This statistic depicts the population size of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates from 2005 to 2015 and a forecast up to 2030. By 2030, the city of Dubai will be inhabited by almost 3.5 million people according to projections.

The statistic shows the total population of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 2019 to 2029. In 2023, approximately 10.68 million inhabitants lived in the UAE. Population of the United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE) have undergone extreme demographic changes over the past decade. With the increasing developments, tourism and global recognition of cities in the UAE like Abu Dhabi and Dubai, it is to no surprise that the total population has grown by about 6 million people over the past decade. However, the majority of the total population of the UAE are expatriates. Any expatriate having lived in the UAE for a minimum of 20 years can apply for a citizenship, consequently, the growing total population is mainly due to the growing number of expatriates who become citizens and the high number of immigrants which gives the UAE the world’s highest net migration rate. This becomes evident when looking at the fertility rate, the average rate of children born per fertile woman in a year in the UAE, which has been steadily declining over the last decade. Life expectancy, however, has been increasing steadily over the same time span. It is interesting to note that, despite this increase, total population of the UAE consists mainly of people between the ages of 15 to 64, another fact pointing towards expatriates and immigrants contributing to the increasing numbers.

As of 2018, the demographic group of 30 to 34-year-olds in the Emirate of Dubai was above 572 thousand people. Considering that the total population of the Emirate of Dubai was estimated to be around 2.8 million people in 2020, the above-mentioned age bracket is a substantial share of Dubai’s society.

  In the context of the United Arab Emirates  

Dubai is the most populous region in the United Arab Emirates, followed by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi the United Arab Emirates was the second largest country amongst the Gulf Cooperation Council countries with almost ten million people, behind Saudi Arabia with a population thrice the size. The United Arab Emirates has about 6.4 million male and 2.9 million female inhabitants altogether.

 Expats and Emirati   

When discussing the demographic composition of this region, the gender imbalance is not the only demographic skewness experienced in the United Arab Emirates, particularly in its Dubai region. Additionally, foreign workers and expatriates significantly outnumber the indigenous population. Only an estimated 1.1 million people in the United Arab Emirates are nationals of their country. The majority of the expatriate’s hail from the subcontinent. In terms of the working population of the United Arab Emirates, 68 percent of men and 66 percent of women in the labor force are from Asia.

 Outlook   

The population density of the UAE is continuing to grow, though the urban population growth of the UAE had slowed down considerably.

The growth of the real gross domestic product (GDP) in the United Arab Emirates was forecast to increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 0.3 percentage points. This overall increase does not happen continuously, notably not in 2027, 2028 and 2029. The growth is estimated to amount to 4.26 percent in 2029. As described by the International Monetary Fund, this indicator describes the annual change in the gross domestic product at constant prices. This is expressed in national currency units. Here the gross domestic product represents the total value of the final goods and services produced during a year.Find more key insights for the growth of the real gross domestic product (GDP) in countries like Jordan, Israel, and Oman.

In 2020, the forecasted largest age group in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was those between 30 and 34 years, at around 1.8 million. The second largest age group in the country was between 25 and 29 years, forecasted at around 1.4 million.

 Regional context 

The UAE is a federation of seven emirates with a land area of around 83.6 thousand square kilometers, and is one of the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Together with other countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, they make up the largest youth population in the world. Among the GCC countries, the UAE had the third largest share of population aged 15 to 24 years, at 11.2 percent. The forecasted urban population growth rate in the UAE was relatively lower than in the other GCC countries in 2020.

 Population development 

In 2019, the annual urban population growth in the UAE reached 1.75 percent. Within a time span of 20 years, the number of inhabitants in the country’s most populous city, Dubai, is forecasted to almost double.

Chart and table of the Uae net migration rate from 1950 to 2025. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100.

The number of international tourist arrivals in the United Arab Emirates was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 17.3 million arrivals (+63.32 percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the arrivals is estimated to reach 44.66 million arrivals and therefore a new peak in 2029. Depicted is the number of inbound international tourists. According to World Bank this refers to tourists travelling to a country which is not their usual residence, whereby the main purpose is not work related and the planned visitation period does not exceed 12 months. The forecast has been adjusted for the expected impact of COVID-19.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in more than 150 countries and regions worldwide. All input data are sourced from international institutions, national statistical offices, and trade associations. All data has been are processed to generate comparable datasets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).Find more key insights for the number of international tourist arrivals in countries like Kuwait and Qatar.

The gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in the United Arab Emirates was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 12,969.6 U.S. dollars (+26.17 percent). After the sixth consecutive increasing year, the GDP per capita is estimated to reach 62,519.19 U.S. dollars and therefore a new peak in 2029. This indicator describes the gross domestic product per capita at current prices. Thereby the gross domestic product was first converted from national currency to U.S. dollars at current exchange prices and then divided by the total population. The gross domestic products is a measure of a country's productivity. It refers to the total value of goods and service produced during a given time period (here a year).Find more key insights for the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in countries like Lebanon, Bahrain, and Kuwait.

The crude birth rate in the United Arab Emirates declined to 9.89 live births per 1,000 inhabitants in 2022. This was the first time during the observed period that the rate declined in the United Arab Emirates. Notably, the rate is continuously decreasing over the last years.The crude birth rate refers to the number of live births in a given year, expressed per 1,000 population. When studied in combination with the crude death rate, the rate of natural population increase can be determined.Find more statistics on other topics about the United Arab Emirates with key insights such as total life expectancy at birth, total fertility rate, and number of tuberculosis infections .

In 2018, the majority of the expatriates residing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) hailed from India, with a population size of around 2.6 million. The expatriate population made up the vast majority of the country’s total population, at around 89 percent as of 2018.

 UAE Economy 

With a real gross domestic product growth rate of 1.7 percent in 2018, the UAE is one of the biggest economies in the region. (1143018) Since its discovery of oil in the mid 90’s, the country has transformed and has become a regional hub. It has demonstrated significant growth in various economics sectors, driven by the country’s shift in focus from the hydrocarbons sector. (1143358) Along with low levels of unemployment, this has led to the influx of workers from diverse nationalities.

 Migration figures

The UAE is one of the top countries worldwide to attract global talent. (1039195) In 2018, around a quarter of million people migrated from the Philippines to work in the UAE. (880782) In comparison, the number of Indonesian workers amounted to less than 0.6 thousand in 2019.