Dubai's Population is Now Over 3.1 MILLION Residents | ExpatWoman.com
 

Dubai's Population is Now Over 3.1 MILLION Residents

Over 137 years, Dubai's population has grown a whopping 261 times

Posted on

29 October 2018

Last updated on 19 January 2020
by Rebecca Roberts
Dubai's resident population is now over 3.1 million

This infographic shows how Dubai's resident population has crossed 3.1 million...

If you ever get the feeling Dubai's a little crowded, we wouldn't blame you. In fact, according to an infographic shared by Dubai Statistics Center (DSC), the emirate is home to an extra 232,400 residents in comparison to this time last year in 2017.

Now, the total population of Dubai's residents has grown to reach an impressive 3,136,400. A number which is 261 times the resident population 137 years ago in 1881... In fact, in the late 19th century Dubai's population was estimated to only be at 12,000.

HE Arif Al Mehairi, DSC Executive Director explained the rapid growth: "The rise in population reflects Dubai's growth as a dynamic economic and tourism hub.

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"The population of non-resident workers and temporary residents in Dubai is currently 1,155,000, while the total active daytime population of the emirate is 4,291,400. As much as 37% of Dubai's active daytime population comes from outside the emirate."

DSC also revealed that the number of temporary residents in the emirate has increased by 6.6% in comparison to the same period in 2017. The increase in total resident population was 1.1%, and the total active population increased by 7.7% in 2018 compared to last year.

How does DSC monitor Dubai's population?

"DSC adopts international standards and methodologies to monitor Dubai's rapidly changing population profile," said Al Mehairi.

"Data of both the resident and transient population of Dubai is crucial to identify infrastructural, social and economic needs. It is necessary to provide planners, decision-makers and investors an integrated and holistic picture of the demographic realities and movement of people within the emirate," he added.

Dubai Statistics Center infographic and resident population

The demographics of Dubai's population

Al Mehairi attributed this growth to the fact that Dubai is an international commercial hub that attracts investors and talent from across the world in a wide diversity of sectors. The exceptionally high population growth rate is counter to trends in any other part of the world where growth is usually driven by natural population increase (births and deaths).

Growth in Dubai's Emirati population, in contrast, is driven by natural factors. The latest population data from DSC also shows that males constitute 49.5% of the Emirati population while females account for 50.5% (89 males to 100 females).

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In the total resident population of Dubai, males account for 2,195,480 while females account for 940,920. The vastly higher proportion of males in Dubai's population (233 males to 100 females) is attributed to the fact that a majority of expatriate workers are males who live in Dubai without their families.

The latest DSC population data also shows that the 20-44 age group accounts for 66.45% of the population. Of this, the 30-34 age group accounts for the largest share with 563,525 individuals representing 17.97% of the total, followed by the 25-29 age group with 521,747 individuals representing 16.63% of the total. The 35-39 age group comes third with 419,642 individuals accounting for 13.38% of the population of the 20-44 age group.

 
 

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