United Arab Emirates Population

Population now

10,222,350
  • World: 91st
  • Asia: 28th
Male:6,997,525(68.41 %)
Female:3,224,826(31.59 %)
Births in 2024:71,388
Deaths in 2024:14,175

Life expectancy & Rates (2024)

Male:78.02 years
Female:80.01 years
Total:78.68 years
Median Age:31.86 years
Birth Rate:9.72
Death Rate:1.93
Growth Rate:4.04 %
Fertility Rate:1.34

Population Data Graphs

  • Total population
  • Birth & Death rate
  • Life expectancy
  • Median Age
  • Population structure (mid 2024)
  • Urbanization

United Arab Emirates Population Review

The United Arab Emirates is located in Western Asia at the end of the Arabian Peninsula on the Persian Gulf. Sharing borders with Oman and Saudi Arabia, the UAE is a federation that is made up of seven emirates: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ra’s al-Khaimah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain and Fujairah. Before the discovery of oil deposits in the country in the mid-20th century, the country’s economy was based on pearl and fishing industries. Since then, the country’s economy has been rapidly transformed by the export of oil.

The country currently has a population of 9.9 million people living in 83,600 square kilometres. There are 118 people living per square kilometer and the UAE’s population is equivalent to 0.13% of the world’s total population. The country’s government is an absolute monarchy and each emirate is ruled by a different royal family. The emir of Abu Dhabi is the country’s president and head of state, while the emir of Dubai is the country’s prime minister.

One of the highest amounts of expatriates

The UAE is home to over 200 nationalities and 7.8 million expatriates. This leaves only 1.4 million people as Emirati citizens and makes the UAE the country with the world’s highest percentage of immigrants. A number of these expatriates were settled in the country prior to independence in the 1970s. The largest expatriate group in the country is made up of Indians and Pakistanis, which account for 28% of all expats and 12% of the country’s total population. There are also 461,000 Westerners living in the UAE.

An exceptionally strict legal system

The UAE’s legal system apply elements of Sharia law, which have been codified into its criminal code and family law. This includes many elements of corporal and capital punishment, including flogging for crimes such as premarital sex, alcohol consumption, and adultery. Stoning is also a legal punishment in the UAE and has been performed against Emirati citizens and expatriates alike.

The UAE has signed several decrees promising the protection of women and women’s rights. However, violence against women is still an ongoing in UAE and—in many cases—is protected by law. Beating of a wife by her husband is not considered a crime and is sometimes sanctioned by the courts. Women who have been sexually assaulted also face a gauntlet in seeking justice. Women have been charged with premarital sex for reporting a rape or sexual assault, while the men went unpunished.

Highest population growth in Arab world

An increase in national births, better health services, and a continued influx of expatriates has given the UAE a growth rate of 5.41%—the highest in the Arab world. During the oil boom of the late 1970s and early 1980s, the population jumped from under a million residents to 1.4 million by the mid-1980s. The country again saw a huge increase during the early 2000s, when the population almost tripled, going from 3.1 million in 2000 to 8.5 million by 2010.

A working-age population

The majority of the UAE’s population is between 20 and 50 years of age, with the median age around 33 years old. Much of this is due to the large number of expatriates that have come to the UAE to work. The UAE has a huge labor force, with around 7.3 million people. The unemployment rate in the country is also very low, usually staying between 2.5% and 1.6%.

Human rights violations

Many human rights organizations list the government of the UAE as violating many fundamental human rights. Despite being elected to the UN Council, the UAE has not signed most international human rights or labor-rights treaties, and issues of freedom of speech, freedom or religion, and the rights of migrant workers continue to fall far short of UN Council standards.

Review Updated: August 13, 2020

United Arab Emirates Population History

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YearTotalMaleFemaleSex RatioGrowth rateBirth rateDeath rateFerti­lity rate
Life exp., total
Life expectancy
Life exp., maleLife exp., femaleMedian AgeUrbani­zation
Density, people / km2
Density, people/km2
196092k46k46k12.01%47.2715.716.9351.5449.2553.9716.8173.50%1.12
1961101k52k49k1.072.16%46.7114.766.9152.5650.3654.9017.1174.38%1.22
1962112k60k52k1.172.34%46.0913.816.8953.5751.4655.8317.5375.25%1.35
1963125k70k55k1.272.52%45.4312.896.8854.5752.5456.7718.0576.09%1.51
1964138k79k59k1.352.72%44.6912.006.8655.5653.6057.7218.6376.92%1.67
1965150k88k62k1.422.93%43.8611.156.8456.5254.6358.6819.2477.72%1.81
1966160k95k65k1.463.15%42.8610.346.8257.4855.6559.6419.6978.51%1.93
1967170k102k68k1.53.36%41.689.576.7958.4356.6660.6020.1679.27%2.05
1968183k111k72k1.543.57%40.338.836.7659.3857.6561.5620.6779.80%2.20
1969203k126k78k1.623.78%38.848.136.7160.3058.6462.5021.2379.80%2.45
1970235k149k86k1.733.98%37.287.486.6661.2259.6163.4121.7979.80%2.83
1971277k181k97k1.874.19%35.706.886.5862.1060.5564.2921.9279.80%3.35
1972331k221k110k24.40%34.186.336.4862.9561.4565.1322.4279.80%3.99
1973395k268k127k2.114.63%32.805.836.3763.7662.3265.9223.0879.80%4.76
1974467k322k146k2.24.88%31.635.386.2564.5363.1366.6723.8179.80%5.64
1975548k381k168k2.275.15%30.704.996.1165.2463.9067.3624.4679.80%6.62
1976638k446k192k2.325.47%30.084.655.9765.9264.6268.0124.2579.90%7.70
1977735k516k219k2.365.84%29.744.355.8466.5565.2968.6124.3180.11%8.87
1978835k588k248k2.376.26%29.614.085.7267.1465.9269.1724.5480.31%10.08
1979932k653k279k2.346.71%29.673.855.6067.6966.5269.6924.8680.51%11.24
19801M709k310k2.287.18%29.843.655.5168.2167.0770.1725.2180.71%12.30
19811M753k344k2.197.64%30.063.485.4268.7067.5970.6125.1580.68%13.23
19821M787k378k2.088.08%30.253.335.3569.1668.0771.0325.0880.47%14.05
19831M816k412k1.988.48%30.343.205.2869.5968.5271.4125.0680.25%14.82
19841M848k446k1.98.80%30.283.095.2269.9968.9471.7625.1180.03%15.61
19851M888k478k1.869.04%30.022.995.1470.3669.3472.0925.2279.80%16.48
19861M937k509k1.849.19%29.542.905.0570.7269.7172.4025.2379.62%17.45
19872M994k539k1.849.27%28.862.814.9371.0570.0672.6825.2579.48%18.50
19882M1M569k1.869.27%28.032.734.8071.3670.3872.9525.2979.34%19.63
19892M1M599k1.889.25%27.062.644.6471.6670.7073.2125.3979.20%20.82
19902M1M630k1.99.15%25.982.564.4571.9471.0073.4625.5879.05%22.06
19912M1M664k1.929.01%24.832.484.2572.2171.2973.7025.3978.91%23.37
19922M1M700k1.938.85%23.632.404.0472.4771.5773.9325.4878.76%24.77
19932M1M737k1.958.67%22.442.323.8372.7271.8374.1625.7978.61%26.22
19942M2M774k1.968.46%21.282.253.6272.9672.0974.3726.2378.47%27.68
19952M2M812k1.988.27%20.212.183.4273.1972.3574.5926.7378.32%29.14
19963M2M849k1.998.12%19.252.113.2373.4372.5974.8126.5778.49%30.64
19973M2M888k2.018.02%18.412.043.0673.6672.8375.0426.5278.94%32.23
19983M2M929k2.037.93%17.681.982.9173.8873.0675.2626.5979.38%33.94
19993M2M971k2.057.88%17.041.922.7774.1173.2975.5026.7579.81%35.79
20003M2M1M2.087.82%16.491.872.6474.3373.5275.7327.0080.24%37.81
20013M2M1M2.17.79%16.001.822.5374.5473.7475.9626.9580.66%39.85
20023M2M1M2.127.81%15.511.762.4374.7673.9676.1927.1581.07%41.97
20034M3M1M2.167.78%15.021.712.3474.9774.1776.4127.5581.47%44.79
20044M3M1M2.257.75%14.521.662.2575.1774.3976.6228.0881.87%49.09
20055M3M1M2.387.70%14.001.612.1675.3874.6076.8228.7182.26%55.36
20065M4M1M2.557.65%13.491.562.0875.5774.8177.0128.7782.65%63.95
20076M5M2M2.747.62%13.011.512.0175.7775.0277.2129.1183.02%74.43
20087M5M2M2.897.56%12.581.471.9475.9675.2277.3929.6083.39%85.54
20098M6M2M2.977.54%12.211.431.8876.1575.4277.5830.1783.74%95.53
20109M6M2M2.977.49%11.891.401.8276.3375.6277.7730.7984.09%103.16
20119M7M2M2.897.42%11.621.381.7676.5275.8277.9630.9684.42%107.95
20129M7M2M2.767.31%11.381.371.7176.7176.0278.1431.1184.75%110.30
20139M7M3M2.617.21%11.161.361.6576.9076.2278.3331.2685.07%110.98
20149M7M3M2.487.00%10.961.371.6077.1076.4178.5031.4285.38%111.17
20159M7M3M2.386.80%10.771.381.5477.2976.6178.6831.6285.67%111.76
20169M7M3M2.326.57%10.601.401.4977.4776.7978.8531.6285.97%112.95
20179M7M3M2.286.31%10.461.431.4577.6576.9779.0131.6186.25%114.47
201810M7M3M2.266.03%10.331.471.4177.8177.1379.1631.6086.52%116.20
201910M7M3M2.255.72%10.221.521.3977.9777.2979.3131.5986.79%117.89
202010M7M3M2.245.41%10.131.581.3778.1277.4479.4631.6287.05%119.33
202110M7M3M2.225.41%10.131.581.3778.1277.4479.4631.7387.30%120.55
202210M7M3M2.25.41%10.131.581.3778.1277.4479.4631.8087.54%121.65
202310M7M3M2.184.34%9.821.841.3578.5477.8779.8731.8487.78%122.65
202410M7M3M2.164.04%9.721.931.3478.6878.0280.0131.8688.01%123.61

United Arab Emirates Population Projections

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YearTotalMaleFemaleSex RatioGrowth rateBirth rateDeath rateFerti­lity rate
Life exp., total
Life expectancy
Life exp., maleLife exp., femaleMedian AgeUrbani­zation
Density, people / km2
Density, people/km2
202510M7M3M2.153.76%9.622.021.3378.8278.1680.1531.9088.23%124.57
202610M7M3M2.143.43%9.522.151.3378.9678.3180.2832.0788.45%125.52
202710M7M3M2.133.13%9.422.281.3279.1078.4580.4232.1988.65%126.46
202811M7M3M2.122.87%9.332.411.3279.2378.6080.5532.2888.86%127.34
202911M7M3M2.112.63%9.232.541.3179.3778.7480.6932.3389.05%128.08
203011M7M3M2.12.42%9.132.671.3179.5178.8980.8232.3789.24%128.63
203111M7M3M2.082.21%9.112.841.3179.6579.0480.9532.5289.43%128.98
203211M7M4M2.062.01%9.093.021.3179.7979.1881.0832.5989.60%129.15
203311M7M4M2.031.84%9.073.191.3279.9379.3381.2232.6089.78%129.17
203411M7M4M2.011.69%9.053.371.3280.0779.4781.3532.5989.95%129.14
203511M7M4M1.991.55%9.033.541.3280.2179.6281.4832.5690.12%129.07
203611M7M4M1.961.43%9.113.751.3380.3579.7681.6132.6790.28%128.99
203711M7M4M1.941.32%9.183.961.3380.4979.9181.7332.7390.45%128.90
203811M7M4M1.921.23%9.264.161.3480.6480.0581.8632.7490.61%128.78
203911M7M4M1.91.14%9.334.371.3480.7880.2081.9832.7090.77%128.64
204011M7M4M1.881.05%9.414.581.3580.9280.3482.1132.6690.93%128.47
204111M7M4M1.860.98%9.544.811.3681.0680.4882.2332.8291.08%128.31
204211M7M4M1.840.92%9.675.041.3781.2080.6382.3532.9391.23%128.11
204311M7M4M1.820.85%9.795.281.3781.3380.7782.4832.9991.38%127.91
204411M7M4M1.80.80%9.925.511.3881.4780.9282.6033.0191.53%127.68
204511M7M4M1.780.75%10.055.741.3981.6181.0682.7233.0191.67%127.39
204611M7M4M1.750.70%10.155.971.4081.7481.2082.8433.2291.82%127.04
204710M7M4M1.730.65%10.256.201.4181.8881.3482.9633.3891.96%126.67
204810M7M4M1.710.61%10.346.441.4182.0181.4783.0833.4992.09%126.29
204910M7M4M1.690.57%10.446.671.4282.1581.6183.2033.5392.23%125.99
205010M7M4M1.670.53%10.546.901.4382.2881.7583.3233.5492.36%125.78

Highest City Populations in United Arab Emirates

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RankCityPopulation, Urban AreaPopulation, City
1Dubai2,951,7922,964,000
2Sharjah1,772,0891,324,473
3Abu Dhabi1,532,051603,492
4Al-Ain630,87755,091
5Ajman403,297405,000

Map of United Arab Emirates

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