Standard and Poor’s Expects a Modest Economic Recovery for Gulf Cooperation Council Nations over 2021-2023

Following an anticipated economic contraction of around 6.0% for 2020, Standard and Poor’s Global Ratings (S&P Global) expects the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to see real gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 2.5% over 2021-2023, as cited in a report.

Commenting on the GDP contraction forecast for 2020, S&P Global stated that this is evenly distributed between the oil and gas (hydrocarbon) and non-hydrocarbon sectors, resulting from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) production cuts, weaker demand from the region due to low oil prices, as well as restrictions in economic activity due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

S&P Global explained that its base-case assumption centered around the OPEC production...