The Ministry of Finance and National Economy published its quarterly summary of the performance of the main economic indicators for Q2 2022 on its website www.mofne.gov.bh.
According to the preliminary results published by the Information and eGovernment Authority, Bahrain's economy recorded a significant growth in real terms during Q2 2022 on an annual basis. Total Real GDP grew by 6.9% in Q2, the highest YoY growth rate since 2011. The report showed positive economic growth driven by the strong performances of the non-oil sectors according to the positive results across the sectors targeted by the Economic Recovery Plan.
The report highlighted the performance of the economic indicators during Q2 2022 compared to Q2 2021, with the Hotels and Restaurants sector recording the strongest growth of 18.1% in real terms. It was followed by the Transport and Communication sector, which grew by 15.1%, and the Manufacturing sector, which grew by 7.6% as a result of an increase in total production from Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO), Bahrain National Gas Company (Banagas) and Aluminum Bahrain (ALBA).
The Trade sector grew by 7.5% in real terms, reflecting the rise in the value of point-of-sale and e-commerce transactions. The Government Services sector grew by 7.1% in real terms, while the Real Estate and Business Activities increased by 4.5% on an annual basis, supported by the increase in the number of real estate transactions registered with the Survey and Land Registration Bureau.
The Financial Services sector achieved a growth of 3.6%, driven by the growth of the balance sheet of banking systems and the total value of outstanding loans, while the Construction sector grew by 2.6%.
Major infrastructure projects financed by the GCC Development Fund have witnessed notable growth in Q2 2022 thanks to a number of newly awarded projects worth USD 100mn, bringing the total value of awarded projects to about USD 6.1bn, an increase of 8.2% compared to 2021 YoY. The awarded projects included Sh. Mohammed bin Khalifa Specialist Cardiac Center, the Janabiya Highway, and the development of the Sports City.
In terms of competitiveness, Bahrain ranked 1st in the Arab World and MENA region in the Economic Freedom of the World 2022 index released by Fraser Institute, where the Kingdom's overall performance advanced 17 positions to rank 39th out of 165 countries.
Additionally, the performance of the Kingdom of Bahrain improved by four spots in the fDi Greenfield Performance Index 2022 issued by the Financial Times to rank 11th globally out of 84 economies. This indicator lists countries that have successfully received at least 10 greenfield FDI projects in 2021.
As for human capability development, the Human Development Report 2021/2022 published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) categorised Bahrain as a “very high human development” country, ranking the Kingdom 35th globally out of 191 countries.