Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates: Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million was 57.5% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in United Arab Emirates, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects 2018, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
In 2025, population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in United Arab Emirates stood at 57.5%.
The figure is down 3.0% on the previous year and up 0.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in United Arab Emirates peaked at 64.4% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 43.4%, in 1960.
That places United Arab Emirates 8th out of 121 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in United Arab Emirates, year by year
| Year | % of total population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 43.4% | — |
| 1961 | 45.1% | +3.9% |
| 1962 | 46.9% | +4.1% |
| 1963 | 48.9% | +4.3% |
| 1964 | 51.2% | +4.6% |
| 1965 | 53.7% | +5.0% |
| 1966 | 56.8% | +5.8% |
| 1967 | 60.7% | +6.8% |
| 1968 | 61.2% | +0.9% |
| 1969 | 58.9% | -3.8% |
| 1970 | 57.0% | -3.2% |
| 1971 | 56.4% | -1.0% |
| 1972 | 56.8% | +0.7% |
| 1973 | 58.0% | +2.1% |
| 1974 | 60.0% | +3.3% |
| 1975 | 62.6% | +4.4% |
| 1976 | 62.7% | +0.2% |
| 1977 | 60.6% | -3.3% |
| 1978 | 59.4% | -2.1% |
| 1979 | 58.8% | -0.9% |
| 1980 | 59.1% | +0.4% |
| 1981 | 59.0% | -0.1% |
| 1982 | 58.5% | -0.9% |
| 1983 | 58.0% | -0.8% |
| 1984 | 57.7% | -0.6% |
| 1985 | 57.5% | -0.3% |
| 1986 | 56.9% | -1.1% |
| 1987 | 55.9% | -1.7% |
| 1988 | 55.2% | -1.3% |
| 1989 | 54.7% | -0.9% |
| 1990 | 54.4% | -0.5% |
| 1991 | 54.3% | -0.2% |
| 1992 | 54.4% | +0.1% |
| 1993 | 54.6% | +0.4% |
| 1994 | 55.1% | +0.8% |
| 1995 | 55.6% | +1.0% |
| 1996 | 55.3% | -0.4% |
| 1997 | 54.5% | -1.6% |
| 1998 | 53.9% | -1.1% |
| 1999 | 53.6% | -0.6% |
| 2000 | 53.5% | -0.2% |
| 2001 | 53.6% | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 53.9% | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 54.3% | +0.8% |
| 2004 | 54.9% | +1.1% |
| 2005 | 55.7% | +1.4% |
| 2006 | 55.6% | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 53.1% | -4.5% |
| 2008 | 50.8% | -4.3% |
| 2009 | 51.2% | +0.8% |
| 2010 | 53.7% | +4.8% |
| 2011 | 54.9% | +2.3% |
| 2012 | 55.8% | +1.7% |
| 2013 | 56.7% | +1.6% |
| 2014 | 57.2% | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 57.4% | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 57.8% | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 59.2% | +2.5% |
| 2018 | 61.8% | +4.4% |
| 2019 | 62.6% | +1.3% |
| 2020 | 64.3% | +2.7% |
| 2021 | 64.4% | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 62.4% | -3.1% |
| 2023 | 61.1% | -2.1% |
| 2024 | 59.3% | -2.9% |
| 2025 | 57.5% | -3.0% |
United Arab Emirates compared with similar countries
- United Arab Emirates's 57.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 28.3%, 2.0× the median. (40 countries reporting)
- United Arab Emirates's 57.5% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 24.5%, 2.3× the median. (18 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 52.7% | 43.4% | 61.2% | 10 |
| 1970s | 59.2% | 56.4% | 62.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 57.3% | 54.7% | 59.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 54.6% | 53.6% | 55.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 53.7% | 50.8% | 55.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 57.7% | 53.7% | 62.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 61.5% | 57.5% | 64.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near United Arab Emirates
More climate change data for United Arab Emirates
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 20.45 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 1,596 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 556.37 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 1,039 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 2.1 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 37.11 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 113.03 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 113.02 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 0.0084 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 0.4265 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in United Arab Emirates?
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in United Arab Emirates was 57.5% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects 2018, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million recorded in United Arab Emirates?
- The highest recorded value was 64.4% in 2021.
- What is the lowest population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million recorded in United Arab Emirates?
- The lowest recorded value was 43.4% in 1960.
- How does United Arab Emirates rank for population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million?
- United Arab Emirates ranks 8th out of 121 countries with data for 2025.
- Is population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million rising or falling in United Arab Emirates?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United Arab Emirates data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects 2018, United Nations (UN), published as part of Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million (% of total population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Population in urban agglomerations of more than one million is the percentage of a country's population living in metropolitan areas that in 2018 had a population of more than one million people.