Economy of Dubai

The economy of Dubai represents a per capita gross domestic product as of 2022 of US$46,665.^[1] Dubai has substantially transformed over the last couple of decades.^[2] More than 90% of the population are foreigners.^[2]

The International Herald Tribune described it as "centrally-planned free-market capitalism".^[3] Oil production, which once accounted for 50% of Dubai's gross domestic product, contributes less than 1% today.^[4] In 2018, wholesale and retail trade represented 26% of the total GDP; transport and logistics, 12%; banking, insurance activities and capital markets, 10%; manufacturing, 9%; real estate, 7%; construction, 6%; tourism, 5%.^[5][6]

Dubai became important ports of call for Western manufacturers. Most of the new city's banking and financial centres were headquartered in the port area. Dubai maintained its importance as a trade route through the 1970s and 1980s. The city of Dubai has a free trade in gold and until the 1990s was the hub of a "brisk smuggling trade" of gold ingots to India, where gold import was restricted.

Dubai has sought to boost itself as a tourism destination by building hotels and developing real estate. Port Jebel Ali, constructed in the 1970s, has the largest man-made harbor in the world, but is also increasingly developing as a hub for service industries such as IT and finance, with the new Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). Emirates Airline was founded by the government in 1985 and is still state-owned; based at Dubai International Airport, it carried over 49.7 million passengers in 2015.^[7] The government has set up industry-specific free zones throughout the city in hopes of giving a boost to Dubai property. Internet access is restricted in most areas of Dubai with a proxy server filtering out sites deemed to be against cultural and religious values of the UAE.

Due to financial secrecy, low taxes, and valuable real estate, Dubai is an appealing destination for money launderers, criminals, corrupt political figures and sanctioned businesspeople to launder or hide money.^{[8][2][9][10][11][12]}

During the financial crisis of 2008–2009, Dubai was about to default and, therefore, was obliged to downsize and restructure suffering state entities. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated in 2019 that Dubai’s debt exceeded 100% of its GDP. Abu Dhabi rolled over a bailout loan of $20 billion to Dubai to save it.^[13][14][15]