Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita in United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates: Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita was 86.0% in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
86.0%
Change on year
up 0.2%
World rank
54th
of 236 countries
All-time high
86.0%
in 2025
All-time low
54.5%
in 1950
Years of data
76
1950–2025

Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita in United Arab Emirates, 1950–2025

020406080195019872025

Source: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2025, share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita in United Arab Emirates stood at 86.0%. That is the highest value across all 76 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and up 1.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita in United Arab Emirates peaked at 86.0% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 54.5%, in 1950.

That places United Arab Emirates 54th out of 236 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 76 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 64.2% 54.5% 72.3% 10
1960s 77.3% 73.5% 80.5% 10
1970s 82.8% 81.2% 83.9% 10
1980s 79.8% 78.8% 81.1% 10
1990s 78.5% 78.3% 78.9% 10
2000s 81.5% 79.3% 83.2% 10
2010s 84.2% 83.4% 85.0% 10
2020s 85.6% 85.2% 86.0% 6

Countries ranked near United Arab Emirates

  1. 51 Palestine 87.4% compare
  2. 52 Western Sahara 86.9% compare
  3. 53 French Guiana 86.6% compare
  4. 55 Switzerland 85.7% compare
  5. 56 Peru 85.6% compare
  6. 57 Saudi Arabia 84.6% compare

See the full ranking of 237 places →

More population data for United Arab Emirates

All data for United Arab Emirates →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita in United Arab Emirates?
Share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita in United Arab Emirates was 86.0% in 2025, according to United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita recorded in United Arab Emirates?
The highest recorded value was 86.0% in 2025.
What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita recorded in United Arab Emirates?
The lowest recorded value was 54.5% in 1950.
How does United Arab Emirates rank for share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita?
United Arab Emirates ranks 54th out of 236 countries with data for 2025.
Is share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in United Arab Emirates?
Over the last ten years it is up 1.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this United Arab Emirates data come from?
The figures come from United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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About this data

Indicator
Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita
Unit
%
Source
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
237 places, 18,012 data points, 1950–2025
Last refreshed

Share of the population living in urban areas, based on each country's national definition.