KUWAIT – Kuwait's nominal gross domestic product (GDP) grew 29 percent in 2011 to hit a record high of KD44.4 billion ($155.8 billion) compared to KD34.4 billion the previous year on the back of soaring oil prices, the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) said in a report. The oil sector was the main driver of growth, which rose 50 per cent to hit KD28 billion. The oil sector's share of GDP rose to just under two-thirds, the highest in three decades, NBK said. The growth was led by a 47 percent surge in oil GDP to an all-time high of KD28.7 billion, on the back of record high oil prices. This pushed the oil sector's contribution to total GDP to almost 65 percent, the highest in three decades, it said. Non-oil GDP was up just under 6 percent and stood at KD15.7 billion. The GDP per capita, an indicator of the standard of living, reached a record of around KD12,000 in 2011, up by more than 25 percent on the previous year. "This year we expect GDP to grow at a solid, yet slower, pace of 10-15 percent as oil prices remain firm," the report noted. The oil and gas sector (excluding refining) was the star performer of the economy during 2011, growing by a whopping 49 per cent year-on-year to almost KD28 billion and representing 62 per cent of total GDP. This was not only bolstered by record oil prices, but also by an increase in Kuwait's crude oil production. – Agencies
