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Saudi Arabia vs. United Arab Emirates

Demographics

Saudi ArabiaUnited Arab Emirates
Population34,783,757 (July 2021 est.)

note: immigrants make up 38.3% of the total population, according to UN data (2019)
9,856,612 (July 2021 est.)

note: the UN estimated the country's total population was 9,771,000 as of mid-year 2019; immigrants make up 87.9% of the total population, according to UN data (2019)
Age structure0-14 years: 24.84% (male 4,327,830/female 4,159,242)

15-24 years: 15.38% (male 2,741,371/female 2,515,188)

25-54 years: 50.2% (male 10,350,028/female 6,804,479)

55-64 years: 5.95% (male 1,254,921/female 778,467)

65 years and over: 3.63% (male 657,395/female 584,577) (2020 est.)
0-14 years: 14.45% (male 745,492/female 698,330)

15-24 years: 7.94% (male 431,751/female 361,804)

25-54 years: 68.03% (male 5,204,618/female 1,592,987)

55-64 years: 7.68% (male 658,892/female 108,850)

65 years and over: 1.9% (male 146,221/female 43,138) (2020 est.)
Median agetotal: 30.8 years

male: 33 years

female: 27.9 years (2020 est.)
total: 38.4 years

male: 40.4 years

female: 31.5 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate1.62% (2021 est.)0.62% (2021 est.)
Birth rate14.56 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)10.87 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Death rate3.39 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)1.51 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Net migration rate5.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)-3.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Sex ratioat birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.09 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1.52 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 1.61 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 1.12 male(s)/female

total population: 1.3 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.07 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.19 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 3.27 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 6.05 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 3.39 male(s)/female

total population: 2.56 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
Infant mortality ratetotal: 12.58 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 13.86 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 11.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
total: 5.25 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 5.82 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 4.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
Life expectancy at birthtotal population: 76.4 years

male: 74.81 years

female: 78.07 years (2021 est.)
total population: 79.37 years

male: 78.04 years

female: 80.78 years (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate1.95 children born/woman (2021 est.)1.65 children born/woman (2021 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate<.1% (2020 est.)0.1% (2020)
Nationalitynoun: Saudi(s)

adjective: Saudi or Saudi Arabian
noun: Emirati(s)

adjective: Emirati
Ethnic groupsArab 90%, Afro-Asian 10%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.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS12,000 (2020 est.)<1,000 (2020)
ReligionsMuslim (official; citizens are 85-90% Sunni and 10-15% Shia), other (includes Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, Roman Catholic, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, and Sikh) (2012 est.)

note: despite having a large expatriate community of various faiths (more than 30% of the population), most forms of public religious expression inconsistent with the government-sanctioned interpretation of Sunni Islam are restricted; non-Muslims are not allowed to have Saudi citizenship and non-Muslim places of worship are not permitted (2013)
Muslim (official) 76%, Christian 9%, other (primarily Hindu and Buddhist, less than 5% of the population consists of Parsi, Baha'i, Druze, Sikh, Ahmadi, Ismaili, Dawoodi Bohra Muslim, and Jewish) 15% (2005 est.)

note: data represent the total population; as of 2019, immigrants make up about 87.9% of the total population, according to UN data
HIV/AIDS - deaths<200 (2020 est.)100 <100 (2020)
LanguagesArabic (official)

major-language sample(s):
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The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Arabic (official), English, Hindi, Malayam, Urdu, Pashto, Tagalog, Persian

major-language sample(s):
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The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Literacydefinition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 95.3%

male: 97.1%

female: 92.7% (2017)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 93.8%

male: 93.1%

female: 95.8% (2015)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)total: 17 years

male: 16 years

female: 16 years (2019)
total: 14 years

male: 14 years

female: 15 years (2017)
Education expendituresNANA
Urbanizationurban population: 84.5% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 1.69% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
urban population: 87.3% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 1.5% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Drinking water sourceimproved: total: 100% of population

unimproved: total: 0% of population (2017 est.)
improved: total: 100% of population

unimproved: total: 0% of population (2017 est.)
Sanitation facility accessimproved: total: 100% of population

unimproved: total: 0% of population (2017 est.)
improved: total: 98.6% of population

unimproved: total: 1.4% of population (2017 est.)
Major cities - population7.388 million RIYADH (capital), 4.697 million Jeddah, 2.079 million Mecca, 1.518 million Medina, 1.279 million Ad Dammam, 1.279 million Hufuf-Mubarraz (2021)2.921 million Dubai, 1.737 million Sharjah, 1.512 million ABU DHABI (capital) (2021)
Maternal mortality rate17 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)3 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)
Health expenditures6.4% (2018)4.2% (2018)
Physicians density2.61 physicians/1,000 population (2018)2.53 physicians/1,000 population (2018)
Hospital bed density2.2 beds/1,000 population (2017)1.4 beds/1,000 population (2017)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate35.4% (2016)31.7% (2016)
Dependency ratiostotal dependency ratio: 39.3

youth dependency ratio: 34.4

elderly dependency ratio: 4.9

potential support ratio: 20.5 (2020 est.)
total dependency ratio: 19.2

youth dependency ratio: 17.7

elderly dependency ratio: 1.5

potential support ratio: 66.4 (2020 est.)

Source: CIA Factbook