to oil price volatility. While hydrocarbons no longer dominate the development outlook, oil profits are expected to play a supportive role in 2026.