Manama: The Ministry of Finance and National Economy has published the Bahrain Economic Quarterly Report for Q1 2025 on its website www.mofne.gov.bh.
According to Bahrain News Agency, preliminary national accounts data released by the Information and eGovernment Authority indicated that GDP grew by 2.7% year-on-year in real terms in Q1 2025. This growth was driven by an increase in both non-oil and oil activities, which rose by 2.2% and 5.3% year-on-year, respectively. In nominal terms, GDP grew by 3.0%, with non-oil and oil activities increasing by 2.8% and 4.6% year-on-year, respectively.
The report underscored the crucial role of non-oil activities in supporting the overall economic performance, noting that these activities contributed to 84.8% of real GDP in Q1 2025.
In terms of the performance of economic activities in Q1, Accommodation and Food Services recorded the highest growth rate at 10.3% year-on-year, while Financial and Insurance Activities-the largest contributor to GDP-achieved a growth rate of 7.5% in real terms. Additionally, Construction and Education grew by 5.4% and 2.5% year-on-year, respectively. Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities recorded an increase of 2.2%, with Wholesale and Retail Trade and Real Estate Activities growing by 2.0%. Transportation and Storage Activities followed with growth at 1.9%, and Information and Communication Activities at 1.4%. Conversely, Manufacturing experienced a slight decline of 0.4%.
The report also highlighted the growth in foreign investment stock, with Inward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) stock rising by 3.5% year-on-year in Q1 2025, bringing the total to BHD 17.1 billion.
Meanwhile, the Kingdom of Bahrain has continued to make progress across several international economic and development benchmarks, reflecting its commitment to economic diversification, global standards, and enhancing its business environment through the adoption and implementation of various ambitious strategies and initiatives.