Flexible policies and new laws supporting business growth and expansion in new sectors have been major contributors to 5% economic growth in 2025
The UAE added 250,000 new companies in 2025 and plans to reach two million companies over the next ten years, according to Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Tourism.
“Since the Commercial Companies Law was issued in September 2021, the UAE has attracted nearly 760,000 companies by the end of 2025. This brings the total number of companies in the country to over 1.4 million, a growth of 118.7 per cent. The goal for the next decade is to reach two million companies,” he said during a media briefing about the law’s amendment.
He pointed out that the number of small and medium enterprises owned by UAE citizens has grown by 63 per cent in the past five years. These new companies created many job opportunities, which helped increase the UAE’s population to 11.51 million by the end of 2025, up from 11.02 million at the end of 2024. This is an increase of half a million people, according to Worldometers data.
The minister said the UAE economy grew by five per cent in 2025, mainly driven by non-oil sectors. These sectors contributed 77.5 per cent by the end of the first half of last year.
At a press conference in Dubai on Tuesday, he said that flexible economic policies and new laws supporting business growth and expansion in new sectors have been major contributors to the economy.
Earlier, ICAEW’s Q4 2025 Economic Insight predicted that the UAE’s GDP will rise by 5.6 per cent in 2026. Tourism, trade, logistics, real estate, and financial services are expected to drive this growth. Strong population growth and steady domestic demand will also play a major role.
He said, “2025 was an outstanding year for both the economy and tourism, with many achievements. The country registered about 37,794 national and international trademarks in 2025, showing growth in commercial and creative activity and rising confidence in the intellectual property protection system. Registered trademarks also rose by 74 per cent over four years, which clearly shows the business environment is dynamic and attractive to investors.”
He added that 3,595 intellectual property works were registered in 2025, marking a cumulative growth of 124 per cent over four years.
The minister noted that the contribution of the tourism sector to the country’s GDP has more than doubled in four years, rising to 15 per cent last year, up from 6 per cent in 2021, amounting to a total value of Dh291 billion.
Source: www.khaleejtimes.com