World Factbook
United Arab Emirates
Al Imarat al Arabiyah al Muttahidah
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Literacy
male
99% (2024 est.)
female
98.4% (2024 est.)
total population
98.8% (2024 est.)
Languages
Languages
Arabic (official), English, Hindi, Malayalam, 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 74.5% (official) (Sunni 63.3%, Shia 6.7%, other 4.4%), Christian 12.9%, Hindu 6.2%, Buddhist 3.2%, agnostic 1.3%, other 1.9% (2020 est.)
note: data represent the total population; as of 2020, immigrants make up about 88.1% of the total population, according to UN data
Sex ratio
at birth
1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years
2.47 male(s)/female
total population
2.13 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
3.25 male(s)/female
Birth rate
10.65 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
1.73 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
38.1 years
total
35.8 years (2025 est.)
female
29.8 years
Population
male
6,831,802
total
10,093,593 (2025 est.)
female
3,261,791
Nationality
noun
Emirati(s)
adjective
Emirati
Tobacco use
male
13.9% (2025 est.)
total
10.7% (2025 est.)
female
2.4% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
87.8% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
1.5% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
16.4% (male 842,577/female 802,302)
15-64 years
81.4% (male 5,812,470/female 2,353,750)
65 years and over
2.2% (2024 est.) (male 169,084/female 52,030)
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
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
23.4 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio
20.4 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio
33.4 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
3 (2025 est.)
Physician density
2.99 physicians/1,000 population (2023)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
5.3% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
12.1% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
-2.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Hospital bed density
2 beds/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate
1.6 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 100% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 100% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 100% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 0% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 0% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
3.9% of GDP (2021 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
14.8% national budget (2021 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
5.5 deaths/1,000 live births
total
4.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
4.4 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
0.62% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
0.78 (2025 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
Life expectancy at birth
male
78.6 years
female
81.4 years
total population
79.9 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
3 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: rural
rural: 99.9% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 99.8% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 99.8% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 0.1% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 0.2% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 0.2% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
0.21 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
0.14 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
2.03 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.)
Major urban areas - population
3.008 million Dubai, 1.831 million Sharjah, 1.567 million ABU DHABI (capital) (2023)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
31.7% (2016)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
67.4% (2018 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
male
15 years (2023 est.)
total
16 years (2023 est.)
female
16 years (2023 est.)