United Arab Emirates Population

The United Arab Emirates has one of the most unusual demographic profiles on earth, with foreign nationals making up close to nine in ten residents. Decades of migration to build and run its economy have produced a population skewed heavily toward young, male, working-age expatriates. The small Emirati citizenry, by contrast, has seen its own fertility fall over time.

With roughly 11.5 million people as of 2026, United Arab Emirates ranks 85th in the world by population. Set in Western Asia, its demographic path this century turns on the balance of births, deaths and migration. Population density stands at about 163 people for every square kilometre of land.

United Arab Emirates is projected to keep growing until about 2100, when its population peaks at roughly 26.0 million before a gradual decline sets in, leaving it near 26.0 million by 2100.

Half of United Arab Emirates is currently younger than about 32, but by 2100 the median age is projected to reach around 34, while life expectancy, near 83 years, keeps rising. An older population gradually reshapes the labour force, pension systems and healthcare demand.

Fertility is exceptionally low, near 1.21 births per woman, far beneath the roughly 2.1 needed to hold a population steady. Immigration is a meaningful contributor, bringing in more people than leave in a typical year.

The trajectory above is the UN's medium scenario. Wars, policy shifts, economic change and migration can all move the numbers, but the broad shape, growth followed by an eventual peak, is robust across the main variants.