Urban population in United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates: Urban population was 86.0% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Urban population in United Arab Emirates, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
The most recent figure for urban population in United Arab Emirates is 86.0%, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 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, urban population in United Arab Emirates peaked at 86.0% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 73.5%, in 1960.
That places United Arab Emirates 44th out of 217 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Urban population in United Arab Emirates, year by year
| Year | % of total population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 73.5% | — |
| 1961 | 74.5% | +1.4% |
| 1962 | 75.5% | +1.3% |
| 1963 | 76.3% | +1.1% |
| 1964 | 77.1% | +1.0% |
| 1965 | 77.8% | +0.9% |
| 1966 | 78.5% | +0.9% |
| 1967 | 79.2% | +0.8% |
| 1968 | 79.8% | +0.8% |
| 1969 | 80.5% | +0.9% |
| 1970 | 81.2% | +0.9% |
| 1971 | 82.0% | +0.9% |
| 1972 | 82.6% | +0.8% |
| 1973 | 83.2% | +0.7% |
| 1974 | 83.7% | +0.5% |
| 1975 | 83.9% | +0.3% |
| 1976 | 83.9% | -0.0% |
| 1977 | 83.4% | -0.6% |
| 1978 | 82.6% | -0.9% |
| 1979 | 81.8% | -1.0% |
| 1980 | 81.1% | -0.8% |
| 1981 | 80.7% | -0.6% |
| 1982 | 80.3% | -0.4% |
| 1983 | 80.0% | -0.4% |
| 1984 | 79.7% | -0.3% |
| 1985 | 79.5% | -0.3% |
| 1986 | 79.3% | -0.2% |
| 1987 | 79.2% | -0.2% |
| 1988 | 79.0% | -0.2% |
| 1989 | 78.8% | -0.2% |
| 1990 | 78.7% | -0.2% |
| 1991 | 78.6% | -0.2% |
| 1992 | 78.4% | -0.1% |
| 1993 | 78.4% | -0.1% |
| 1994 | 78.3% | -0.1% |
| 1995 | 78.3% | -0.0% |
| 1996 | 78.3% | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 78.4% | +0.1% |
| 1998 | 78.6% | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 78.9% | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 79.3% | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 79.7% | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 80.3% | +0.7% |
| 2003 | 80.8% | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 81.5% | +0.8% |
| 2005 | 82.2% | +0.9% |
| 2006 | 82.6% | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 82.8% | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 83.0% | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 83.2% | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 83.4% | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 83.6% | +0.2% |
| 2012 | 83.8% | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 84.0% | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 84.1% | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 84.3% | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 84.5% | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 84.7% | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 84.9% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 85.0% | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 85.2% | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 85.4% | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 85.5% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 85.7% | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 85.8% | +0.2% |
| 2025 | 86.0% | +0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
- 41 Australia 87.7% compare
- 42 Belgium 87.7% compare
- 43 Palestine, State of 87.4% compare
- 45 Switzerland 85.7% compare
- 46 Peru 85.6% compare
- 47 Saudi Arabia 84.6% compare
More climate change data for United Arab Emirates
- 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)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 0.0003 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population in United Arab Emirates?
- Urban population in United Arab Emirates was 86.0% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population recorded in United Arab Emirates?
- The highest recorded value was 86.0% in 2025.
- What is the lowest urban population recorded in United Arab Emirates?
- The lowest recorded value was 73.5% in 1960.
- How does United Arab Emirates rank for urban population?
- United Arab Emirates ranks 44th out of 217 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population 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 World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban population (% of total population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. The data are collected and smoothed by United Nations Population Division.