Panama vs United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates is 13% larger than Panama.
PanamaUnited Arab EmiratesPanama moved onto United Arab Emirates · Equal-area projection
0.89×
Panama is 0.89× the area of United Arab Emirates. Put the other way, United Arab Emirates is 1.13× the size of Panama.
 Panama |  United Arab Emirates | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaUnited Arab Emirates: 1.13× the area | 74,177 km²#116 of 194 | 83,600 km²#114 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 2 | 2 |
| People | ||
| PopulationUnited Arab Emirates: 2.52× the population | 4,571,189#127 of 194 · 2025 | 11,513,149#86 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityUnited Arab Emirates: 2.23× the density | 62 / km²#124 of 194 | 138 / km²#68 of 194 |
| Urban populationUnited Arab Emirates: 1.3× the urban share | 66%#85 of 192 · 2025 | 86%#29 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility ratePanama: 1.74× the births per woman | 2.11 per woman#91 of 192 · 2024 | 1.21 per woman#177 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthUnited Arab Emirates: 3.46 points higher | +1.22%#80 of 192 · 2025 | +4.68%#1 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth ratePanama: 1.62× the birth rate | 15.9 per 1,000#94 of 192 · 2024 | 9.8 per 1,000#145 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death ratePanama: 4.9× the death rate | 4.9 per 1,000#173 of 192 · 2024 | 1.0 per 1,000#192 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Panama: 8.5 points higher | 24.5%#93 of 192 · 2025 | 16.0%#150 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Panama: 7.9 points higher | 9.7%#81 of 192 · 2025 | 1.8%#191 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationUnited Arab Emirates: 12.5 per 1,000 higher | +1.3 per 1,000#44 of 192 · 2025 | +13.8 per 1,000#4 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadPanama: 4.0× the refugees for its size | 0.08 per 1,000#122 of 190 · 2025 | 0.02 per 1,000#145 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyUnited Arab Emirates: 3.3 years longer | 79.8 years#42 of 192 · 2024 | 83.1 years#16 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityPanama: 3.16× the infant mortality | 12.0 per 1,000 births#100 of 191 · 2024 | 3.8 per 1,000 births#156 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsUnited Arab Emirates: 1.83× the doctors per person | 1.63 per 1,000#91 of 178 · 2022 | 2.99 per 1,000#60 of 178 · 2023 |
| University enrolmentUnited Arab Emirates: 1.19× the university enrolment | 53.7%#71 of 145 · 2023 | 63.7%#54 of 145 · 2024 |
| Human Development IndexUnited Arab Emirates: 0.101 higher | 0.839#58 of 190 · 2023 | 0.940#14 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaUnited Arab Emirates: 2.69× the income per person | $19,140#57 of 185 · 2025 | $51,550#22 of 185 · 2024 |
| GDPUnited Arab Emirates: 6.11× the economy | $90.46B2025 | $552.33B2024 |
| Income group | High income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)United Arab Emirates: 1.81× the output per person | $43,902#52 of 184 · 2025 | $79,344#14 of 184 · 2024 |
| GDP growthPanama: 0.4 points higher | +4.4%#58 of 187 · 2025 | +4.0%#69 of 187 · 2024 |
| InflationUnited Arab Emirates: 1.5 points higher | −0.2%#167 of 176 · 2025 | +1.3%#136 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentPanama: 3.82× the unemployment | 8.4%#47 of 178 · 2025 | 2.2%#158 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | 3.1%#63 of 149 · 2024 | 0.0%#136 of 149 · 2018 |
| Income inequality (Gini)Panama: 23.3 higher | 49.7#10 of 149 · 2024 | 26.4#140 of 149 · 2018 |
| Jobs in agriculturePanama: 14.6 points higher | 16.0% of jobs#89 of 178 · 2025 | 1.4% of jobs#165 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryUnited Arab Emirates: 13.6 points higher | 17.0% of jobs#113 of 178 · 2025 | 30.6% of jobs#17 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesUnited Arab Emirates: 1.0 points higher | 67.0% of jobs#64 of 178 · 2025 | 68.0% of jobs#60 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentUnited Arab Emirates: 7.3 points higher | 1.0% of GDP#126 of 184 · 2025 | 8.3% of GDP#22 of 184 · 2024 |
| ExportsUnited Arab Emirates: 62.4 points higher | 44.4% of GDP#57 of 168 · 2024 | 106.8% of GDP#7 of 168 · 2023 |
| Military spending | 0.0% of GDP#153 of 155 · 2025 | — |
| Internet usersUnited Arab Emirates: 1.37× the share online | 73%#113 of 184 · 2024 | 100%#1 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsUnited Arab Emirates: 1.29× the mobile subscriptions | 157 per 100#22 of 191 · 2023 | 203 per 100#2 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaPanama: 13.5× the forest share | 62% of land#22 of 192 · 2024 | 5% of land#166 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personUnited Arab Emirates: 6.66× the CO₂ per person | 2.74 t a year#87 of 185 · 2024 | 18.3 t a year#9 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyPanama: 27.0 points higher | 28.0%#84 of 190 · 2021 | 1.0%#177 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityUnited Arab Emirates: 4.0 points higher | 96.0%#126 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)United Arab Emirates: 3.79× the air pollution | 15.1 µg/m³#115 of 191 · 2023 | 57.2 µg/m³#8 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landPanama: 12.2 points higher | 31.4% of land#28 of 191 · 2025 | 19.2% of land#85 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landPanama: 5.9 points higher | 6.7% of land#117 of 190 · 2024 | 0.8% of land#173 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressUnited Arab Emirates: 1,678× the water stress | 0.9%#163 of 176 · 2022 | 1,509.9%#2 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationPanama: 37.5× the rain and snow | 2,928 mm#5 of 180 · 2022 | 78 mm#176 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityUnited Arab Emirates: 0.59 higher | +0.24#83 of 193 · 2025 | +0.83#47 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionUnited Arab Emirates: 1.71 higher | −0.56#125 of 193 · 2025 | +1.15#30 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide ratePanama: 16.7× the homicide rate | 11.7 per 100,000#24 of 146 · 2023 | 0.7 per 100,000#123 of 146 · 2022 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Presidential republic | Absolute monarchyfederation of monarchies |
| Member of | — | BRICS, OPEC |
| Capital | Panama City | Abu Dhabi |
| Currency | United States dollar (USD), Panamanian balboa (PAB) | UAE dirham (AED) |
| Official languages | Spanish | Arabic |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC−5 | UTC+4 |
| Calling code | +507 | +971 |
| Region | Central America, North America | Western Asia, Asia |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Panama sits at about 9° N and is stretched to 1.02× its true area; United Arab Emirates at 24° N is stretched to 1.2×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Panama bigger than United Arab Emirates?
- No. Panama is 11% smaller than United Arab Emirates. Panama covers 74,177 km² and United Arab Emirates covers 83,600 km².
- How many times does Panama fit into United Arab Emirates?
- About 1.1 times: United Arab Emirates has 1.13× the area of Panama.
- Why do Panama and United Arab Emirates look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Panama is drawn about 1.02× its true area there and United Arab Emirates about 1.2×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Panama or United Arab Emirates?
- United Arab Emirates: 11,513,149 people against 4,571,189. Density: Panama 62 per km², United Arab Emirates 138 per km².
- Which is richer, Panama or United Arab Emirates?
- By gross national income per person, United Arab Emirates: $51,550 against $19,140 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 2.69× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Panama or United Arab Emirates?
- In United Arab Emirates: life expectancy at birth is 83.1 years, against 79.8 — 3.3 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Panama and United Arab Emirates have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Panama: presidential republic; United Arab Emirates: absolute monarchy.