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The UAE new economy now counts nearly 125,000 companies, up about 37 percent in a year. Minister of Economy and Tourism Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri gave the figure on 7 October 2026. He spoke at Investopia Bridge in Abu Dhabi. The category covers firms built on technology, knowledge and innovation rather than trade or hydrocarbons.

That is a striking headline. Yet it needs two more numbers beside it before it means much. So this piece runs in three parts: the headline, the context, and the catch.

The headline: UAE new economy firms up 37 percent

Bin Touq disclosed the figure for the end of the first half of 2026, speaking to WAM at the event. The stated goal is to make the country a global hub for these sectors by 2030.

The growth sits inside a wider push. AI, fintech and green technology lead the category, and Investopia this year has leaned harder into Africa and cross-border capital.

Earlier this year, Bin Touq also said that “non-oil sectors continue to lead growth”. The new economy is meant to be the sharpest edge of that shift.

What counts as the UAE new economy

Definition matters here, because it decides the count. The ministry classes a firm as new economy when its business rests on technology, knowledge or innovation. Conventional trading and oil and gas do not qualify.

That is a broad test. It can include a venture-backed AI startup, a software firm, a fintech licence and a digital marketing agency. All four count as one company each.

So a two-person agency and a funded AI lab sit in the same total. Neither is wrong to be there. But they do not weigh the same, and the headline treats them as if they do.

So the 125,000 figure measures how many firms meet the test. It does not measure how big they are, how many people they employ, or how much they produce.

The context: 92 new companies a day

Now put the growth into daily terms, which makes it easier to picture. A 37 percent rise to 125,000 means the category stood near 91,200 a year earlier.

That is roughly 33,800 net new firms in twelve months, or about 92 every day. In other words, the UAE added a new-economy company every 16 minutes, around the clock, for a year.

Set it against the whole business base too. The UAE had more than 1.45 million registered companies by the end of February 2026. So new-economy firms make up about 8.6 percent of the total, or roughly 1 in 12.

How the UAE new economy compares with DIFC

The Dubai International Financial Centre gets much of the attention here. Its AI, FinTech and innovation cluster reached 1,933 firms in H1 2026, up 39 percent.

Yet that cluster equals only about 1.5 percent of the national new-economy count. In practice, the vast majority of these companies sit outside DIFC, across mainland licences and the country’s many other free zones.

That is worth remembering when one free zone’s numbers stand in for the whole story. DIFC’s cluster is dense and well funded. By contrast, the national figure is wide and far more varied.

The catch: firms are growing faster than output

Here is the number that tempers the headline. The count of new-economy firms rose about 37 percent. Over a similar period, the UAE’s non-oil economy grew 4.8 percent in real terms. That figure comes from the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre.

So the firm count is rising roughly 7.7 times faster than non-oil output. That gap is not a contradiction, though. It tells you most new entrants are small, early, or both.

A company count grows the day a licence is issued. Output grows only when those firms find customers, hire staff and sell. The two will converge over time, but they are measuring different things today.

Where the money in the UAE new economy actually comes from

Look at which sectors drove non-oil growth in Q1 2026. Financial and insurance activities alone contributed 2.44 percentage points, about half of the 4.8 percent total. Construction added 1.04 points.

The category closest to knowledge businesses, professional, scientific and technical activities together with administrative services, contributed 0.29 points. Finance therefore added roughly 8.4 times as much growth.

Minister of Cabinet Affairs Mohammad Al Gergawi said the non-oil result “is not an isolated figure”. He is right, and the breakdown shows why. The UAE new economy is growing fast in numbers, while finance is still doing most of the heavy lifting in output.

Why the count is growing so fast

Three forces are pushing the count up at once. First, setting up is quick and cheap. A zero-visa free zone licence can cost under AED 6,000, so testing an idea as a company is easy.

Second, the 9 percent corporate tax regime has a nil band. Small firms with low profits often pay no corporate tax at all, which keeps the barrier to entry low.

Third, policy actively recruits these firms. Golden Visa routes for founders, free zone innovation hubs and events such as Investopia all pull new businesses in.

None of those forces guarantees revenue, though. Each lowers the cost of starting. That is exactly why the count can outrun output, and why the UAE new economy looks bigger in a company register than in the national accounts.

What it means for founders

For founders, the 37 percent figure has a real edge. A crowded field means more competition for the same customers, staff and investors. Meanwhile, roughly 92 rivals join the category each day.

It also means a deeper pool to hire from and sell to. Larger startup ecosystems draw more capital, more expert service firms and more skilled staff.

The output gap is the useful warning. Registration is cheap and fast. Revenue is neither. So plan for the second rather than celebrate the first.

Export reach is the other lever worth pulling early, before the home market gets more crowded. UAE non-oil exports hit a record AED 452.8 billion in H1 2026. So new-economy firms that sell abroad sit on the right side of that non-oil trade growth.

What to watch

First, whether the ministry publishes employment or revenue figures for the new economy, rather than a company count alone. That would show whether the 125,000 firms are producing at scale.

Second, whether professional and technical services contribute more than 0.29 points to non-oil growth in later quarters.

Finally, watch whether the gap between firm growth and output growth narrows through 2027. That would happen as the strongest young companies mature and the weakest close. Such a shift would reshape Dubai’s economic model as much as the national one.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many UAE new economy companies are there?

Nearly 125,000 at the end of the first half of 2026, according to Minister of Economy and Tourism Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri. That is up about 37 percent from a year earlier. It equals roughly 8.6 percent of the more than 1.45 million registered companies in the UAE.

What is the UAE new economy?

It is the ministry’s term for firms built on technology, knowledge and innovation rather than traditional trade or hydrocarbons. AI, fintech and green technology lead the category, which can include startups, software firms, fintech licences and digital services businesses.

How fast is the UAE new economy growing?

The company count grew about 37 percent in the year to mid-2026, or roughly 92 net new firms a day. Over a similar period, UAE non-oil GDP grew 4.8 percent. So the number of firms is rising much faster than the output they produce.

What is the target for the UAE new economy?

The stated aim is to make the UAE a global hub for new-economy sectors by the end of the decade. The goal sits within the wider We the UAE 2031 vision, which targets a growing non-oil share of the national economy.

Sources

Sources: Minister of Economy and Tourism Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, remarks to WAM at Investopia Bridge 2026, 7 October 2026, reported by Gulf News and Economy Middle East; Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre, Q1 2026 GDP release, via WAM, 4 August 2026, for the 4.8 percent non-oil growth, the sector contributions and the ministers’ remarks; DIFC H1 2026 results for the 1,933-firm innovation cluster; UAE company registration totals reported in March 2026.

The 92 firms per day, the 8.6 percent share of all companies, the 1.5 percent DIFC share, the 7.7 times growth gap and the 8.4 times sector comparison are FOUAE calculations from those published figures. Company counts and GDP cover slightly different periods, so the comparisons are indicative. This is general analysis, not investment advice.

Founders of UAE (FOUAE) is an independent, digital-first business publication covering the founders, companies and economy of the United Arab Emirates. Follow FOUAE on Instagram and LinkedIn.