The non-oil sector in Bahrain grew by 3.7% last year, according to official figures, a result that suggests the Gulf kingdom is making progress in diversifying its economy.
The finance, construction and services sectors helped to propel the non-oil sector growth, which contributed to an overall increase in GDP of 3% last year, said the figures from the Bahrain Economic Development Board.
Jarmo Kotilaine, chief economic adviser to the board, said “2016 was an encouraging year for Bahrain’s economy. We continue to see resilience in the non-oil sector and this resilience helps to underpin the economic stability for businesses and investors in the kingdom.”
The country’s overall GDP growth was roughly stable compared with last year’s figure of 2.9%, which the board hailed as an achievement given “significant regional and global headwinds”.
Infrastructure investment was credited with helping to expand the non-oil sector. “Bahrain has a priority programme of $32 billion of infrastructure projects which are expected to continue to act as counter-cyclical growth drivers,” said a statement from the board.
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