The duel
Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
The United Arab Emirates fits inside Uganda 2.4 times.
Uganda: 241,550 km² (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 98,648 km² (2023)
How much coast is there?
Uganda: 0 km (2026 edition) · United Arab Emirates: 1,318 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Uganda’s highest peak towers 3,205 m above the United Arab Emirates’.
Uganda: 5,110 m (2026 edition) · United Arab Emirates: 1,905 m (2026 edition)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Uganda has 4.5 times as many people as the United Arab Emirates.
Uganda: 51.4 million (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 11.5 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Uganda is 58% more densely populated than the United Arab Emirates.
Uganda: 256 per km² (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 162 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in the United Arab Emirates are 5.3 cm taller than in Uganda.
Uganda: 168.7 cm (2019) · United Arab Emirates: 174.1 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in the United Arab Emirates are 2.0 cm taller than in Uganda.
Uganda: 158.5 cm (2019) · United Arab Emirates: 160.5 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in the United Arab Emirates is 15 years older than in Uganda.
Uganda: 16.5 years (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 31.2 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Uganda have 3.0 more children on average than in the United Arab Emirates.
Uganda: 4.17 children per woman (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 1.21 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
Uganda and the United Arab Emirates are practically level.
Uganda: 2.2% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 1.8% (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Uganda and the United Arab Emirates are practically level.
Uganda: 0 (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 0 (2025)
How many official languages?
Uganda has 2 official languages, the United Arab Emirates 1.
Uganda: 2 (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 8.9 times the size of Uganda’s.
Uganda: $62 billion (2025) · United Arab Emirates: $552 billion (2024)
How much is produced per person?
The United Arab Emirates produces 23 times as much per person as Uganda.
Uganda: Int$3,488 (2025) · United Arab Emirates: Int$79,344 (2024)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Uganda than in the United Arab Emirates (Gini 16.3 points higher).
Uganda: 42.7 (2019) · United Arab Emirates: 26.4 (2018)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 2.7% in Uganda, versus 2.2% in the United Arab Emirates.
Uganda: 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, Uganda 1.9%.
Uganda: 1.9% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 5.6% (2014)
How expensive is it?
The United Arab Emirates’ price level (US = 100) is 1.8× Uganda’s.
Uganda: 35% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 63% (2024)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
The United Arab Emirates spends 53 times as much on health per person as Uganda.
Uganda: $45 (2023) · United Arab Emirates: $2,402 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in the United Arab Emirates live 15 years longer than in Uganda.
Uganda: 68.5 years (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 83.1 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Uganda is 9.4 times as likely to die before turning one as in the United Arab Emirates.
Uganda: 35.9 per 1,000 (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 3.8 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
The United Arab Emirates has 16 times as many doctors per person as Uganda.
Uganda: 0.2 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 8.2% in Uganda.
Uganda: 8.2% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 30.3% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
9.0% of adults in the United Arab Emirates smoke, versus 7.5% in Uganda.
Uganda: 7.5% (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 2.33 points higher than in Uganda.
Uganda: 4.49 (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 6.82 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Uganda drink 6.3 times as much alcohol as in the United Arab Emirates.
Uganda: 4 litres (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 0.6 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
The United Arab Emirates has 6.3 times as much meat per person as Uganda.
Uganda: 10.9 kg (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 67.8 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
The United Arab Emirates has 747 kcal more food per person per day than Uganda.
Uganda: 2,378 kcal (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 3,125 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in the United Arab Emirates put in 387 more hours a year than in Uganda.
Uganda: 2,128 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 6.7 years longer than in Uganda.
Uganda: 6.3 years (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 13 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
The United Arab Emirates welcomed 64 times as many tourists per resident as Uganda (2019).
Uganda: 0.04 (2019) · 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 8.9% in Uganda.
Uganda: 9% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 100% (2024)
Who has electricity at home?
100% of people in the United Arab Emirates have electricity, versus 55% in Uganda.
Uganda: 55.3% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
86% of people in the United Arab Emirates live in cities, versus 32% in Uganda.
Uganda: 32% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 86% (2025)
How many phones per person?
The United Arab Emirates has 203 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Uganda 83.
Uganda: 83 (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 203 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Uganda’s railway network is 4.5 times as long as the United Arab Emirates’.
Uganda: 1,244 km (2014) · United Arab Emirates: 279 km (2021)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from the United Arab Emirates fly 18,772 times as many passengers per resident as those from Uganda.
Uganda: 0 (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 7.91 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 11% of Uganda, but only 4.5% of the United Arab Emirates.
Uganda: 11% (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 4.5% (2023)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in the United Arab Emirates emits 159 times as much CO₂ as someone in Uganda.
Uganda: 0.1 t (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 20.1 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
97% of Uganda’s electricity is renewable, versus 8.8% in the United Arab Emirates.
Uganda: 97.1% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 8.8% (2024)
How clean is the air?
The air in the United Arab Emirates carries 49% more fine dust than in Uganda.
Uganda: 37.3 µg/m³ (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 55.7 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 13 times as likely to be murdered in Uganda as in the United Arab Emirates.
Uganda: 9 per 100k (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 0.7 per 100k (2022)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Uganda are 2.7 times as deadly as in the United Arab Emirates.
Uganda: 16 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 5.1 °C warmer than Uganda.
Uganda: 23.7°C (2016–2025 avg) · United Arab Emirates: 28.8°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Uganda gets 31 times as much rain as the United Arab Emirates.
Uganda: 1,470 mm (2016–2025 avg) · United Arab Emirates: 47 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Quick answers
Is Uganda bigger than the United Arab Emirates?
Uganda is larger. The United Arab Emirates fits inside Uganda 2.4 times.
Which has more people, Uganda or the United Arab Emirates?
Uganda has 4.5 times as many people as the United Arab Emirates (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Uganda or the United Arab Emirates?
People in the United Arab Emirates live 15 years longer than in Uganda. Life expectancy at birth is 68.5 years in Uganda and 83.1 in the United Arab Emirates.
Are people taller in Uganda or the United Arab Emirates?
Men in the United Arab Emirates are 5.3 cm taller than in Uganda (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
