The approval by the UAE Vice President and Prime Minister, who also serves as Ruler of Dubai, establishes a comprehensive initiative to unify and advance statistical operations across federal and local levels, according to the Emirates News Agency. The programme follows the establishment of dedicated institutions focused on data governance and competitiveness. It seeks to integrate information flows that support national planning and policy formulation.
The Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre, set up under a federal decree in 2020, has served as the main entity for official statistics and competitiveness data, a description on the uaecabinet.ae website stated. The centre works to unify statistics from all seven emirates and promote evidence-based decisions throughout government. It also represents the UAE on the United Nations Statistical Commission for the 2025-2028 term, according to the same source.
Figures from the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre show the UAE GDP expanded by 6.2 per cent in 2025 compared with 2024, reaching AED 1.9 trillion. Non-oil GDP recorded growth of 6.8 per cent in the same period to AED 1.5 trillion, the centre’s release indicated. The centre’s data additionally placed the population at 11.29 million in 2024 with an unemployment rate of 1.9 per cent that year.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum highlighted the UAE’s fifth-place global ranking in overall competitiveness in remarks carried on the fcsc.gov.ae website in June 2026. The ranking forms part of ongoing monitoring that the new statistics programme is set to enhance. The centre has contributed to such assessments through reliable data and analytical studies, according to its published material.
A proactive government performance system launched by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in 2025 processes more than 150 million data points monthly and delivers over 50,000 proactive insights annually, a report on protocol.dubai.ae stated. The system was designed to raise efficiency across government entities using AI-powered analytics. This earlier step aligns with the broader push to strengthen statistical foundations.
The Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre maintains an accreditation initiative known as RASMI for national data under the Unified UAE Numbers project, its website showed. The mark certifies statistics across vital sectors to ensure accuracy and consistency. Such mechanisms provide a base for the newly approved national programme to expand upon.
