Bahrain's economy is set to grow by more than five per cent this year. This follows growth of 5.4 per cent in 2004, it was declared Monday.
The booming finance sector has taken over as the kingdom's biggest earner, pushing oil and gas back to third place, said Finance Ministry Assistant Under-Secretary for Economic Affairs Mahmood Al Kooheji, according to .
Bahrain's total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) hit BD3.2 billion last year, he revealed.
The 5.4 per cent growth was posted despite losing 11.2 million barrels of oil from Saudi Arabia, thanks to soaring oil prices and a booming finance sector.
As mentioned, the finance sector was the top contributor to the GDP last year, at BD783.35 million, followed by the government services at BD477.62m and oil and gas at BD424.07m, Mr Al Kooheji told a Press conference.
Finance contributed 24.2 per cent to the GDP at current prices, while government services contributed 14.75 per cent and oil and gas 13.1pc.
The GDP per head in Bahrain has increased to BD5,855.16, up from BD5,289.85 in 2003.
