Abu Dhabi economy shrank 18% in 2009

The economy of Abu Dhabi shrank 18 per cent at current prices in 2009 due to a drop in oil prices, data from its statistics office showed on Tuesday.

Nominal gross domestic product (GDP) fell to Dh546.476 billion last year, from Dh666.732 in 2008, the Abu Dhabi Statistics Center said.

It did not give GDP in real terms.

Abu Dhabi accounts for more than 60 per cent of the GDP of the UAE, the world's third largest crude exporter.

Oil and natural gas activities comprised 49.4 per cent of Abu Dhabi's GDP in 2009, down from 60.9 per cent in the previous year, the data showed.

The UAE economy grew 1.3 per cent overall in real terms last year, preliminary estimates showed, although analysts had expected a contraction for 2009 of 1.4 per cent due to lower oil output, troubles in the real estate sector and sluggish credit growth.

The country is expected to grow by 2.1 per cent this year.