GCC Industrial Sector Reaches US$426 Billion in Investments, Employing 1.7 Million
Comprehensive statistical data reveals the remarkable scale and strategic importance of manufacturing across the Gulf Cooperation Council states, with nearly 22,000 factories driving economic diversification and global competitiveness.
The industrial landscape of the Gulf Cooperation Council states represents a formidable economic force of considerable sophistication and scale. Latest statistical data compiled by the GCC-Stat, the Statistical Centre for the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, illuminates the sector’s substantial dimensions: industrial investments have reached approximately US$426 billion, whilst the number of operational factories stands at nearly 22,000, providing employment to more than 1.7 million individuals.
The manufacturing sector’s contribution to the collective gross domestic product of the GCC states reached approximately 13.0 percent in 2025, demonstrating the industry’s pivotal role in strengthening the economic foundations of member states. This expansion reflects a deliberate and sophisticated strategy to advance economic diversification and to elevate the contribution of non-oil activities, thereby enhancing the resilience and breadth of the regional economy.
The industrial investment portfolio exhibits a concentrated focus within a select group of strategically important industries. Approximately 40 percent of total industrial investments are channelled into plastics, refined petroleum products, aluminium, gaseous fuels, and iron and steel manufacturing. These cornerstone industries form an essential foundation for manufacturing operations and intermediate industries, whilst simultaneously supporting the development and integration of comprehensive industrial value chains across the region.
The international export dimension underscores the sector’s global significance. Industrial products constitute approximately 69 percent of total GCC exports, with key exports encompassing petroleum gases and hydrocarbons, petroleum oils, motor vehicles, organic compounds, aluminium, ships and boats, and electrical machinery and equipment. This diverse export portfolio demonstrates the breadth and technical sophistication of Gulf manufacturing capabilities.
International commerce patterns reveal important dynamics in supply chain relationships. China represents the region’s largest source of imports, accounting for around 20 percent of total GCC imports, with major categories including equipment and machinery, motor vehicles, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, and plastics sourced from an extensive network of international suppliers.
These compelling indicators reflect the expansion and progressive diversification of the industrial base throughout the GCC member states. The data reveals pronounced variations in the scale of industrial activity across the region in terms of investment magnitude and factory numbers, driving coordinated efforts to expand production capacity, develop sophisticated value chains, strengthen industrial integration within the GCC framework, localise manufacturing industries and enhance the competitiveness of Gulf industrial products within global markets.
Source: WAM News Agency