The duel
Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
The United Arab Emirates fits inside Italy 3.1 times.
Italy: 302,070 km² (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 98,648 km² (2023)
How much coast is there?
Italy’s coastline is 5.8 times as long as the United Arab Emirates’.
Italy: 7,600 km (2026 edition) · United Arab Emirates: 1,318 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Italy’s highest peak towers 2,843 m above the United Arab Emirates’.
Italy: 4,748 m (2026 edition) · United Arab Emirates: 1,905 m (2026 edition)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Italy has 5.1 times as many people as the United Arab Emirates.
Italy: 58.9 million (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 11.5 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Italy is 23% more densely populated than the United Arab Emirates.
Italy: 199 per km² (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 162 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Italy and the United Arab Emirates are practically level.
Italy: 174.4 cm (2019) · United Arab Emirates: 174.1 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in Italy are 1.3 cm taller than in the United Arab Emirates.
Italy: 161.8 cm (2019) · United Arab Emirates: 160.5 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Italy is 16 years older than in the United Arab Emirates.
Italy: 47.5 years (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 31.2 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in the United Arab Emirates have 0.0 more children on average than in Italy.
Italy: 1.18 children per woman (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 1.21 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
25% of people in Italy are 65 or older, versus 1.8% in the United Arab Emirates.
Italy: 25.1% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 1.8% (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Italy has produced 3.4 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, the United Arab Emirates 0.0.
Italy: 3.4 (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 0 (2025)
How many official languages?
Italy and the United Arab Emirates are practically level.
Italy: 1 (2026) · United Arab Emirates: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Italy’s economy is 4.6 times the size of the United Arab Emirates’.
Italy: $2.55 trillion (2025) · United Arab Emirates: $552 billion (2024)
How much is produced per person?
The United Arab Emirates produces 26% more per person than Italy.
Italy: Int$62,803 (2025) · United Arab Emirates: Int$79,344 (2024)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Italy than in the United Arab Emirates (Gini 7.9 points higher).
Italy: 34.3 (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 26.4 (2018)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 6.4% in Italy, versus 2.2% in the United Arab Emirates.
Italy: 6.4% (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, Italy 1.6%.
Italy: 1.6% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 5.6% (2014)
How expensive is it?
Italy’s price level (US = 100) is 1.1× the United Arab Emirates’.
Italy: 69% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 63% (2024)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Italy spends 41% more on health per person than the United Arab Emirates.
Italy: $3,398 (2024) · United Arab Emirates: $2,402 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in Italy live 0.88 years longer than in the United Arab Emirates.
Italy: 84 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 65% more likely to die before turning one than in Italy.
Italy: 2.3 per 1,000 (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 3.8 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Italy has 40% more doctors per person than the United Arab Emirates.
Italy: 4.2 per 1,000 (2022) · United Arab Emirates: 3 per 1,000 (2023)
How common is obesity?
30% of adults in the United Arab Emirates are obese, versus 18% in Italy.
Italy: 17.9% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 30.3% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
22% of adults in Italy smoke, versus 9.0% in the United Arab Emirates.
Italy: 22.4% (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 0.25 points higher than in Italy.
Italy: 6.57 (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 6.82 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Italy drink 13 times as much alcohol as in the United Arab Emirates.
Italy: 8.4 litres (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 0.6 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Italy has 5% more meat per person than the United Arab Emirates.
Italy: 71.2 kg (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 67.8 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Italy has 628 kcal more food per person per day than the United Arab Emirates.
Italy: 3,753 kcal (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 3,125 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in the United Arab Emirates put in 813 more hours a year than in Italy.
Italy: 1,701 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 2.2 years longer than in Italy.
Italy: 10.8 years (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 13 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
The United Arab Emirates welcomed 2.3 times as many tourists per resident as Italy (2019).
Italy: 0.98 (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 2.28 (2019)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
100% of people in the United Arab Emirates are online, versus 89% in Italy.
Italy: 89% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 100% (2024)
Who has electricity at home?
Italy and the United Arab Emirates are practically level.
Italy: 100% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
86% of people in the United Arab Emirates live in cities, versus 70% in Italy.
Italy: 70% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 86% (2025)
How many phones per person?
The United Arab Emirates has 203 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Italy 133.
Italy: 133 (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 203 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Italy’s railway network is 62 times as long as the United Arab Emirates’.
Italy: 17,305 km (2021) · United Arab Emirates: 279 km (2021)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from the United Arab Emirates fly 23 times as many passengers per resident as those from Italy.
Italy: 0.34 (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 7.91 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 33% of Italy, but only 4.5% of the United Arab Emirates.
Italy: 32.9% (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 4.5% (2023)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in the United Arab Emirates emits 4 times as much CO₂ as someone in Italy.
Italy: 5.1 t (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 20.1 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
49% of Italy’s electricity is renewable, versus 8.8% in the United Arab Emirates.
Italy: 48.8% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 8.8% (2024)
How clean is the air?
The air in the United Arab Emirates carries 3.7 times as much fine dust as in Italy.
Italy: 15.2 µg/m³ (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 55.7 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 22% more likely to be murdered in the United Arab Emirates than in Italy.
Italy: 0.6 per 100k (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 0.7 per 100k (2022)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in the United Arab Emirates are 18% deadlier than in Italy.
Italy: 5 per 100k (2021) · United Arab Emirates: 5.9 per 100k (2021)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
The United Arab Emirates is on average 14.9 °C warmer than Italy.
Italy: 13.9°C (2016–2025 avg) · United Arab Emirates: 28.8°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Italy gets 22 times as much rain as the United Arab Emirates.
Italy: 1,030 mm (2016–2025 avg) · United Arab Emirates: 47 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Quick answers
Is Italy bigger than the United Arab Emirates?
Italy is larger. The United Arab Emirates fits inside Italy 3.1 times.
Which has more people, Italy or the United Arab Emirates?
Italy has 5.1 times as many people as the United Arab Emirates (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Italy or the United Arab Emirates?
People in Italy live 0.88 years longer than in the United Arab Emirates. Life expectancy at birth is 84.0 years in Italy and 83.1 in the United Arab Emirates.
Are people taller in Italy or the United Arab Emirates?
Italy and the United Arab Emirates are practically level (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
