Government gross debt in United Arab Emirates

International Monetary Fund · Annual · Importance

IMF forecast (WEO): 2026: 32.8% 2027: 30.8% 2028: 29.0% 2029: 27.4% 2030: 27.0% 2031: 26.1%

4.7 (1999) ANUAL · % of GDP · Annual · CSV

Period	% of GDP
Jan 1999	4.7

About this indicator

Source

International Monetary Fund

Frequency

Annual

Release

Published annually (with quarterly advance estimates in some economies), subject to revision with the national accounts.

What it is

Government gross debt is the total liabilities owed by the United Arab Emirates' general government to its creditors. It is usually shown in absolute terms and, above all, as a percentage of GDP to gauge sustainability, drawing on official data and IMF estimates.

How it's calculated

It is compiled by summing general-government liabilities (debt securities, loans and deposits) consolidated across subsectors, following national-accounts standards. The debt-to-GDP ratio relates that stock to the size of the economy, and IMF figures are commonly used for the UAE.

Market implications

In an economy backed by hydrocarbons and large sovereign wealth funds, the UAE's public debt stays contained, so its trend and its link to the oil price matter most. A sustained rise would feed through to borrowing costs and to the view taken by rating agencies.

Limitations

It is a low-frequency, revisable figure. The ratio depends on both the debt stock and nominal GDP, which is highly sensitive to the oil price; gross debt also nets off none of the vast sovereign-fund assets and does not always capture the debt of individual emirates.