The duel
Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
The United Arab Emirates fits inside Ecuador 2.6 times
Ecuador: 256,370 km² (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 98,648 km² (2024)
How much coast is there?
Ecuador’s coastline is 70% longer than the United Arab Emirates’
Ecuador: 2,237 km (2026 edition) · United Arab Emirates: 1,318 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Ecuador’s highest peak towers 4,362 m above the United Arab Emirates’
Ecuador: 6,267 m (2026 edition) · United Arab Emirates: 1,905 m (2026 edition)
How much of the land is farmed?
Farmland covers 20% of Ecuador, versus 5.6% of the United Arab Emirates
Ecuador: 20.3% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 5.6% (2024)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Ecuador has 59% more people than the United Arab Emirates
Ecuador: 18.3 million (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 11.5 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
The United Arab Emirates is 2.2 times as densely populated as Ecuador
Ecuador: 74 per km² (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 162 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in the United Arab Emirates are 6.8 cm taller than in Ecuador
Ecuador: 167.3 cm (2019) · United Arab Emirates: 174.1 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in the United Arab Emirates are 5.3 cm taller than in Ecuador
Ecuador: 155.3 cm (2019) · United Arab Emirates: 160.5 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in the United Arab Emirates is 2.8 years older than in Ecuador
Ecuador: 28.4 years (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 31.2 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Ecuador have 0.6 more children on average than in the United Arab Emirates
Ecuador: 1.81 children per woman (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 1.21 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
8.6% of people in Ecuador are 65 or older, versus 1.8% in the United Arab Emirates
Ecuador: 8.6% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 1.8% (2025)
How many refugees does it host?
Ecuador hosts 12 times as many refugees per resident as the United Arab Emirates
Ecuador: 1.4 per 1,000 (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 0.1 per 1,000 (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Ecuador and the United Arab Emirates are practically level
Ecuador: 0 (2026) · United Arab Emirates: 0 (2026)
How many official languages?
Ecuador and the United Arab Emirates are practically level
Ecuador: 1 (2026) · United Arab Emirates: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
The United Arab Emirates’ economy is 4.2 times the size of Ecuador’s
Ecuador: $130 billion (2025) · United Arab Emirates: $552 billion (2024)
How much is produced per person?
The United Arab Emirates produces 4.7 times as much per person as Ecuador
Ecuador: Int$16,757 (2025) · United Arab Emirates: Int$79,344 (2024)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Ecuador than in the United Arab Emirates (Gini 19.5 points higher)
Ecuador: 45.9 (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 26.4 (2018)
How many live on less than $3 a day?
3.4% of people in Ecuador live on less than $3 a day, versus 0% in the United Arab Emirates
Ecuador: 3.4% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 0% (2018)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 3.3% in Ecuador, versus 2.2% in the United Arab Emirates
Ecuador: 3.3% (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, Ecuador 2.1%
Ecuador: 2.1% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 5.6% (2014)
How much does the central government collect in tax?
Ecuador’s central government collects 13% of GDP in tax, the United Arab Emirates’ 0.6%
Ecuador: 13.1% (2022) · United Arab Emirates: 0.6% (2024)
How expensive is it?
The United Arab Emirates’ price level (US = 100) is 1.5× Ecuador’s
Ecuador: 43% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 63% (2024)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
The United Arab Emirates spends 4.7 times as much on health per person as Ecuador
Ecuador: $509 (2023) · United Arab Emirates: $2,402 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in the United Arab Emirates live 5.5 years longer than in Ecuador
Ecuador: 77.6 years (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 83.1 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Ecuador is 2.9 times as likely to die before turning one as in the United Arab Emirates
Ecuador: 10.9 per 1,000 (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 3.8 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
The United Arab Emirates has 29% more doctors per person than Ecuador
Ecuador: 2.3 per 1,000 (2020) · United Arab Emirates: 3 per 1,000 (2023)
How many hospital beds are there?
The United Arab Emirates has 42% more hospital beds per person than Ecuador
Ecuador: 1.3 per 1,000 (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 1.9 per 1,000 (2022)
How common is suicide?
The suicide rate in Ecuador is 2 times that in the United Arab Emirates
Ecuador: 5.5 per 100k (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 2.8 per 100k (2023)
How common is obesity?
30% of adults in the United Arab Emirates are obese, versus 29% in Ecuador
Ecuador: 28.7% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 30.3% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
10% of adults in Ecuador smoke, versus 9.0% in the United Arab Emirates
Ecuador: 10.1% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 9% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in the United Arab Emirates rate their lives 0.68 points higher than in Ecuador
Ecuador: 6.14 (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 6.82 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Ecuador drink 5 times as much alcohol as in the United Arab Emirates
Ecuador: 3.2 litres (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 0.6 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
The United Arab Emirates has 21% more meat per person than Ecuador
Ecuador: 56.2 kg (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 67.8 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
The United Arab Emirates has 504 kcal more food per person per day than Ecuador
Ecuador: 2,621 kcal (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 3,125 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in the United Arab Emirates put in 921 more hours a year than in Ecuador
Ecuador: 1,594 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 4 years longer than in Ecuador
Ecuador: 9 years (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 13 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Ecuador: no data · United Arab Emirates: 2.28 (2019)
How many World Heritage sites?
Ecuador has 2 more World Heritage sites than the United Arab Emirates (5 against 3)
Ecuador: 5 (2026) · United Arab Emirates: 3 (2026)
How many Olympic medals has it won?
Ecuador has won 10 Olympic medals, the United Arab Emirates 2
Ecuador: 10 (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 77% in Ecuador
Ecuador: 77% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 100% (2024)
How fast is home internet?
Home internet in the United Arab Emirates is 24% faster than in Ecuador
Ecuador: 290 Mbps (2026) · United Arab Emirates: 358 Mbps (2026)
Who has electricity at home?
100% of people in the United Arab Emirates have electricity, versus 99% in Ecuador
Ecuador: 98.5% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
86% of people in the United Arab Emirates live in cities, versus 63% in Ecuador
Ecuador: 63% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 86% (2025)
How many phones per person?
The United Arab Emirates has 203 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Ecuador 102
Ecuador: 102 (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 203 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Ecuador’s railway network is 3.5 times as long as the United Arab Emirates’
Ecuador: 965 km (2022) · United Arab Emirates: 279 km (2021)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from the United Arab Emirates fly 32 times as many passengers per resident as those from Ecuador
Ecuador: 0.25 (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 7.91 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 50% of Ecuador, but only 4.6% of the United Arab Emirates
Ecuador: 49.7% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 4.6% (2024)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in the United Arab Emirates emits 7.9 times as much CO₂ as someone in Ecuador
Ecuador: 2.5 t (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 20.1 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
79% of Ecuador’s electricity is renewable, versus 8.8% in the United Arab Emirates
Ecuador: 79.4% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 8.8% (2024)
How clean is the air?
The air in the United Arab Emirates carries 3.1 times as much fine dust as in Ecuador
Ecuador: 17.7 µg/m³ (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 55.7 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 66 times as likely to be murdered in Ecuador as in the United Arab Emirates
Ecuador: 45.7 per 100k (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 0.7 per 100k (2022)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Ecuador are 4.5 times as deadly as in the United Arab Emirates
Ecuador: 30.8 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 7.6 °C warmer than Ecuador
Ecuador: 21.3°C (2016–2025 avg) · United Arab Emirates: 28.8°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Ecuador gets 68 times as much rain as the United Arab Emirates
Ecuador: 3,204 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 Ecuador bigger than the United Arab Emirates?
Ecuador is larger. The United Arab Emirates fits inside Ecuador 2.6 times.
Which has more people, Ecuador or the United Arab Emirates?
Ecuador has 59% more people than the United Arab Emirates (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Ecuador or the United Arab Emirates?
People in the United Arab Emirates live 5.5 years longer than in Ecuador. Life expectancy at birth is 77.6 years in Ecuador and 83.1 in the United Arab Emirates.
Are people taller in Ecuador or the United Arab Emirates?
Men in the United Arab Emirates are 6.8 cm taller than in Ecuador (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
