Polity · 1973 CE – present
United Arab Emirates
الإِمَارات العربِيَّة المُتَّحِدة · الإمارات العربية المتحدة · Al Imarat al Arabiyah al Muttahidah
Also recorded as UAE
- Peak recorded area
- 70,228 km²
- 1892 CE
- Rulers on record
- 13
- from 1971 CE
- Data series
- 371
- 1973 CE–2025 CE
Overview
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), also known simply as the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, situated at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal semi-constitutional monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as its national capital. The UAE borders Oman to the east and northeast, and Saudi Arabia to the southwest. It shares maritime borders with Qatar and Iran in the Persian Gulf, and with Oman in the Gulf of Oman.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
3 dated territorial extents on record from CShapes 2.0. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated. Cliopatria holds 2 further extents, measured on a different basis and deliberately not merged into this series.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before the last complete year, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 55 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population216 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 11.3Mpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 83.24years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Net Migration141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 158.6Kpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population Growth141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 2.31% annual2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Female140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 84.44years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Male140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 82.37years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 126 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP Current Usd100 obs · 1970 CE–2024 CE | 552.3Bcurrent US$2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| GDP per capita71 obs · 1950 CE–2022 CE | 77.2K2011 int'l $2022 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| Fao Camels Stocks64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 604.9Khead2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Cattle Stocks64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 119.1Khead2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Cereals Area Harvested64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 900ha2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Cereals Production64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 20.2Ktonnes2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
Military
6 of 58 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Arms Imports Tiv Million57 obs · 1968 CE–2024 CE | 1,086tiv_million2024 CE · SIPRI Arms Transfers TIV |
| CINC Score46 obs · 1971 CE–2016 CE | 0.0039CINC (share of world capability)2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption46 obs · 1971 CE–2016 CE | 226.2Mcoal-ton equivalents2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production46 obs · 1971 CE–2016 CE | 3.1Mtons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel46 obs · 1971 CE–2016 CE | 63Kpersons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Mil Equip Aircraft Transport43 obs · 1972 CE–2014 CE | 63count2014 CE · rDMC Military Capabilities v1.0 |
Territory & resources
6 of 56 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Arable Land %126 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 0.7094% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Gas Production125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 614.02TWh2024 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Oil Production125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 2,090.46TWh2024 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Forest Area %68 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 4.47% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Agricultural Land %63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 5.52%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Arable Land per capita Ha63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 0.0048hectares per person2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Governance
6 of 26 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index54 obs · 1971 CE–2024 CE | 0.103index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index54 obs · 1971 CE–2024 CE | 0.078index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index54 obs · 1971 CE–2024 CE | 0.03index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Regime Type54 obs · 1971 CE–2024 CE | 0RoW index (0-3)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index54 obs · 1971 CE–2024 CE | 0.643index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Checks And Balances49 obs · 1975 CE–2023 CE | 1count2023 CE · Database of Political Institutions (DPI) 2023 |
Development
6 of 50 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index54 obs · 1971 CE–2024 CE | 0.064index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Dpt Immunization %45 obs · 1980 CE–2024 CE | 96%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Measles Immunization %45 obs · 1980 CE–2024 CE | 98%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Pupil Teacher Ratio Primary45 obs · 1971 CE–2016 CE | 24.52ratio2016 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Mobile Subscriptions Per 10042 obs · 1982 CE–2023 CE | 199.42per_1002023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Tech Irrigated Area41 obs · 1961 CE–2001 CE | 76hectares2001 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
Rulers
13 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Hamdan bin Rashid Al MaktoumDeputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates1971 CE – 1973 CE
- Zayed bin Sultan Al NahyanHead of State1971 CE – 2004 CE
- Rashid bin Saeed Al MaktoumPrime Minister of the United Arab Emirates1979 CE – 1990 CE
- Maktoum bin Rashid Al MaktoumPrime Minister of the United Arab Emirates1990 CE – 2006 CE
- Khalifa bin Zayed Al NahyanHead of State2004 CE – 2022 CE
- Maktoum bin Rashid Al MaktoumPresident of the United Arab Emirates2004 CE
- Mohammed bin Rashid Al MaktoumPrime Minister of the United Arab Emirates2006 CE –
- Mohammed bin Rashid Al MaktoumVice President of the United Arab Emirates2006 CE –
- Mansour bin Zayed Al NahyanDeputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates2009 CE –
- Saif bin Zayed Al NahyanDeputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates2009 CE –
- Maktoum bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al MaktoumDeputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates2021 CE –
- Mohammed Bin Zayed Al NahyanHead of State2022 CE –
- Hamdan bin Mohammed Al MaktoumDeputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates2024 CE –
Country profile
From the CIA World Factbook 2024. Long entries are trimmed at a sentence boundary.
- Location
- Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, between Oman and Saudi Arabia
- Government type
- federation of monarchies
- Executive branch
- chief of state: President MUHAMMAD BIN ZAYID Al Nuhayyan (since 14 May 2022); head of government: Prime Minister and Co-Vice President MUHAMMAD BIN RASHID Al Maktum (since 5 January 2006); cabinet: Council of Ministers announced by the prime minister and approved by the president;
- 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.)
- Natural resources
- petroleum, natural gas
- Economy
- high-income, oil-driven Middle Eastern economy; fastest GDP growth of Gulf states; diversification through tourism, construction, and services; strong foreign direct investment orientation; continued government investment and business-friendly reforms
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- Arabic
- Currency
- Emirati dirhams (AED)
Memberships
- 21-member Defense Pact (1950)Military alliance · member1953 CE –
- OPECOPECEconomic bloc · member1967 CE –
- United NationsUNInternational organisation · member1971 CE –
- Arab LeagueALInternational organisation · member1971 CE –
- 23-member Entente (1945)Historical alliance · member1972 CE –
- GCCGCCEconomic bloc · founding member1981 CE –
- 6-member Defense Pact (2000)Military alliance · member2000 CE –
- BRICSBRICSEconomic bloc · member2024 CE –
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CHAT (Comin-Hobijn)2009 (FinalCHAT_72909)
Comin, D. & Hobijn, B. (2009). The CHAT Dataset. NBER Working Paper 15319.
NBER research data, freely downloadable
CIA World Factbook 2024
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
CShapes 2.02.0
Schvitz, G. et al. (2022). Mapping the International System, 1886-2019: The CShapes 2.0 Dataset. Journal of Conflict Resolution 66(1).
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Database of Political Institutions (DPI) 2023DPI 2023
Cruz, C., Keefer, P. & Scartascini, C. (2023). Database of Political Institutions 2023. Inter-American Development Bank.
IDB open data, attribution
FAOSTAT2024 release
FAO (2024). FAOSTAT Statistical Database. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
CC BY 4.0
Maddison Project Database 20232023
Bolt, J. & van Zanden, J.L. (2024). Maddison Project Database 2023. University of Groningen GGDC.
CC BY 4.0
Our World in Data (2024). Energy dataset. Based on Energy Institute & Ember.
CC BY 4.0
rDMC Military Capabilities v1.0v1.0
Reconstructed Data on Military Capabilities (rDMC), v1.0. Harvard Dataverse.
Academic use, attribution
SIPRI (2024). Arms Transfers Database (Trend-Indicator Values).
Free for non-commercial use, attribution
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
United Arab Emirates is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.