Syed Hussein Al -Qassab
The GDP with the fixed prices of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries increased by the end of the fourth quarter of 2024 by 3.3 percent, to reach 456.3 billion dollars, compared to 442.3 billion dollars during the same period of 2023.
The latest statistics issued by the statistical center of the Gulf Cooperation Council states showed that the percentage of the contribution of non -oil activities in the Gulf GDP of fixed prices by the end of the fourth quarter of 2024 amounted to 70.6 percent, compared to 29.4 percent for oil activities.
She explained that the gross domestic product of the fixed prices of the countries of the Council recorded in the fourth quarter of 2024 growths in one percent, where in the third quarter, a value of $ 452.2 billion.
In a related matter, Bahrain recorded one of the lowest inflation rates among the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council for the year 2024, a stable level of only 0.9%, according to recent data issued by the statistical center of the council countries.
This low rate reflects a state of relative balance in the local market compared to the rest of the Gulf states, which witnessed a disparity in inflation rates driven by high housing prices, food commodities and services.
Data issued by the statistical center of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries showed a variation in the rates of consumer inflation during the year 2024 AD between the GCC countries, where the general average Gulf inflation reached 1.7%, driven mainly by the high prices of housing, food commodities and services.
The State of Kuwait topped the list of the highest rates by 2.9%, while the Sultanate of Oman came as the lowest Gulf inflation at 0.6%.
As for the Kingdom of Bahrain, it has maintained a relatively low inflation rate of only 0.9%, which reflects a state of relative stability in the local market compared to neighboring countries.
The statistical center data indicate that inflation in Bahrain during the period from 2020 to 2024 AD witnessed noticeable fluctuations, the prices began to decline by -2.3% in 2020, followed by a decline of -0.6% in 2021, then the prices witnessed a sharp leap in 2022 by 3.6%, which is the highest rate during the past five years.
The inflation returned to slowing in 2023 at 0.1%, to settle at 0.9% in 2024, a low rate compared to the Gulf average.
