Home

United Arab Emirates vs. Saudi Arabia

Demographics

United Arab EmiratesSaudi Arabia
Population9,856,612 (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)
34,783,757 (July 2021 est.)

note: immigrants make up 38.3% of the total population, according to UN data (2019)
Age structure0-14 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.)
0-14 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.)
Median agetotal: 38.4 years

male: 40.4 years

female: 31.5 years (2020 est.)
total: 30.8 years

male: 33 years

female: 27.9 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate0.62% (2021 est.)1.62% (2021 est.)
Birth rate10.87 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)14.56 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Death rate1.51 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)3.39 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Net migration rate-3.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)5.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Sex ratioat 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.)
at 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.)
Infant mortality ratetotal: 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.)
total: 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.)
Life expectancy at birthtotal population: 79.37 years

male: 78.04 years

female: 80.78 years (2021 est.)
total population: 76.4 years

male: 74.81 years

female: 78.07 years (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate1.65 children born/woman (2021 est.)1.95 children born/woman (2021 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate0.1% (2020)<.1% (2020 est.)
Nationalitynoun: Emirati(s)

adjective: Emirati
noun: Saudi(s)

adjective: Saudi or Saudi Arabian
Ethnic groupsEmirati 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.)Arab 90%, Afro-Asian 10%
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS<1,000 (2020)12,000 (2020 est.)
ReligionsMuslim (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
Muslim (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)
HIV/AIDS - deaths100 <100 (2020)<200 (2020 est.)
LanguagesArabic (official), English, Hindi, Malayam, Urdu, Pashto, Tagalog, Persian

major-language sample(s):
???? ????? ??????? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ????????? ??? ????????? ???????? (Arabic)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Arabic (official)

major-language sample(s):
???? ????? ??????? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ????????? ??? ????????? ???????? (Arabic)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Literacydefinition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 93.8%

male: 93.1%

female: 95.8% (2015)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 95.3%

male: 97.1%

female: 92.7% (2017)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)total: 14 years

male: 14 years

female: 15 years (2017)
total: 17 years

male: 16 years

female: 16 years (2019)
Education expendituresNANA
Urbanizationurban population: 87.3% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 1.5% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
urban population: 84.5% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 1.69% 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: 98.6% of population

unimproved: total: 1.4% of population (2017 est.)
improved: total: 100% of population

unimproved: total: 0% of population (2017 est.)
Major cities - population2.921 million Dubai, 1.737 million Sharjah, 1.512 million ABU DHABI (capital) (2021)7.388 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)
Maternal mortality rate3 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)17 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)
Health expenditures4.2% (2018)6.4% (2018)
Physicians density2.53 physicians/1,000 population (2018)2.61 physicians/1,000 population (2018)
Hospital bed density1.4 beds/1,000 population (2017)2.2 beds/1,000 population (2017)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate31.7% (2016)35.4% (2016)
Dependency ratiostotal dependency ratio: 19.2

youth dependency ratio: 17.7

elderly dependency ratio: 1.5

potential support ratio: 66.4 (2020 est.)
total dependency ratio: 39.3

youth dependency ratio: 34.4

elderly dependency ratio: 4.9

potential support ratio: 20.5 (2020 est.)

Source: CIA Factbook