Catalina Espinosa
Research expert covering society, economy, and politics for Europe and the EU
Demographics in UAE - statistics & facts
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven princely states (emirates) on the north-eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. For centuries, the region’s main economic activity was the trade with pearls, which declined around the late 1920s. Soon after, oil was discovered in the area of, at that point region was under British control. In 1971 the United Arab Emirates gained independence from the Britain. In order to finally be able to utilize the income derived from their own fossil fuel reserves after gaining sovereignty, the government of the United Arab Emirates invited expatriates and foreign workers into their emirates to make up for the lack of expertise and workforce to operate their oil and gas fields as well as to help develop their country into a modern economy. This decision significantly shaped the future and outlook of the UAE’s demography.
Expatriates and UAE nationals
The United Arab Emirates has an estimated population of 11 million. According to projections, the population will grow by another half million within the coming 5 years. Today just over a million of the residents in the United Arab Emirates are nationals, the majority of residents are expats and foreign workers. Majority of foreigner in the United Arab Emirates originate from South Asia with Pakistani nationals in the lead.Gender distribution in UAE
Through the migration of expatriates and foreign workers into the UAE, the gender distribution in country has been unbalanced, as more men entered the Emirates than woman for work. According to 2018 census there are roughly over six million men and around three million women living in the UAE. This distortion is also represented in the workforce of the UAE, where women are also underrepresented.
