United Arab Emirates People - 2022

Population

9,915,803 (2022 est.)

note: the UN estimated the country's total population was 10,082,000 as of 2022; immigrants make up 88.1% of the total population, according to UN data (2020)

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.)

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

Languages

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

major-language sample(s):
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 2020, immigrants make up about 88.1% of the total population, according to UN data

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: 20.3

youth dependency ratio: 18.2

elderly dependency ratio: 2.1

potential support ratio: 47.3 (2021 est.)

Median age

total: 38.4 years

male: 40.4 years

female: 31.5 years (2020 est.)

Population growth rate

0.58% (2022 est.)

Birth rate

10.81 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)

Death rate

1.56 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)

Net migration rate

-3.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 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: 87.5% of total population (2022)

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

Major urban areas - population

2.964 million Dubai, 1.786 million Sharjah, 1.540 million ABU DHABI (capital) (2022)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.2 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 3.32 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 5.41 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 1.86 male(s)/female

total population: 2.21 male(s)/female (2022 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio

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

Infant mortality rate

total: 5.14 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 5.71 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 4.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2022 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 79.56 years

male: 78.21 years

female: 80.99 years (2022 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.64 children born/woman (2022 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

N/A

Drinking water source

improved: urban: N/A

rural: N/A

total: 100% of population

unimproved: urban: N/A

rural: N/A

total: 0% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure

4.3% of GDP (2019)

Physicians density

2.6 physicians/1,000 population (2019)

Hospital bed density

1.4 beds/1,000 population (2017)

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: N/A

rural: N/A

total: 100% of population

unimproved: urban: N/A

rural: N/A

total: 0% of population (2020 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

N/A

Major infectious diseases

note: widespread ongoing transmission of a respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is occurring throughout UAE; as of 9 December 2022, UAE has reported a total of 1,045,040 cases of COVID-19 or 10,566.2 cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population with a total of 2,348 cumulative deaths or a rate of 23.74 cumulative deaths per 100,000 population

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

31.7% (2016)

Alcohol consumption per capita

total: 2.03 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer: 0.21 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine: 0.14 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits: 1.65 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols: 0.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

N/A

Education expenditures

3.9% of GDP (2020 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 97.6%

male: 98%

female: 96.9% (2019)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 16 years

male: 15 years

female: 17 years (2020)

Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)

total: 14%

male: 12.5%

female: 18.7% (2020 est.)