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E.g., 07/10/2026
Country Resource - United Arab Emirates
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United Arab Emirates

AE
  • Population..........................................................................10,032,213 (2024 est.)
  • Population growth rate ....................................................................0.6% (2024 est.)
  • Birth rate.......................................................10.7 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)
  • Death rate....................................................1.7 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)
  • Net migration rate................................-3.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)
  • 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.)

* Data represent the total population; as of 2019, immigrants make up about 87.9% of the total population, according to UN data

CIA World Factbook

Recent Activity

The Dubai skyline.
Feature
December 5, 2024
As the Gulf Region Seeks a Pivot, Reforms to Its Oft-Criticized Immigration Policies Remain a Work in Progress

As countries in the Gulf region rewrite their immigration rules to reflect changing economic futures, they have made reforms to their oft-criticized kafala sponsorship system. But not all migrants are set to benefit equally. This article provides an overview of the reforms and the growing inclusion gap between highly skilled professionals and low-skilled migrants.

An immigrant from Iraq living in Michigan.
Spotlight
June 12, 2024
Middle Eastern and North African Immigrants in the United States

Immigration to the United States from the Middle East and North Africa is longstanding and multifaceted. Compared to other immigrants, those from the Middle East and North Africa are more likely to be proficient in English, have graduated college, and be a U.S. citizen. This article provides an overview of this population, more than one-quarter of which lives in the greater New York, Detroit, or Los Angeles areas.

Luxury cars in front of a hotel on Dubai's Palm Jumeirah.
Feature
November 10, 2022
Millionaire Migration Rises and Heads to New Destinations

Migrant millionaires are once again on the move, though headed to new destinations amid fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. While wealthy new arrivals can help provide a healthy tax base and invest in local economies, they can upset housing markets and exacerbate wealth disparities, as this article describes.

Bangladesh_migrants
Feature
July 9, 2020
COVID-19 Pandemic Profoundly Affects Bangladeshi Workers Abroad with Consequences for Origin Communities

Bangladesh is one of the world’s largest migrant-origin countries, and money sent home by its workers abroad is crucial to an economy that has become one of the more vibrant ones in South Asia. Against this backdrop, the COVID-19 pandemic has injected turmoil into the economy as Bangladeshi migrants have lost their jobs, families are seeing reduced remittances, and would-be migrant workers have had to shelve their plans to work abroad.

UAEConstruction JakeBrewer Flickr
Feature
May 18, 2016
Kenyan Migration to the Gulf Countries: Balancing Economic Interests and Worker Protection

Kenyan migration to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries has been on the rise over the last few decades, spurred by rising unemployment and instability in Kenya combined with the GCC region's economic growth and proximity. While both sending and origin countries benefit economically from this new migration, it presents significant challenges for these governments, particularly in the area of labor rights, as this feature article explores. 

Cover Top10 7Workers2014
Top Ten
December 11, 2014
Exploitation of Migrant Workers in Asia

Mass cases of exploitation and abuse of migrant workers have drawn international scrutiny and criticism of the kafala system in Gulf Cooperation Council countries and private recruitment practices in Southeast Asia. With Qatar under scrutiny amid a frenzied construction boom in advance of the 2022 World Cup, international organizations and human-rights groups in 2014 stepped up their campaign for worker protection reforms.

ilo_gcc construction workers
Feature
April 9, 2014
Global Civil Society in Qatar and the Gulf Cooperation Council: Emerging Dilemmas and Opportunities

As Qatar races to build its infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup, international civil-society actors increasingly are highlighting the harsh conditions under which temporary labor migrants often work in Qatar and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. This article examines the emerging roles, challenges, and opportunities that civil-society groups face in the region; it also analyzes the prevailing legal and political structures where civil society operates in the Gulf.

Feature
September 18, 2013
Labor Migration in the United Arab Emirates: Challenges and Responses

The United Arab Emirates has the fifth-largest international migrant stock in the world, with 7.8 million migrants out of a total population of 9.2 million. Heavily reliant on foreign labor to sustain economic growth, the UAE government in 1971 introduced a temporary guest worker program. This article examines the economic, social, and political challenges and implications of the program for the government, Emirati nationals, and migrant workers in the UAE.

Feature
April 1, 2005
Domestic Workers: Little Protection for the Underpaid
An ILO study of Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates highlights the special risks of domestic work for women. Gloria Moreno-Fontes Chammartin discusses the findings and implications.
Cover image for The State of Global Mobility in the Aftermath of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Reports
April 2024

The State of Global Mobility in the Aftermath of the COVID-19 Pandemic

While human mobility globally has largely recovered from its pandemic-era drop, it is undergoing considerable change. The causes are diverse, from climate shocks and shifting economic conditions to conflict-induced displacement. This report explores how the scale and characteristics of cross-border movement are evolving post-pandemic, featuring case studies from different world regions.

Cover image for Diverging Paths
Reports
March 2024

Diverging Paths: The Impacts of COVID-19 on Migration in the Middle East and North Africa

The COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts on mobility in the Middle East and North Africa were immediate and wide-reaching. These include the world’s largest and most sustained repatriation efforts for stranded migrants, halted and reversed irregular journeys, and a reckoning with some countries’ reliance on foreign labor. This report examines how these impacts varied across countries in this highly diverse region, as well as the uneven recovery.

coverthumb_covid19 global mobility 2020
Reports
April 2021

COVID-19 and the State of Global Mobility in 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically curtailed cross-border mobility in 2020, affecting travelers and migrants around the world. This report presents a first-of-its-kind analysis of the many thousands of travel restrictions and border closures imposed by governments to curb the spread of the virus. It examines how these policies evolved, varied across countries and regions, and what these trends may mean for the future of international movement.

cover filipinorecruitment
Reports
June 2010

Migration's Middlemen: Regulating Recruitment Agencies in the Philippines-United Arab Emirates Corridor

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the third-largest destination for Filipino migrants, with private recruitment agencies in both countries managing the flow of 200,000 Filipino workers who head there annually. This report examines the recruiters’ practices as well as their regulation by the Philippine and UAE governments, offering recommendations to strengthen the system of oversight.
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Policy Briefs
August 2012

Regulating Private Recruitment in the Asia-Middle East Labour Migration Corridor

This issue brief examines Asian labor migration to the Middle East—a region distinguished by its major dependence on migrant workers, the overwhelming majority from Asia. The author focuses on the role of private recruiting agencies as key facilitators of temporary labor migration and perpetrators of exploitative practices.