United Arab Emirates People - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Population

9,856,612 (July 2021 est.)

note: the UN estimated the country's total population was 9,771,000 as of mid-year 2019; immigrants make up 87.9% of the total population, according to UN data (2019)

Nationality

noun: Emirati(s)

adjective: Emirati

Ethnic groups

Emirati 11.6%, South Asian 59.4% (includes Indian 38.2%, Bangladeshi 9.5%, Pakistani 9.4%, other 2.3%), Egyptian 10.2%, Filipino 6.1%, other 12.8% (2015 est.)

Languages

Arabic (official), English, Hindi, Malayam, Urdu, Pashto, Tagalog, Persian

printed major-language sample:
كتاب حقائق العالم، المصدر الذي لا يمكن الاستغناء عنه للمعلومات الأساسية (Arabic)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Religions

Muslim (official) 76%, Christian 9%, other (primarily Hindu and Buddhist, less than 5% of the population consists of Parsi, Baha'i, Druze, Sikh, Ahmadi, Ismaili, Dawoodi Bohra Muslim, and Jewish) 15% (2005 est.)

note: data represent the total population; as of 2019, immigrants make up about 87.9% of the total population, according to UN data

MENA religious affiliation

Age structure

0-14 years: 14.45% (male 745,492/female 698,330)

15-24 years: 7.94% (male 431,751/female 361,804)

25-54 years: 68.03% (male 5,204,618/female 1,592,987)

55-64 years: 7.68% (male 658,892/female 108,850)

65 years and over: 1.9% (male 146,221/female 43,138) (2020 est.)

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 19.2

youth dependency ratio: 17.7

elderly dependency ratio: 1.5

potential support ratio: 66.4 (2020 est.)

Median age

total: 38.4 years

male: 40.4 years

female: 31.5 years (2020 est.)

Population growth rate

0.62% (2021 est.)

Birth rate

10.87 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)

Death rate

1.51 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)

Net migration rate

-3.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)

Population distribution

population is heavily concentrated to the northeast on the Musandam Peninsula; the three largest emirates - Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah - are home to nearly 85% of the population

Urbanization

urban population: 87.3% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 1.5% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

Major urban areas - population

2.921 million Dubai, 1.737 million Sharjah, 1.512 million ABU DHABI (capital) (2021)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.07 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.19 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 3.27 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 6.05 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 3.39 male(s)/female

total population: 2.56 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

Maternal mortality rate

3 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 5.25 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 5.82 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 4.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 79.37 years

male: 78.04 years

female: 80.78 years (2021 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.65 children born/woman (2021 est.)

Drinking water source

improved: total: 100% of population

unimproved: total: 0% of population (2017 est.)

Current Health Expenditure

4.2% (2018)

Physicians density

2.53 physicians/1,000 population (2018)

Hospital bed density

1.4 beds/1,000 population (2017)

Sanitation facility access

improved: total: 98.6% of population

unimproved: total: 1.4% of population (2017 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

0.1% (2020)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

HIV/AIDS - deaths

100

Major infectious diseases

note: widespread ongoing transmission of a respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is occurring throughout UAE; as of 6 April 2021, UAE has reported a total of 472,148 cases of COVID-19 or 4,773.8 cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population with 15.29 cumulative deaths per 100,000 population; as of 23 February 2021, 35.2% of the population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

31.7% (2016)

Education expenditures

N/A

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 93.8%

male: 93.1%

female: 95.8% (2015)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 14 years

male: 14 years

female: 15 years (2017)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24

total: 7.2%

male: 4.9%

female: 15% (2019 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding United Arab Emirates on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of United Arab Emirates 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about United Arab Emirates 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.