Bahrain Economic Quarterly Report for Q2 2024 shows Kingdom’s strong non-oil growth

- Non-oil growth of 2.8% year-on-year (YoY) drives positive output growth despite decline in oil sector - Transportation and Storage was the highest growing sector in Q2 2024, increasing by 12.9% YoY in real terms - Total Foreign Direct Investment stock increased by 9.0% YoY to reach a total of BHD16.6Bn Manama, The Ministry of Finance and National Economy has released the Bahrain Economic Quarterly Report for Q2 2024 on its website www.mofne.gov.bh. According to preliminary National Accounts data from the Information and e-Government Authority, real GDP growth in Bahrain was 1.3% YoY in Q2 2024, supported by 2.8% non-oil growth, despite a 6.7% decline in the oil sector YoY. The non-oil sector was led by double-digit growth in three emerging sectors. Transportation and Storage sector achieved the highest YoY growth rate at 12.9% in Q2 2024, followed by Information and Communications at 11.2%, with Accommodation and Food Services growing 10.6% YoY in Q2 2024 as a result of rising demand in the tourism s ector. Mature sectors of the non-oil economy also registered robust growth, with the Financial and Insurance sector, which remained the largest contributor to the economy at 17.1% of real GDP, recording 2.1% growth YoY and the Manufacturing sector growing by 1.7% compared to Q2 2023. The report highlights the role of the non-oil sector in driving economic growth, accounting for 85.2% of real GDP in Q2 2024. Furthermore, the total stock of Foreign Direct Investment into Bahrain increased by 9.0% in Q2 2024, reaching a total stock of BHD 16.6Bn, up from BHD 15.2Bn in the same period last year. The report further highlights the progress Bahrain has made as a technology hub, as reflected in global competitiveness rankings. The Kingdom climbed 36 places to rank 18th globally in the UN e-Government Survey 2024, earning the highest rating class of "Very High", as published by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA). Additionally, the Kingdom was classified as a 'Tier 1 - Role-Mode lling' country, the highest category within the Global Cybersecurity Index 2024 issued by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Source: Bahrain News Agency