Share of population living in cities, towns and suburbs vs. GDP per capita in United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates: Share of population living in cities, towns and suburbs vs. GDP per capita was 90.3% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of population living in cities, towns and suburbs vs. GDP per capita in United Arab Emirates, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, share of population living in cities, towns and suburbs vs. gdp per capita in United Arab Emirates stood at 90.3%.
That represents a change of down 0.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in cities, towns and suburbs vs. gdp per capita in United Arab Emirates peaked at 90.9% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 55.6%, in 1950.
That places United Arab Emirates 30th out of 236 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Share of population living in cities, towns and suburbs vs. GDP per capita in United Arab Emirates, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 55.6% | — |
| 1955 | 58.5% | +5.1% |
| 1960 | 60.3% | +3.1% |
| 1965 | 61.6% | +2.2% |
| 1970 | 65.1% | +5.7% |
| 1975 | 67.8% | +4.2% |
| 1980 | 79.1% | +16.7% |
| 1985 | 81.9% | +3.5% |
| 1990 | 84.1% | +2.6% |
| 1995 | 85.5% | +1.7% |
| 2000 | 88.1% | +3.1% |
| 2005 | 89.4% | +1.5% |
| 2010 | 90.3% | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 90.9% | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 90.3% | -0.7% |
United Arab Emirates compared with similar countries
- United Arab Emirates's 90.3% is above the median for high income countries, which is 76.2%, 1.2× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- United Arab Emirates's 90.3% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 88.0%, 1.0× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 57.1% | 55.6% | 58.5% | 2 |
| 1960s | 60.9% | 60.3% | 61.6% | 2 |
| 1970s | 66.4% | 65.1% | 67.8% | 2 |
| 1980s | 80.5% | 79.1% | 81.9% | 2 |
| 1990s | 84.8% | 84.1% | 85.5% | 2 |
| 2000s | 88.8% | 88.1% | 89.4% | 2 |
| 2010s | 90.6% | 90.3% | 90.9% | 2 |
| 2020s | 90.3% | 90.3% | 90.3% | 1 |
Countries ranked near United Arab Emirates
More population data for United Arab Emirates
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate 0.9136 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate 1.1 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate 0.9136 % change on previous year (2100)
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate 0.4807 % change on previous year (2100)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 05 - Demographic estimates 11,450 Persons (2050)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 03 - Annual population 0.6462 Percent per annum (2030)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate 1.08 % change on previous year (2100)
- World population growth 0.9% (2100)
- Population density 367.99 people per km² (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 1.66 million people (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in cities, towns and suburbs vs. gdp per capita in United Arab Emirates?
- Share of population living in cities, towns and suburbs vs. gdp per capita in United Arab Emirates was 90.3% in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population living in cities, towns and suburbs vs. gdp per capita recorded in United Arab Emirates?
- The highest recorded value was 90.9% in 2015.
- What is the lowest share of population living in cities, towns and suburbs vs. gdp per capita recorded in United Arab Emirates?
- The lowest recorded value was 55.6% in 1950.
- How does United Arab Emirates rank for share of population living in cities, towns and suburbs vs. gdp per capita?
- United Arab Emirates ranks 30th out of 236 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population living in cities, towns and suburbs vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in United Arab Emirates?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United Arab Emirates data come from?
- The figures come from European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living in cities, towns and suburbs vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Estimated share of the population living in urban areas (the sum of cities and towns and suburbs). Urban areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.