Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum marked 20 years as chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai on Sept. 8, a milestone the government used to highlight economic and public-service changes.
The Council’s official profile says Sheikh Hamdan assumed the chairmanship on Sept. 8, 2006. It says the chairman oversees strategic plans and monitors their implementation. A Dubai Media Office anniversary statement described a government-wide approach to coordinating decisions and priorities.
The statement said Dubai’s GDP had doubled to AED937 billion over two decades, but did not give the starting-year figure. Sheikh Hamdan’s official website separately reported GDP of AED937 billion in 2025 and growth of 5.4% that year. The website also said the Council endorsed an update to the GDP measurement method; it did not explain how the revision affected the two-decade comparison.
Dubai’s Public Debt Management Office said the real-estate market recorded more than 270,000 transactions in 2025, valued at AED917 billion, a 20% rise from 2024. Dubai’s government said the emirate ranked first globally for greenfield foreign direct investment projects that year. Financial Times Ltd.’s fDi Markets database counted 1,253 such projects.
The anniversary statement also cited AED1.2 trillion in government expenditure over 20 years. It said citizen housing solutions totaled AED50 billion over that period and green spaces exceeded 55.7 million square meters. The statement listed healthy life expectancy at 80.75 years, customer happiness across government at 95%, employee happiness at 89.3% and 99.9% of individuals saying they feel safe.
Dubai recorded 19.59 million international overnight visitors in 2025, up 5% from 2024, according to Department of Economy and Tourism data published by the Media Office. The anniversary statement referred to 20 million visitors but did not specify a period or visitor category.
Dubai’s Economic Agenda D33, launched in 2023, aims to double the economy by 2033.
