The duel
Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
The United Arab Emirates fits inside Mexico 20 times
Mexico: 1,957,190 km² (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 98,648 km² (2024)
How much coast is there?
Mexico’s coastline is 7.1 times as long as the United Arab Emirates’
Mexico: 9,330 km (2026 edition) · United Arab Emirates: 1,318 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Mexico’s highest peak towers 3,731 m above the United Arab Emirates’
Mexico: 5,636 m (2026 edition) · United Arab Emirates: 1,905 m (2026 edition)
How much of the land is farmed?
Farmland covers 51% of Mexico, versus 5.6% of the United Arab Emirates
Mexico: 50.6% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 5.6% (2024)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Mexico has 11 times as many people as the United Arab Emirates
Mexico: 132 million (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 11.5 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
The United Arab Emirates is 2.4 times as densely populated as Mexico
Mexico: 68 per km² (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 162 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in the United Arab Emirates are 3.8 cm taller than in Mexico
Mexico: 170.3 cm (2019) · United Arab Emirates: 174.1 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in the United Arab Emirates are 2.6 cm taller than in Mexico
Mexico: 157.9 cm (2019) · United Arab Emirates: 160.5 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in the United Arab Emirates is 2.3 years older than in Mexico
Mexico: 28.9 years (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 31.2 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Mexico have 0.7 more children on average than in the United Arab Emirates
Mexico: 1.89 children per woman (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 1.21 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
8.5% of people in Mexico are 65 or older, versus 1.8% in the United Arab Emirates
Mexico: 8.5% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 1.8% (2025)
How many refugees does it host?
Mexico hosts 9.6 times as many refugees per resident as the United Arab Emirates
Mexico: 1.2 per 1,000 (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 0.1 per 1,000 (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Mexico has produced 0.2 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, the United Arab Emirates none
Mexico: 0.2 (2026) · United Arab Emirates: 0 (2026)
How many official languages?
Mexico and the United Arab Emirates are practically level
Mexico: 1 (2026) · United Arab Emirates: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Mexico’s economy is 3.3 times the size of the United Arab Emirates’
Mexico: $1.83 trillion (2025) · United Arab Emirates: $552 billion (2024)
How much is produced per person?
The United Arab Emirates produces 3.1 times as much per person as Mexico
Mexico: Int$25,869 (2025) · United Arab Emirates: Int$79,344 (2024)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Mexico than in the United Arab Emirates (Gini 16.2 points higher)
Mexico: 42.6 (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 26.4 (2018)
How many live on less than $3 a day?
1.6% of people in Mexico live on less than $3 a day, versus 0% in the United Arab Emirates
Mexico: 1.6% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 0% (2018)
How many people are looking for work?
Mexico and the United Arab Emirates are practically level
Mexico: 2.7% (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, Mexico 0.7%
Mexico: 0.7% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 5.6% (2014)
How much does the central government collect in tax?
Mexico’s central government collects 15% of GDP in tax, the United Arab Emirates’ 0.6%
Mexico: 14.8% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 0.6% (2024)
How expensive is it?
The United Arab Emirates’ price level (US = 100) is 1.2× Mexico’s
Mexico: 54% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 63% (2024)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
The United Arab Emirates spends 3.2 times as much on health per person as Mexico
Mexico: $761 (2023) · United Arab Emirates: $2,402 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in the United Arab Emirates live 7.8 years longer than in Mexico
Mexico: 75.3 years (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 83.1 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Mexico is 3.2 times as likely to die before turning one as in the United Arab Emirates
Mexico: 12.1 per 1,000 (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 3.8 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
The United Arab Emirates has 16% more doctors per person than Mexico
Mexico: 2.6 per 1,000 (2022) · United Arab Emirates: 3 per 1,000 (2023)
How many hospital beds are there?
The United Arab Emirates has 85% more hospital beds per person than Mexico
Mexico: 1 per 1,000 (2022) · United Arab Emirates: 1.9 per 1,000 (2022)
How common is suicide?
The suicide rate in Mexico is 3.1 times that in the United Arab Emirates
Mexico: 8.7 per 100k (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 2.8 per 100k (2023)
How common is obesity?
37% of adults in Mexico are obese, versus 30% in the United Arab Emirates
Mexico: 37.4% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 30.3% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
16% of adults in Mexico smoke, versus 9.0% in the United Arab Emirates
Mexico: 15.7% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 9% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in Mexico rate their lives 0.15 points higher than in the United Arab Emirates
Mexico: 6.97 (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 6.82 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Mexico drink 10 times as much alcohol as in the United Arab Emirates
Mexico: 6.7 litres (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 0.6 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Mexico has 15% more meat per person than the United Arab Emirates
Mexico: 78.2 kg (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 67.8 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Mexico has 179 kcal more food per person per day than the United Arab Emirates
Mexico: 3,305 kcal (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 3,125 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in the United Arab Emirates put in 886 more hours a year than in Mexico
Mexico: 1,629 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 3.6 years longer than in Mexico
Mexico: 9.3 years (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 13 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
The United Arab Emirates welcomed 6.6 times as many tourists per resident as Mexico (2019)
Mexico: 0.34 (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 2.28 (2019)
How many World Heritage sites?
Mexico has 33 more World Heritage sites than the United Arab Emirates (36 against 3)
Mexico: 36 (2026) · United Arab Emirates: 3 (2026)
How many Olympic medals has it won?
Mexico has won 77 Olympic medals, the United Arab Emirates 2
Mexico: 77 (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 83% in Mexico
Mexico: 83% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 100% (2024)
How fast is home internet?
Home internet in the United Arab Emirates is 2.4 times as fast as in Mexico
Mexico: 152 Mbps (2026) · United Arab Emirates: 358 Mbps (2026)
Who has electricity at home?
The United Arab Emirates and Mexico are practically level
Mexico: 99.8% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
86% of people in the United Arab Emirates live in cities, versus 80% in Mexico
Mexico: 80% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 86% (2025)
How many phones per person?
The United Arab Emirates has 203 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Mexico 116
Mexico: 116 (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 203 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Mexico’s railway network is 84 times as long as the United Arab Emirates’
Mexico: 23,389 km (2017) · United Arab Emirates: 279 km (2021)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from the United Arab Emirates fly 13 times as many passengers per resident as those from Mexico
Mexico: 0.6 (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 7.91 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 34% of Mexico, but only 4.6% of the United Arab Emirates
Mexico: 34.2% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 4.6% (2024)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in the United Arab Emirates emits 5.7 times as much CO₂ as someone in Mexico
Mexico: 3.5 t (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 20.1 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
23% of Mexico’s electricity is renewable, versus 8.8% in the United Arab Emirates
Mexico: 23.1% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 8.8% (2024)
How clean is the air?
The air in the United Arab Emirates carries 3 times as much fine dust as in Mexico
Mexico: 18.3 µg/m³ (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 55.7 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 36 times as likely to be murdered in Mexico as in the United Arab Emirates
Mexico: 24.9 per 100k (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 0.7 per 100k (2022)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Mexico are 2.8 times as deadly as in the United Arab Emirates
Mexico: 19.1 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 7.4 °C warmer than Mexico
Mexico: 21.4°C (2016–2025 avg) · United Arab Emirates: 28.8°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Mexico gets 17 times as much rain as the United Arab Emirates
Mexico: 788 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 Mexico bigger than the United Arab Emirates?
Mexico is larger. The United Arab Emirates fits inside Mexico 20 times.
Which has more people, Mexico or the United Arab Emirates?
Mexico has 11 times as many people as the United Arab Emirates (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Mexico or the United Arab Emirates?
People in the United Arab Emirates live 7.8 years longer than in Mexico. Life expectancy at birth is 75.3 years in Mexico and 83.1 in the United Arab Emirates.
Are people taller in Mexico or the United Arab Emirates?
Men in the United Arab Emirates are 3.8 cm taller than in Mexico (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
