AINine sourced outlooks for 2026-27, covering the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt. Each one sets out what changed in 2026, the numbers behind it and where to act in the next 12 months. They are written by the Arcsen teams delivering Salesforce, Sitecore and Agentforce work in the region.
The nine outlooks, and what each one found
- 01AutomotiveTwelve-month purchase intent fell from 82% to 28% in the UAE and from 79% to 21% in Saudi Arabia after the 2026 conflict, and four in five buyers are open to switching brands (Deloitte).Read →
- 02EducationThe UAE teaches AI from kindergarten to Grade 12, Saudi Arabia admits university students through one national platform, and Dubai’s private schools enrolled 406,563 students for 2026-27.Read →
- 03Financial servicesSaudi banks earned SAR 73.6 billion in the first nine months of 2026, up 6.8%, and SAMA has licensed open banking providers since March 2026.Read →
- 04HealthcareSeha Virtual Hospital delivered more than 16 million virtual appointments and consultations in 2025, and Abu Dhabi’s Malaffi exchange holds 3.5 billion clinical records.Read →
- 05InsuranceSaudi premiums rose 10.7% to SAR 84.3 billion in 2025 while sector profit fell 47%, and risk-based capital becomes mandatory in January 2027.Read →
- 06ManufacturingThe Saudi PMI fell to 48.8 in March 2026 as shipping through Hormuz was disrupted and was back to 54.0 by October, while export orders fell for eight months in a row.Read →
- 07Public sectorThe UAE plans to run half of its government sectors and services on agentic AI within two years, and Saudi Arabia ranks 6th in the UN E-Government Development Index.Read →
- 08Retail & distributionTourist footfall fell in 2026 while resident spending held up, and talabat pro members generated 51% of talabat’s gross merchandise value in Q2 2026.Read →
- 09Travel & transportationDubai International handled a record 95.2 million guests in 2025, then 31.3% fewer in the first half of 2026, while Saudi domestic trips rose 16% in the first quarter.Read →
What the IMF expects for 2026-27
The IMF’s October 2026 World Economic Outlook projects a contraction in most Gulf economies in 2026 and a strong rebound in 2027. Its base case assumes shipping through the Strait of Hormuz starts to reopen in March 2027, with shipping broadly back to normal by October 2027.
| Economy | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | −3.3% | +7.9% |
| United Arab Emirates | −3.9% | +7.7% |
| Qatar | −15.6% | +18.8% |
| Egypt (fiscal years to June) | +5.1% (FY2025/26) | +4.7% (FY2026/27) |
Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook, October 2026. Egypt’s figures are for fiscal years ending in June, as reported by Zawya. Checked 25 October 2026.
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