Abu Dhabi's population has crossed four million for the first time after a 7.5 per cent surge in 2024, figures released on Monday show.
The emirate's population stood at 4,135,985 by the end of last year, spurred by a 9.1 per cent increase in its workforce.
Abu Dhabi's continuing population boom comes as the emirate cements its status as a leading destination for businesses and investors, while new residential and leisure developments take shape.
Abu Dhabi's population has increased by 51 per cent in the past decade, rising from 2.7 million in 2014 to more than 4.1 million, data from the Statistics Centre in Abu Dhabi shows. The sustained growth coincides with an expanding economy, including an increase in GDP of 3.8 per cent last year, reaching a record Dh1.2 trillion ($33 billion).
"Abu Dhabi's sustained population growth reflects the government's success in creating an environment that attracts international talent and investment," said Ahmed Al Kuttab, chairman of the Department of Government Enablement in Abu Dhabi and chairman of the statistics centre.
"Through strategic policy development and infrastructure investment, Abu Dhabi has established itself as a leading destination for professionals seeking growth opportunities in a stable, innovative environment.
"The 7.5 per cent population growth validates Abu Dhabi's talent-first strategy. The government and its leadership continue to demonstrate that in today's knowledge economy, communities that offer genuine innovation opportunities – like pioneering AI-native governance – combined with world-class health care and safety standards, will attract the world's best professionals. Abu Dhabi is not competing in the traditional talent market, the emirate is creating an entirely new category as a global career destination."
Growing population in numbers
An expanding workforce of 2.76 million has served as a catalyst for the emirate's economic rise and growing population.
The number of professional roles increased by 6.4 per cent in 2024, as Abu Dhabi focuses heavily on knowledge-based industries including AI, technology, financial services and advanced manufacturing. Men make up 2.77 million of the population (67 per cent), with women accounting for 1.37 million (33 per cent). The median age of the population is 33.
The data reveals 54 per cent of residents are aged 25 to 44, in their peak years to contribute to the emirate's development.
Authorities are taking steps to ensure there is ample housing to keep pace with the rising number of new residents. The number of buildings across Abu Dhabi increased from 281,780 in 2023 to 299,360 in 2024, with the number of units rising from 754,555 to 783,970 in the same period.
The 2024 figures comprise 211,185 residential buildings – up from 199,320 in 2023 – and 54,640 commercial buildings, rising from 50,080.
Driving progress
Dr Ilya Kashnitsky, a former assistant professor at the University of Southern Denmark's Interdisciplinary Centre on Population Dynamics and now a senior researcher at Statistics Denmark, said Abu Dhabi's attraction to new workers puts it in a position of strength.
"Any rich country or region that is a destination for labour migration is in a privileged situation," Dr Kashnitsky told The National.
"It's always beneficial to receive labour. It's a very nice problem to deal with. It's way more difficult to manage the outflow of the population, like is happening in some, for example, Bulgaria, Romania or Baltic countries.
"It's way easier to deal with the inflow of the population, you're on the beneficial site of migration. You're getting people in prime working ages without the decades-long necessity of providing to their kids."
Dr Kashnitsky said the arrival of large numbers of people to work in a country contributed to economic growth.
"It's not a secret that in the future ... developed, richer countries will be in quite a fight for human resources, for people in their prime working ages."
Dr Alexandra Gomes, a research fellow at the London School of Economics who helped create an exhibition staged in London and Abu Dhabi called 'Abu Dhabi (dis)Connected', said population growth "presents an opportunity for higher levels of densification".
This, in turn, "can and should support improved public transport connectivity", Dr Gomes added.
"The key question now is: how can Abu Dhabi enhance its public transport system to attract current drivers, while also ensuring that new residents are not compelled to rely on private cars?" she said.
"Urban planning and transportation should go hand in hand, and public transport must become a viable alternative to car use, offering connections to places people want to go to, good frequencies, dedicated lanes and comfort."
Attractive destination
The latest statistics come as Dubai's population is also expected to pass four million this year. It stood at 3.96 million as of Monday, up from 3.75 million on the same date last year.
Dr David Roberts, a reader in international security and Middle East studies at King's College London, said population growth in the Gulf region was based on the idea that there remained "hundreds of thousands of affluent foreigners around the world who are looking for an alternative" place in which to live and work.
"I think the appeal of the Gulf is straightforward in many ways. Some people can see it as an alternative future," said Dr Roberts, author of Security Politics in the Gulf Monarchies: Continuity Amid Change. "These are fast modernising, swiftly changing young states that are very attractive to a lot of foreigners."
Places such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar were, Dr Roberts said, seen by many foreigners as "forward looking and futuristic".
He said the tax regime and the perception that the region offered "entrepreneurial flexibility" drew in expatriates.
While population growth creates pressures, such as on transport systems, Dr Roberts said the infrastructure in Abu Dhabi and Dubai was "pretty much first-rate".
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
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Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
Company profile
Name: The Concept
Founders: Yadhushan Mahendran, Maria Sobh and Muhammad Rijal
Based: Abu Dhabi
Founded: 2017
Number of employees: 7
Sector: Aviation and space industry
Funding: $250,000
Future plans: Looking to raise $1 million investment to boost expansion and develop new products
SPECS
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
What is dialysis?
Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.
It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure. The main cause of kidney failure is diabetes and hypertension.
There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.
In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.
In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.
It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.
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The specs
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Power: 540hp at 6,500rpm
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Kerb weight: 1580kg
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Liverpool's all-time goalscorers
Ian Rush 346
Roger Hunt 285
Mohamed Salah 250
Gordon Hodgson 241
Billy Liddell 228
The Rub of Time: Bellow, Nabokov, Hitchens, Travolta, Trump and Other Pieces 1986-2016
Martin Amis,
Jonathan Cape
It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
Funk Wav Bounces Vol.1
Calvin Harris
Columbia
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Episode list:
Ep1: A recovery like no other- the unevenness of the economic recovery
Ep2: PCR and jobs - the future of work - new trends and challenges
Ep3: The recovery and global trade disruptions - globalisation post-pandemic
Ep4: Inflation- services and goods - debt risks
Ep5: Travel and tourism
Hidden killer
Sepsis arises when the body tries to fight an infection but damages its own tissue and organs in the process.
The World Health Organisation estimates it affects about 30 million people each year and that about six million die.
Of those about three million are newborns and 1.2 are young children.
Patients with septic shock must often have limbs amputated if clots in their limbs prevent blood flow, causing the limbs to die.
Campaigners say the condition is often diagnosed far too late by medical professionals and that many patients wait too long to seek treatment, confusing the symptoms with flu.
Uefa Champions League play-off
First leg: Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Ajax v Dynamo Kiev
Second leg: Tuesday, August 28, 11pm (UAE)
Dynamo Kiev v Ajax
Jebel Ali card
1.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,400m
2.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,400m
2.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,000m
3.15pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,200m
3.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m
4.15pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,600m
4.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,800m
The National selections
1.45pm: Cosmic Glow
2.15pm: Karaginsky
2.45pm: Welcome Surprise
3.15pm: Taamol
3.45pm: Rayig
4.15pm: Chiefdom
4.45pm: California Jumbo
Drivers’ championship standings after Singapore:
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - 263
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari - 235
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes - 212
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull - 162
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari - 138
6. Sergio Perez, Force India - 68
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Zayed Sustainability Prize
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Neymar's bio
Total club appearances 411
Total goals scored 241
Appearances for Barca 186
Goals scored for Barca 105
