GCC governments have been able to dramatically increase their spending as a result of soaring oil prices, despite the fact that they stay well into the black, maintain industry experts at says the Washington DC-based Institute of International Finance (IIF).
Combined Gross Domestic Product growth of almost 19 per cent this year may increase the combined GDP of the GCC economies to an estimated $725 billion, according to Gulf Arab News.
Substantial external surpluses have developed as a result, which are in turn stimulating an investment boom.
For the GCC as a whole, said the study, GDP per capita rose over the last three years from below $11,000 to over $17,000.
