Demographics & population — United Arab Emirates
Population size, age structure, migration, ethnicity, language, education, and health indicators.
Profile updated 2026-06-02
⚡ Demographics & population at a glance
Population size, age structure, migration, ethnicity, language, education, and health indicators. Key figure for United Arab Emirates: 9,992,083
Immigration rules and fees change frequently — confirm current requirements on official government or embassy websites.
Population overview
- Population
9,992,083
- Population - note
note: the UN estimated the country's total population was 9,267,000 as of mid-year 2016; immigrants make up almost 85% of the total population, according to 2015 UN data
- Population Growth Rate
2.87%
- Urban Population
- Population in Major Urban Areas
- ABU DHABI (capital) 942,000
- Dubai 1.978 million
- Sharjah 983,000
Age & family
Migration
- Net Migration Rate - migrant(s)/1,000 population
15.04
Ethnicity & language
- Ethnic Groups
Emirati 19%, other Arab and Iranian 23%, South Asian 50%, other expatriates (includes Westerners and East Asians) 8%
- Nationality Noun
Emirati(s)
Education
- Literacy - total population
77.9%
- Literacy - male
76.1%
- Literacy - female
81.7%
- Literacy Definition
age 15 and over can read and write
- Total School Life Expectancy - (primary to tertiary)
Health & living conditions
- Life Expectancy at Birth
- Infant Mortality Rate
- Infant Mortality Rate - total deaths/1,000 live births
- Maternal Mortality Rate - deaths/100,000 live births
12
- Physicians Density - physicians/1,000 population
1.93
- Hospital Bed Density - beds/1,000 population
1.9
- Health Expenditures - percent of GDP
3.3%
- Obesity - adult prevalence rate
32.7%
- Drinking Water Source - percent of urban population improved
- Sanitation Facility Access - percent of urban population improved