The duel
Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
The United Arab Emirates fits inside Australia 78 times
Australia: 7,741,220 km² (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 98,648 km² (2024)
How much coast is there?
Australia’s coastline is 20 times as long as the United Arab Emirates’
Australia: 25,760 km (2026 edition) · United Arab Emirates: 1,318 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Australia’s highest peak towers 323 m above the United Arab Emirates’
Australia: 2,228 m (2026 edition) · United Arab Emirates: 1,905 m (2026 edition)
How much of the land is farmed?
Farmland covers 47% of Australia, versus 5.6% of the United Arab Emirates
Australia: 47.3% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 5.6% (2024)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Australia has 2.4 times as many people as the United Arab Emirates
Australia: 27.6 million (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 11.5 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
The United Arab Emirates is 45 times as densely populated as Australia
Australia: 4 per km² (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 162 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in Australia are 4.7 cm taller than in the United Arab Emirates
Australia: 178.8 cm (2019) · United Arab Emirates: 174.1 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in Australia are 4.1 cm taller than in the United Arab Emirates
Australia: 164.7 cm (2019) · United Arab Emirates: 160.5 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Australia is 6.5 years older than in the United Arab Emirates
Australia: 37.8 years (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 31.2 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Australia have 0.3 more children on average than in the United Arab Emirates
Australia: 1.48 children per woman (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 1.21 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
18% of people in Australia are 65 or older, versus 1.8% in the United Arab Emirates
Australia: 18.1% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 1.8% (2025)
How many refugees does it host?
Australia hosts 10 times as many refugees per resident as the United Arab Emirates
Australia: 1.2 per 1,000 (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 0.1 per 1,000 (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Australia has produced 3.6 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, the United Arab Emirates none
Australia: 3.6 (2026) · United Arab Emirates: 0 (2026)
How many official languages?
Australia and the United Arab Emirates are practically level
Australia: 1 (2026) · United Arab Emirates: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Australia’s economy is 3.3 times the size of the United Arab Emirates’
Australia: $1.8 trillion (2025) · United Arab Emirates: $552 billion (2024)
How much is produced per person?
The United Arab Emirates produces 10% more per person than Australia
Australia: Int$71,934 (2025) · United Arab Emirates: Int$79,344 (2024)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Australia than in the United Arab Emirates (Gini 7.4 points higher)
Australia: 33.8 (2020) · United Arab Emirates: 26.4 (2018)
How many live on less than $3 a day?
0.9% of people in Australia live on less than $3 a day, versus 0% in the United Arab Emirates
Australia: 0.9% (2020) · United Arab Emirates: 0% (2018)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 4.1% in Australia, versus 2.2% in the United Arab Emirates
Australia: 4.1% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 2.2% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
The United Arab Emirates spends 5.6% of its GDP on the military, Australia 1.9%
Australia: 1.9% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 5.6% (2014)
How much does the central government collect in tax?
Australia’s central government collects 24% of GDP in tax, the United Arab Emirates’ 0.6%
Australia: 23.6% (2022) · United Arab Emirates: 0.6% (2024)
How expensive is it?
Australia’s price level (US = 100) is 1.4× the United Arab Emirates’
Australia: 91% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 63% (2024)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Australia spends 2.9 times as much on health per person as the United Arab Emirates
Australia: $6,980 (2023) · United Arab Emirates: $2,402 (2023)
How long do people live?
The United Arab Emirates and Australia are practically level
Australia: 83.1 years (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 83.1 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in the United Arab Emirates is 23% more likely to die before turning one than in Australia
Australia: 3.1 per 1,000 (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 3.8 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Australia has 37% more doctors per person than the United Arab Emirates
Australia: 4.1 per 1,000 (2022) · United Arab Emirates: 3 per 1,000 (2023)
How many hospital beds are there?
Australia has 2 times as many hospital beds per person as the United Arab Emirates
Australia: 3.8 per 1,000 (2016) · United Arab Emirates: 1.9 per 1,000 (2022)
How common is suicide?
The suicide rate in Australia is 4.5 times that in the United Arab Emirates
Australia: 12.6 per 100k (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 2.8 per 100k (2023)
How common is obesity?
32% of adults in Australia are obese, versus 30% in the United Arab Emirates
Australia: 32.4% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 30.3% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
12% of adults in Australia smoke, versus 9.0% in the United Arab Emirates
Australia: 11.6% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 9% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in Australia rate their lives 0.10 points higher than in the United Arab Emirates
Australia: 6.92 (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 6.82 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Australia drink 16 times as much alcohol as in the United Arab Emirates
Australia: 10.5 litres (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 0.6 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Australia has 72% more meat per person than the United Arab Emirates
Australia: 116.8 kg (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 67.8 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Australia has 437 kcal more food per person per day than the United Arab Emirates
Australia: 3,562 kcal (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 3,125 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in the United Arab Emirates put in 903 more hours a year than in Australia
Australia: 1,611 hours (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 2,514 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in the United Arab Emirates went to school 0.12 years longer than in Australia
Australia: 12.9 years (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 13 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Australia: no data · United Arab Emirates: 2.28 (2019)
How many World Heritage sites?
Australia has 18 more World Heritage sites than the United Arab Emirates (21 against 3)
Australia: 21 (2026) · United Arab Emirates: 3 (2026)
How many Olympic medals has it won?
Australia has won 619 Olympic medals, the United Arab Emirates 2
Australia: 619 (2026 edition) · United Arab Emirates: 2 (2026 edition)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
100% of people in the United Arab Emirates are online, versus 96% in Australia
Australia: 96% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 100% (2024)
How fast is home internet?
Home internet in the United Arab Emirates is 37% faster than in Australia
Australia: 261 Mbps (2026) · United Arab Emirates: 358 Mbps (2026)
Who has electricity at home?
Australia and the United Arab Emirates are practically level
Australia: 100% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
88% of people in Australia live in cities, versus 86% in the United Arab Emirates
Australia: 88% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 86% (2025)
How many phones per person?
The United Arab Emirates has 203 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Australia 113
Australia: 113 (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 203 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Australia’s railway network is 117 times as long as the United Arab Emirates’
Australia: 32,606 km (2022) · United Arab Emirates: 279 km (2021)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from the United Arab Emirates fly 3.2 times as many passengers per resident as those from Australia
Australia: 2.5 (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 7.91 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 17% of Australia, but only 4.6% of the United Arab Emirates
Australia: 17.4% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 4.6% (2024)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in the United Arab Emirates emits 39% more CO₂ than someone in Australia
Australia: 14.5 t (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 20.1 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
39% of Australia’s electricity is renewable, versus 8.8% in the United Arab Emirates
Australia: 38.6% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 8.8% (2024)
How clean is the air?
The air in the United Arab Emirates carries 10 times as much fine dust as in Australia
Australia: 5.4 µg/m³ (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 55.7 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 23% more likely to be murdered in Australia than in the United Arab Emirates
Australia: 0.9 per 100k (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 0.7 per 100k (2022)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Australia are 9% deadlier than in the United Arab Emirates
Australia: 7.5 per 100k (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 6.9 per 100k (2023)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
The United Arab Emirates is on average 6.3 °C warmer than Australia
Australia: 22.5°C (2016–2025 avg) · United Arab Emirates: 28.8°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Australia gets 9.5 times as much rain as the United Arab Emirates
Australia: 447 mm (2016–2025 avg) · United Arab Emirates: 47 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Between them
People, goods and passports that cross from one to the other
Quick answers
Is Australia bigger than the United Arab Emirates?
Australia is larger. The United Arab Emirates fits inside Australia 78 times.
Which has more people, Australia or the United Arab Emirates?
Australia has 2.4 times as many people as the United Arab Emirates (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Australia or the United Arab Emirates?
The United Arab Emirates and Australia are practically level. Life expectancy at birth is 83.1 years in Australia and 83.1 in the United Arab Emirates.
Are people taller in Australia or the United Arab Emirates?
Men in Australia are 4.7 cm taller than in the United Arab Emirates (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
