DUBAI: Dubai, the financial and business hub of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is forecast to grow by 4% in 2021, recovering for a projected 6.2% contraction this year, the government said, citing projections from the Dubai Statistic Centre.

The economy was hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak, which hurt its key tourism, real estate and trade sectors.

Dubai Statistic Centre said the economy declined by 10.8% in the first six months of 2020, which the centre's executive director, Arif Al Muhairi, said was within the expected range of economic contraction, given the massive global economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The economy is expected to end the year with a 6.2% contraction, the statement said. Dubai launched 6.8 billion dirhams ($1.85 billion) stimulus, to help offset the shock and repercussions in the form of job losses or disruptions to businesses, the statement said.

Dubai started inoculating people with the COVID-19 vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech for free from Wednesday, the government said, joining Saudi Arabia which last week became the first Arab country to begin using this vaccine.