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The UAE's GDP per capita income rose to a record AED196,100 ($53,300) in 2008, prior to the impact of the global economic crisis, buoyed by oil prices that peaked at $147 a barrel, official figures show.
The per capita income last year showed a 16 percent rise over the 2007 income of AED168,900 and more than double its level of AED90,400 in 2003, the Ministry of Economy statistics revealed.
Analysts expect the per capita income to decline this year because of a projected contraction in the economy and a rise in the population, Emirates Business reported on Thursday.
The per capita level was second only to Qatar's GDP per capita in the Arab World.
The report put the UAE's nominal GDP at AED937bn in 2008 while the population was estimated at nearly 4.77 million.
But forecasts by the Saudi American Bank Group (Samba) showed the UAE's nominal GDP could fall to $216bn (Dh792bn) in 2009 as a result of a decline in oil prices.
The surge in the UAE's per capita last year came after the economy leaped by 24 per cent in nominal terms, mainly because of strong crude prices, the paper reported.