# Demographics of the United Arab Emirates

Demographic features of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) include population density, vital statistics, immigration and emigration data, ethnicity, education levels, religions practiced, and languages spoken within the UAE.
The majority of the population come of South Asia, of which the vast majority are Muslim at over three-quarters.

## Population

The United Arab Emirates experienced a significant population increase in recent years as a result of major economic growth. This led to an influx of workers from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds, increasing the population from 4 million in 2004 to roughly 8 million in 2009. As of 2020, foreigners represent 88.1% of the population, the second largest proportion of expats in the world in relation to the nationals after the Vatican. As of 2015, the largest group of non-UAE nationals are South Asian 59.4% (Indians 38.2%, Bangladeshi 9.5%, Pakistani 9.4%, and others 2.3%), Egyptian 10.2%, Filipino 6.1%, and other 12.8%.
Female citizens and non-citizens account for 28% percent of the UAE's population due to the high level of male foreign workers. The majority of the UAE population is between 25 and 54 years old. A large part of this can be attributed to the expatriate worker population who fall in the age category. Population is heavily concentrated to the northeast on the Musandam Peninsula. The three largest Emirates (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah), are home to nearly 85% of the population.
The 2022 population of the UAE stands at 9.4 million, of which 69% of the population is male and 31% of the population is female. The population density of the Emirates has reached a record 114 per km$^2$.
| Emirate | Census 1975 | Census 1985 | Census 1995 | Census 2005 | Est. 2010 |
| Abu Dhabi | 211,812 | 566,036 | 942,463 | 1,399,484 | |
| Dubai | 183,187 | 370,788 | 689,420 | 1,321,453 | |
| Sharjah | 78,790 | 228,317 | 402,792 | 793,573 | |
| Ajman | 16,690 | 54,546 | 121,491 | 206,997 | |
| Umm Al-Quwain | 6,908 | 19,285 | 35,361 | 49,159 | |
| Ras Al-Khaimah | 43,845 | 96,578 | 143,334 | 210,063 | |
| Fujairah | 16,655 | 43,753 | 76,180 | 125,698 | |
| Total | 557,887 | 1,379,303 | 2,411,041 | 4,106,427 | 7,512,000 (UN) 8,190,000 (NBS) |

### Age structure

| Age group | Male | Female | Total | % |
| Total | 2 806 141 | 1 300 286 | 4 106 427 | 100 |
| 0-4 | 145 601 | 136 538 | 282 139 | 6.87 |
| 5-9 | 139 929 | 129 453 | 269 382 | 6.56 |
| 10-14 | 130 778 | 118 279 | 249 057 | 6.07 |
| 15-19 | 121 388 | 110 838 | 232 226 | 5.66 |
| 20-24 | 272 036 | 161 530 | 433 566 | 10.56 |
| 25-29 | 483 657 | 178 137 | 661 794 | 16.12 |
| 30-34 | 489 879 | 150 482 | 640 361 | 15.59 |
| 35-39 | 386 762 | 113 844 | 500 606 | 12.19 |
| 40-44 | 262 718 | 78 543 | 341 261 | 8.31 |
| 45-49 | 174 459 | 51 311 | 225 770 | 5.50 |
| 50-54 | 107 339 | 31 539 | 138 878 | 3.38 |
| 55-59 | 51 303 | 15 804 | 67 107 | 1.63 |
| 60-64 | 18 820 | 8 527 | 27 347 | 0.67 |
| 65-69 | 9 172 | 5 285 | 14 457 | 0.35 |
| 70-74 | 5 391 | 4 013 | 9 404 | 0.23 |
| 75-79 | 2 440 | 1 837 | 4 277 | 0.10 |
| 80-84 | 1 537 | 1 439 | 2 976 | 0.07 |
| 85+ | 1 250 | 1 165 | 2 415 | 0.06 |
| unknown | 1 682 | 1 722 | 3 404 | 0.08 |
| Age group | Male | Female | Total | Percent |
| 0-14 | 416 308 | 384 270 | 800 578 | 19.50 |
| 15-64 | 2 366 679 | 898 833 | 3 265 512 | 79.52 |
| 65+ | 21 472 | 15 461 | 36 933 | 0.90 |

## Vital statistics
### UN estimates

| Period | Live births per year | Deaths per year | Natural change per year | CBR | CDR | NC | TFR | IMR |
| 1950–1955 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 49.4 | 20.8 | 28.6 | 6.97 | 175 |
| 1955–1960 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 3,000 | 49.3 | 18.0 | 31.3 | 6.97 | 156 |
| 1960–1965 | 5,000 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 46.3 | 13.2 | 33.2 | 6.87 | 120 |
| 1965–1970 | 8,000 | 2,000 | 6,000 | 41.2 | 8.7 | 32.5 | 6.77 | 77 |
| 1970–1975 | 12,000 | 2,000 | 10,000 | 32.6 | 6.4 | 26.2 | 6.36 | 51 |
| 1975–1980 | 23,000 | 4,000 | 19,000 | 29.1 | 4.6 | 24.5 | 5.66 | 36 |
| 1980–1985 | 36,000 | 4,000 | 32,000 | 30.5 | 3.7 | 26.8 | 5.23 | 25 |
| 1985–1990 | 45,000 | 5,000 | 40,000 | 28.4 | 3.1 | 25.4 | 4.83 | 17 |
| 1990–1995 | 48,000 | 5,000 | 42,000 | 23.0 | 2.5 | 20.4 | 3.88 | 12 |
| 1995–2000 | 49,000 | 6,000 | 43,000 | 18.1 | 2.1 | 16.0 | 2.97 | 10 |
| 2000–2005 | 57,000 | 6,000 | 51,000 | 16.2 | 1.7 | 14.4 | 2.38 | 8 |
| 2005–2010 | 81,000 | 8,000 | 73,000 | 14.0 | 1.4 | 12.6 | 1.86 | 7 |
| CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman) |||||||||
Source: United National World Population Prospects

### Registered births and deaths

| Year | Population | Live births | Deaths | Natural increase | Crude birth rate | Crude death rate | Rate of natural increase | TFR |
| 1976 | 646,900 | 21,394 | | | 33.1 | | | |
| 1977 | 748,100 | 23,119 | | | 30.9 | | | |
| 1978 | 852,200 | 27,645 | | | 32.4 | | | |
| 1979 | 952,000 | 31,685 | | | 33.3 | | | |
| 1980 | 1,042,000 | 34,774 | | | 33.4 | | | |
| 1981 | 1,121,000 | 38,547 | | | 34.4 | | | |
| 1982 | 1,190,000 | 41,961 | | | 35.3 | | | |
| 1983 | 1,253,000 | 43,419 | | | 34.7 | | | |
| 1984 | 1,318,000 | 43,704 | | | 33.2 | | | |
| 1985 | 1,391,000 | 44,192 | | | 31.8 | | | |
| 1986 | 1,472,000 | 45,460 | 3,222 | 42,238 | 30.9 | 2.2 | 28.7 | |
| 1987 | 1,561,000 | 47,703 | 3,231 | 44,472 | 30.6 | 2.1 | 28.5 | |
| 1988 | 1,656,000 | 50,836 | 3,447 | 47,389 | 30.7 | 2.1 | 28.6 | |
| 1989 | 1,756,000 | 51,903 | 3,640 | 48,263 | 29.6 | 2.1 | 27.5 | |
| 1990 | 1,860,000 | 52,264 | 3,938 | 48,326 | 28.1 | 2.1 | 26.0 | |
| 1991 | 1,970,000 | 49,496 | 4,026 | 45,470 | 25.4 | 2.0 | 23.4 | |
| 1992 | 2,087,000 | 50,604 | 4,271 | 46,333 | 24.2 | 2.0 | 22.2 | |
| 1993 | 2,207,000 | 50,197 | 4,342 | 45,855 | 22.7 | 2.0 | 20.7 | |
| 1994 | 2,329,000 | 52,440 | 4,584 | 47,856 | 22.5 | 2.0 | 20.5 | |
| 1995 | 2,449,000 | 48,567 | 4,779 | 43,788 | 19.8 | 2.0 | 17.8 | |
| 1996 | 2,571,000 | 47,050 | 4,785 | 42,265 | 18.3 | 1.9 | 16.4 | |
| 1997 | 2,700,000 | 46,360 | 4,878 | 41,482 | 17.2 | 1.8 | 15.4 | |
| 1998 | 2,838,000 | 48,136 | 5,033 | 43,103 | 17.0 | 1.8 | 15.2 | |
| 1999 | 2,988,000 | 49,659 | 5,194 | 44,465 | 16.6 | 1.7 | 14.9 | |
| 2000 | 3,155,000 | 53,686 | 5,396 | 48,290 | 17.0 | 1.7 | 15.3 | |
| 2001 | 3,326,000 | 56,136 | 5,777 | 50,359 | 16.9 | 1.7 | 15.2 | |
| 2002 | 3,507,000 | 58,070 | 5,994 | 52,075 | 16.6 | 1.7 | 14.9 | |
| 2003 | 3,742,000 | 61,165 | 6,002 | 55,163 | 16.3 | 1.6 | 14.7 | |
| 2004 | 4,088,000 | 63,113 | 6,123 | 56,990 | 15.4 | 1.5 | 13.9 | |
| 2005 | 4,580,000 | 64,623 | 6,361 | 58,262 | 14.1 | 1.4 | 12.7 | |
| 2006 | 5,242,000 | 62,960 | 6,483 | 56,477 | 12.0 | 1.2 | 10.8 | |
| 2007 | 6,044,000 | 67,677 | 7,414 | 60,263 | 11.2 | 1.2 | 10.0 | |
| 2008 | 6,894,000 | 68,779 | 7,755 | 61,024 | 9.9 | 1.1 | 8.8 | |
| 2009 | 7,666,000 | 76,366 | 7,789 | 68,577 | 10.0 | 1.0 | 9.0 | |
| 2010 | 8,271,000 | 79,625 | 7,414 | 72,211 | 9.6 | 0.9 | 8.7 | |
| 2011 | 8,672,000 | 83,950 | 7,350 | 76,600 | 9.7 | 0.8 | 8.9 | |
| 2012 | 8,900,000 | 89,578 | 7,702 | 81,876 | 10.1 | 0.9 | 9.2 | |
| 2013 | 9,006,000 | 93,539 | 8,015 | 88,524 | 10.4 | 0.9 | 9.5 | |
| 2014 | 9,071,000 | 95,860 | 8,265 | 87,595 | 10.6 | 0.9 | 9.7 | |
| 2015 | 9,154,000 | 97,328 | 8,755 | 88,573 | 10.6 | 1.0 | 9.6 | |
| 2016 | 9,121,200 | 98,299 | 8,988 | 89,311 | 10.8 | 1.0 | 9.8 | |
| 2017 | 9,304,277 | 97,738 | 8,826 | 88,912 | 10.5 | 0.9 | 9.6 | |
| 2018 | 9,366,828 | 95,309 | 8,794 | 86,515 | 10.2 | 0.9 | 9.3 | |
| 2019 | 9,503,738 | 94,697 | 9,006 | 85,691 | 10.0 | 1.0 | 9.0 | |
| 2020 | 9,282,410 | 97,572 | 10,357 | 87,215 | 10.5 | 1.1 | 9.4 | |
| 2021 | 9,861,007 | 92,777 | 11,911 | 80,866 | 9.7 | 1.2 | 8.5 | 1.494 |
| 2022 | 10,288,946 | 96,631 | 11,762 | 84,869 | 9.4 | 1.1 | 8.3 | 1.611 |
| 2023 | 10,678,556 | 101,088 | | | 9.5 | | | |

### Life expectancy

| Period | Life expectancy in Years | Period | Life expectancy in Years |
| 1950–1955 | 43.9 | 1985–1990 | 70.7 |
| 1955–1960 | 49.6 | 1990–1995 | 72.2 |
| 1960–1965 | 54.7 | 1995–2000 | 73.6 |
| 1965–1970 | 59.6 | 2000–2005 | 74.8 |
| 1970–1975 | 63.4 | 2005–2010 | 75.9 |
| 1975–1980 | 66.4 | 2010–2015 | 76.7 |
| 1980–1985 | 68.8 | 2019 | 78 |
Source: UN World Population Prospects

## Ethnic groups

The UAE National Bureau of Statistics does not publish demographic data in relation to any nationality. The figures listed in the table below are estimates provided by each country's embassy.
Source: United Arab Emirates Population Statistics
* Indians 27.49 (23.4%)
* Pakistanis 12.69 (10.8%)
* Emiratis 11.48 (9.78%)
* Bangladeshis 7.4 (6.30%)
* Filipinos 5.56 (4.73%)
* Iranians 4.76 (4.05%)
* Egyptians 4.23 (3.60%)
* Nepalese/Sri Lankans 3.17 (2.70%)
* Chinese 2.11 (1.80%)
* Others 38.55 (32.8%)
| Nationals of | Population | % of total population | Year of data |
| India | 2,770,000 | 27.49% | 2022 |
| Pakistan | 1,280,000 | 12.69% | 2022 |
| UAE | 1,160,000 | 11.48% | 2022 |
| Bangladesh | 750,000 | 7.40% | 2022 |
| Philippines | 560,000 | 5.56% | 2022 |
| Iran* | 480,000 | 4.76% | 2022 |
| Egypt* | 430,000 | 4.23% | 2022 |
| Nepal | 320,000 | 3.17% | 2022 |
| Sri Lanka | 320,000 | 3.17% | 2022 |
| Syria | 224,118 | 2.21% | 2022 |
| United Kingdom | 250,000 | 2.61% | 2015 |
| China | 210,000 | 2.11% | 2022 |
| Jordan | 200,000 | 2.09% | 2015 |
| Afghanistan | 150,000 | 1.57% | <2011 |
| Palestine | 150,000 | 1.57% | 2009 |
| European Union | 107,000 | 1.09% | 2015 |
| South Africa | 100,000 | 1.04% | 2014 |
| Lebanon* | 100,000 | 1.04% | 2015 |
| Morocco | 100,000 | 1.04% | 2019 |
| Ethiopia | 90,000 | 0.94% | 2014 |
| Yemen | 90,000 | 0.94% | 2013 |
| Indonesia | 85,000 | 0.89% | 2015 |
| Sudan | 75,000 | 0.78% | 2013 |
| Saudi Arabia | 70,000 | 0.73% | 2014 |
| Somalia | 70,000 | 0.73% | 2015 |
| Iraq | 52,000 | 0.54% | 2014 |
| Nigeria | 50,000-100,000 | 0.75% | 2014 |
| United States | 50,000 | 0.52% | 2015 |
| Russia | 40,000 | 0.42% | 2021 |
| Canada | 40,000 | 0.42% | 2014 |
| Kenya | 40,000 | 0.42% | 2014 |
| Turkey | 40,000 | 0.42% | 2023 |
| Tunisia | 39,238 | 0.39% | 2016 |
| Uganda | 30,000 | 0.32% | 2018 |
| France | 25,000 | 0.26% | 2015 |
| Australia | 16,000 | 0.17% | 2015 |
| Uzbekistan | 14,000 | 0.14% | 2014 |
| Germany | 12,000 | 0.12% | 2013 |
| Spain | 12,000 | 0.11% | 2015 |
| Romania | 10,000 | 0.10% | 2022 |
| Algeria | 10,000 | 0.10% | 2014 |
| Italy | 10,000 | 0.10% | 2014 |
| South Korea | 10,000 | 0.10% | 2014 |
| Thailand | 10,000 | 0.10% | 2014 |
| Comoros | 10,000 | 0.10% | 2017 |
| Oman | 9,000 | 0.09% | 2003 |
| Azerbaijan | 7,000 | 0.07% | 2015 |
| Ireland | 7,000 | 0.07% | 2015 |
| Bulgaria | 7,000 | 0.07% | 2013 |
| Malaysia | 6,000 – 7,000 | 0.06% – 0.07% | 2015 |
| Brazil | 5,500 | 0.06% | ? |
| Colombia | 5,466 | 0.06% | 2018 |
| Kazakhstan | 5,000 – 6,000 | 0.05% – 0.06% | 2015 |
| Greece | 5,000 | 0.05% | 2015 |
| Mauritania | 5,000 | 0.05% | 2015 |
| Netherlands | 5,000 | 0.05% | 2015 |
| Serbia | 5,000 | 0.05% | 2015 |
| Ukraine | 5,000 | 0.05% | 2014 |
| Vietnam | 5,000 | 0.05% | 2016 |
| Armenia | 5,000 | 0.05% | 2013 |
| Sweden | 4,000 | 0.04% | 2015 |
| Portugal | 4,000 | 0.04% | 2014 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 4,000 | 0.04% | 2012 |
| Denmark | 3,000 – 4,000 | ≈0.03% | 2015 |
| Mexico | 3,000 – 3,500 | ≈0.03% | 2014 |
| Belgium | 3,000 | 0.03% | 2015 |
| Eritrea | 3,000 | 0.03% | 2015 |
| Japan | 2,603 | ≈0.03% | 2015 |
| Dominican Republic | 2,000-3,000 | 0.02% – 0.03% | 2015 |
| Austria | 2,500 | ≈0.03% | 2015 |
| Belarus | 2,500 | ≈0.03% | 2015 |
| Hungary | 2,500 | ≈0.03% | 2015 |
| Switzerland | 2,430 | ≈0.03% | 2013 |
| Poland | 2,348 | ≈0.02% | 2015 |
| Singapore | >2,000 | ≈0.02% | 2015 |
| Argentina | 2,000 | 0.02% | 2013 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1,000 – 2,000 | 0.01% – 0.02% | 2015 |
| Czech Republic | 1,500 | ≈0.02% | 2015 |
| Venezuela | 1,200 | ≈0.01% | 2015 |
| Norway | 1,184 | ≈0.01% | 2015 |
| Finland | 1,180 | ≈0.01% | 2014 |
| Cyprus | 1,000 | ≈0.01% | 2014 |
| Slovakia | 1,000 | ≈0.01% | 2014 |
| Senegal | 700 – 800 | < 0.01% | 2015 |
| Ghana | 500 | < 0.01% | 2015 |
| Croatia | 500 | < 0.01% | 2012 |
| New Zealand | 444 | < 0.01% | 2015 |
| Taiwan | 400 | < 0.01% | 2015 |
| Latvia | 300 | < 0.01% | 2014 |
| Peru | 300 | < 0.01% | 2015 |
| Chile | 270 | < 0.01% | 2014 |
| Albania | 200 – 300 | < 0.01% | 2015 |
| Chad | 200 | < 0.01% | 2015 |
| Slovenia | 100 – 150 | < 0.01% | 2015 |
| Fiji | 100s | < 0.01% | 2014 |
| Angola | 100 | < 0.01% | 2015 |
| Nicaragua | 6 | < 0.01% | ? |
*The figures for the countries cannot be directly sourced to embassy statements.
The UAE population is made of Emirati nationals (11.6%), other Arab and Iranian nationalities (18%), South Asian nationalities (59%) and other expatriate nationalities (includes Westerners, East Asians and Africans) at 12%.

## Languages

Most spoken languages in the UAE (>100k users) :
| Language | Number of speakers (all users) |
| Gulf Arabic | 3,480,000 |
| Modern Standard Arabic | 3,090,000 |
| Malayalam | 1,060,000 |
| South Levantine Arabic | 499,000 |
| Tamil | 455,000 |
| Northern Pashto | 379,000 |
| Southern Balochi | 379,000 |
| Hejazi Arabic | 370,000 |
| Kannada | 337,000 |
| Tagalog | 303,000 |
| Omani Arabic | 303,000 |
| Iranian Persian | 303,000 |
| Egyptian Arabic | 284,000 |
| French language | 250,000 |
| Eastern Punjabi | 201,000 |
| Southern Pashto | 144,000 |
| North Levantine Arabic | 127,000 |
| Sinhala | 121,000 |
| Sindhi | 102,000 |
Although Arabic is the official language, the most used language is English. English is also the main medium of instruction at all levels of schooling.
Emirati people speak Gulf Arabic. The Achomi language (Persian dialect) is also spoken by a 303,000 people in the UAE.
Other languages spoken in the UAE, due to immigration, include other Arabic dialects (such as Levantine Arabic), Malayalam (1,060,000 speakers in the UAE), Hindi–Urdu, Marathi, Persian, Cebuano, Pashto (144,000 speakers in the UAE), Kannada, Bengali (337,000 speakers in the UAE), Punjabi (201,000 speakers in the UAE), Odia, Telugu, Baluchi and Southern Baluchi (379,000 speakers in the UAE), Sinhala (121,000 speakers in the UAE), Russian, Ukrainian, Somali, Tagalog (303,000 speakers in the UAE), Nepali, Mandarin, Tamil (455,000 speakers in the UAE), Spanish, Italian and Greek.
In 2019, Abu Dhabi included Hindi as third official court language. Currently, the UAE government provides lectures and tests to obtain a driving license in Urdu, Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil and Bengali, besides Arabic and English.

## Religions

* Islam (Official) (74.5%)
* Christianity (12.9%)
* Hinduism (6.2%)
* Buddhism (3.2%)
* Agnosticism (1.3%)
* Others (1.9%)