plate 025 · Humanity · 2024 data
Three in four UAE residents are international migrants
International migrants as a share of total population, 2024, selected countries.
74%
of people living in the UAE are international migrants: 8.2 million.
4 of 6
Gulf states have migrant majorities: Qatar, UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain.
20×
The UAE's migrant share is 20 times the world's 3.7%.
Source
UN DESA Population Division, International Migrant Stock 2024: Key facts and figures (advance unedited), Annex II ·Data 2024 ·Fact·Estimate
the numbers
| Share of population (%) | Migrants (m) | |
|---|---|---|
| Qatar | 76.7 | 2.3 |
| United Arab Emirates | 74.0 | 8.2 |
| Kuwait | 67.3 | 3.3 |
| Bahrain | 52.3 | 0.8 |
| Singapore | 48.7 | 2.8 |
| Oman | 43.2 | 2.3 |
| Saudi Arabia | 40.3 | 13.7 |
| Switzerland | 31.1 | 2.8 |
| Australia | 30.4 | 8.1 |
| Canada | 22.2 | 8.8 |
| Germany | 19.8 | 16.8 |
| United Kingdom | 17.1 | 11.9 |
| United States | 15.2 | 52.4 |
| World | 3.7 | 304.0 |
| Egypt | 1.0 | 1.1 |
source notes & method
Mid-2024 stock. UN counts foreign-born people, or foreign citizens where birthplace data are missing (common in the Gulf). PDF hosted by DevelopmentAid. UAE share was 68.6% in 1990; Qatar 49.0%. Migrant counts converted from thousands to millions.
Published 8 Oct 2026
what connects to this
one plate, every morning
The new world, explained in one chart, in your inbox at 7:00, your time. Free.
or follow via rss, the "rss" in progrss