United Arab Emirates: External balance on goods and services (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, United Arab Emirates' external balance on goods and services (% of GDP) fell 3.72 percentage points on 2022 (from 18.36% to 14.65%).

Across the 21 yearly changes before that (2002 to 2022), the average change was +0.47 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 5.55 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.8 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 13.56 percentage points in 2010 and the biggest yearly fall was 9.81 percentage points in 2007. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2014 to 2023 the straight-line trend is downward, about 1.4 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 71% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

Closest to United Arab Emirates in the 2023 ranking

• Greenland — 2nd of 3: -10.29%
• Togo — 3rd of 3: -10.77%

What this measures

The balance of international trade in goods and services is the difference between the exports and imports of goods and services. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 23 values

External balance on goods and services (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Algeria — -5.31% (2025)
• Bahrain — 17.49% (2024)
• Djibouti — 14.69% (2025)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — -11.69% (2025)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — -8.73% (2025)
• Iraq — 2.39% (2024)
• Israel — 2.13% (2025)
• Kuwait — 17.52% (2024)
• Lebanon — -35.6% (2024)
• Libya

More economic policy & debt data for United Arab Emirates

• Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$) — US$48.24 billion (2025)
• Foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP) — 8.26% (2024)
• GDP (current US$) — US$552.33 billion (2024)
• GDP (current LCU) — 2.03 trillion (2024)
• GDP (constant 2015 US$) — US$457.09 billion (2024)
• GDP (constant LCU) — 1.78 trillion (2024)
• GDP per capita (current US$) — US$50,274 (2024)
• GDP per capita (current LCU) — 184,629 (2024)
• GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$) — US$41,605 (2024)
• GDP per capita (constant LCU)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is United Arab Emirates's external balance on goods and services (% of GDP)?

14.65% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2001?

It is up 6.19 percentage points from 8.45% in 2001. The highest value was 34.56% in 2012 and the lowest 5.84% in 2009.

Is the latest change in external balance on goods and services (% of GDP) unusual for United Arab Emirates?

In 2023, United Arab Emirates' external balance on goods and services (% of GDP) fell 3.72 percentage points on 2022 (from 18.36% to 14.65%). Across the 21 yearly changes before that (2002 to 2022), the average change was +0.47 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 5.55 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.8 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NE.RSB.GNFS.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks; National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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