📜 A long story
United Arab Emirates, 1800 → today
The United Arab Emirates grew from 40,150 in 1800 to 10.6 million; a newborn can expect 40.8 more years of life than in 1950, and output per person is 3.1× its 1950 level, adjusted for inflation.
Told with long-run reconstructions, not the yearly series used elsewhere on the site: each chapter names its source. Scroll to move through the years.
☺ Chapter 1 · Population
How many people live there?
1800
In 1800, about 40,150 people lived in the United Arab Emirates.
1900
48,930 people.
1.2× the 1800 level
1950
74,530 people.
1.5× the 1900 level
2023
10.6 million people, the latest year in this series.
143× the 1950 level
Reached twice the 1800 level in 1952.
Reached 5 times the 1800 level in 1969.
Reached 10 times the 1800 level in 1973.
Reached 20 times the 1800 level in 1978.
Reached 50 times the 1800 level in 1992.
Long-run series: before 1950, reconstructions by HYDE and Gapminder, filled in between benchmark years by those sources. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates.
✚ Chapter 2 · Life expectancy
How long do people live?
1950
In 1950, a newborn in the United Arab Emirates could expect to live 42.1 years, on average.
2023
82.9 years, the latest year in this series.
+41 years since 1950
Passed 50 years in 1960.
Passed 60 years in 1970.
Passed 70 years in 1985.
Passed 80 years in 2004.
Long-run series: before 1950, historical estimates (Riley, Clio Infra, Human Mortality Database), only for years they cover.
◎ Chapter 3 · GDP per person (PPP)
How much is produced per person?
1950
In 1950, the United Arab Emirates produced about Int$25,200 per person, in 2011 prices.
2022
Int$77,200, the latest year in this series.
3.1× the 1950 level
Reached twice the 1950 level in 2001.
The sharpest fall in the data: down 54% between 1980 and 1988 (Int$44,200 → Int$20,200).
Long-run series (Maddison Project) in 2011 international dollars: adjusted for inflation, so not the same unit as today’s PPP figure. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates. Dashed stretches are years without data.
❦ Chapter 4 · CO₂ per person
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
1959
In 1959, fossil fuels and industry in the United Arab Emirates emitted about 0.1 t of CO₂ per person.
2024
20.1 t, the latest year in this series.
228× the 1959 level
Reached twice the 1959 level, reached 5 times the 1959 level, reached 10 times the 1959 level, reached 20 times the 1959 level, reached 50 times the 1959 level in 1967.
The sharpest fall in the data: down 56% between 1976 and 1983 (64.3 t → 28.6 t).
Long-run series: fossil CO₂ emitted within each country’s borders (Global Carbon Budget); early estimates are less certain. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates.