The population of the United Arab Emirates by the beginning of 2010 for the first time in the 38-year history of the country will exceed 5 million people, experts from the UAE Ministry of Economics predict.
According to calculations by the UAE Ministry of Economy, by the end of 2009, 5 million 66 thousand people will live in the Emirates, which is 300 thousand more than at the end of 2008. The population growth occurred due to an increase in the number of expatriates: their number by 2010 will amount to 4 million 413 thousand people. The number of UAE native citizens, emirates, compared with last year increased from 892 to 923 thousand people.
The most populated emirate of the UAE federation this year was Dubai, which was ahead of Abu Dhabi for the first time. According to experts, the population of Dubai today is 1 million 596 thousand people. Compared to 2008, there were 7.8% more Dubaiis, and by 2010 the population of Dubai will reach 1 million 722 thousand people. Such a sharp population growth is not registered anywhere else in the country.
The largest emirate in the federation, Abu Dhabi, currently has 1 million 559 thousand people, and by the end of the year this figure will reach 1 million 628 thousand people. Abu Dhabi continues to occupy first place in the UAE in terms of the number of female population: 539 thousand women live here.
In the emirate of Sharjah, the third in terms of population, a little less than a million inhabitants are registered, but by the beginning of 2010, 1 million 17 thousand people will live in Sharjah.
There were 237 thousand people in Ajman in 2020, and the growth here will be small - up to 250 thousand people.
Slightly fewer people live in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah - 241 thousand people. In Fujairah - 152 thousand, which is slightly more than in 2008. In Umm al-Kuwain, the smallest emirate, by the new year promises to be only 56 thousand inhabitants, which is 3 thousand more than in 2008.
