Country explorer: United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates has experienced substantial economic growth with significant increases in GDP per capita, maintaining low unemployment rates and managing inflation effectively, mirroring its Gulf counterparts yet distinguishing itself through a continuously diversifying economic structure beyond oil.

The United Arab Emirates has experienced a significant population increase, substantial positive net migration rates, a decrease in fertility rate towards levels closer to high-income country averages, and a consistent improvement in life expectancy, reflecting its unique position among its peers as a rapidly developing, high-income country with a demographically diverse and expanding population.

The United Arab Emirates has experienced significant improvements in basic needs infrastructure, achieving 100% access to clean cooking fuels and electricity, along with near-universal access to safely managed sanitation, positioning it at the forefront among high-income countries regarding public health and living standards enhancements.

The United Arab Emirates has demonstrated significant improvements in human development indicators, such as a marked increase in the Human Development Index, a substantial reduction in child mortality rate, a high literacy rate among adults, and an extended duration of learning-adjusted years of schooling, distinguishing it as amongst the most rapidly advancing nations in terms of human development within its peer group.

The United Arab Emirates has seen a steady increase in forest area despite its high per capita CO₂ emissions, aligning with a global trend towards balancing industrial progress with sustainability efforts, but facing distinct environmental challenges given its arid climate and heavy reliance on fossil fuels.

The United Arab Emirates has established itself as a technological and innovative leader in the Middle East, showcased by its high internet usage and mobile phone subscriptions, significant investments in research and development, and an increasing output of scientific and technical publications, aligning closely with global high-income country trends but distinguished by its rapid and ambitious technological advancement efforts.

The United Arab Emirates has experienced significant societal transformations, characterized by a high percentage of foreign-born residents, increasing life satisfaction, improving gender equality, and a decreasing age dependency ratio, distinguishing it as a rapidly developing, cosmopolitan hub within the Gulf Cooperation Council region.

The Governance indicators for the United Arab Emirates highlight incremental improvements in complying with the rule of law and addressing perceptions of corruption, while also showing a challenging environment for political civil liberties and press freedoms, reflecting a distinctive blend of modernization efforts within an authoritarian political structure, not uncommon among its regional peers.