1.1 Population

The population of Abu Dhabi experienced a 167% growth from 1975-1985 due to the booming oil industry, which brought foreign workers and expertise to the market.

The following graph provides the population of Abu Dhabi and its corresponding Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) over the period 1975-2005.



The following should be noted:

• While the CAGR over the last 10 years has been 4.19%, Abu Dhabi's natural rate of increase (birth rate – death rate) is 1.46%, underlying that population growth in the emirate is due to an expatriate inflow of approximately 2.64% annually.
• Estimates suggest that approximately 74% of the population within the age segment 15-64 are expatriates. As more than 71% of the entire population is employed, it appears that a majority of expatriate households are dual income families.
• It will take Abu Dhabi 17.5 years to double its population as compared to only 11 years for Dubai.
• As there are approximately 1.55 males for every female in the emirate, the working population is largely concentrated in Abu Dhabi's major industries, that is, agriculture, construction, manufacturing and wholesale retail trade, which together represent 56% of the total working population of the country.

1.2 GDP Analysis

On the back of a strong oil market in recent years and a push by the government to diversify and expand the economy; Abu Dhabi's GDP has grown by a CAGR of 24% over the last three years.
The following graph details Abu Dhabi's GDP growth from 2002 to 2005.



The following should be noted:

• Of the UAE's total GDP, approximately 59% comes from Abu Dhabi due to its significant oil industry, which made up 56% of the emirate's economy in 2005.
• Abu Dhabi's per capita income is nearly 172% more than that of the entire UAE and 91% higher than that of Dubai. Recent studies have shown that Abu Dhabi is in the top three economies worldwide in terms of per capita GDP with approximately AED 203,632 per capita.
• The Ministry of Economy does not provide inflation adjusted GDP figures. Thus, assuming the UAE inflation rate applies to the Abu Dhabi emirate (averaging 8.5% in 2005), real GDP growth is assumed to be approximately 23.5% in 2005.

1.3 GDP by Sector

The following table presents a sectored break-up of the GDP of Abu Dhabi from 2002-2005.

---

Sector		2002		2003		2004		2005		CAGR	Share of 2005 GDP
		AED million
Agriculture , Live stock and Fishing		6,386		6,291		6,602		7,395		5%	3%
Mining and Quarrying		64,506		83,861		113,353		161,399		36%	56%
Manufacturing Industries		19,318		21,128		23,560		30,206		16%	11%
Electricity , Gas and water		1,973		2,974		3,404		3,973		26%	1%
Construction		8,985		9,892		10,531		12,993		13%	5%
Wholesale Retail Trade and Repairing Services		8,364		9,201		9,945		12,940		16%	5%
Restaurants and Hotels		1,551		1,608		1,771		2,181		12%	1%
Transports , Storage and Communication		6,418		7,419		8,073		9,737		15%	3%
Real Estate and Business Services		8,267		9,327		11,041		13,213		17%	5%
Social and Personal Services