Countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region will likely post a modest economic recovery over the next few years amid expectations that the COVID-19 vaccine will be widely available by June 2021, S&P Global Ratings said.
After contracting by approximately 6 percent this year, the real gross domestic product (GDP) for the region is forecast to grow by 2.5 percent in 2021 to 2023, with the non-hydrocarbon sector leading the way.
However, the pace of recovery among GCC states will vary, with the UAE likely to lag a bit behind some of its peers in terms of real GDP growth, owing to the significant slowdown in the travel and tourism sectors. Among the first to spring back to recovery, Oman and Saudi Arabia are forecast to bring their real GDP to pre-COVID-19 levels in 2022.
