Saudi Arabia vs United Arab Emirates
Saudi Arabia is 26.9 times larger than United Arab Emirates. United Arab Emirates would fit into Saudi Arabia about 27 times.
Saudi ArabiaUnited Arab EmiratesSaudi Arabia moved onto United Arab Emirates · Equal-area projection
26.9×
Saudi Arabia is 26.9× the area of United Arab Emirates.
 Saudi Arabia |  United Arab Emirates | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaSaudi Arabia: 26.9× the area | 2,250,000 km²#12 of 194 | 83,600 km²#114 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 7 | 2 |
| People | ||
| PopulationSaudi Arabia: 3.21× the population | 36,973,555#43 of 194 · 2025 | 11,513,149#86 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityUnited Arab Emirates: 8.38× the density | 16 / km²#176 of 194 | 138 / km²#68 of 194 |
| Urban populationAbout the same urban share | 85%#32 of 192 · 2025 | 86%#29 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateSaudi Arabia: 1.91× the births per woman | 2.31 per woman#79 of 192 · 2024 | 1.21 per woman#177 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthUnited Arab Emirates: 0.05 points higher | +4.63%#2 of 192 · 2025 | +4.68%#1 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateSaudi Arabia: 1.68× the birth rate | 16.5 per 1,000#88 of 192 · 2024 | 9.8 per 1,000#145 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateSaudi Arabia: 2.3× the death rate | 2.3 per 1,000#187 of 192 · 2024 | 1.0 per 1,000#192 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Saudi Arabia: 7.6 points higher | 23.6%#101 of 192 · 2025 | 16.0%#150 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Saudi Arabia: 1.3 points higher | 3.1%#166 of 192 · 2025 | 1.8%#191 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationUnited Arab Emirates: 10.6 per 1,000 higher | +3.2 per 1,000#29 of 192 · 2025 | +13.8 per 1,000#4 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadSaudi Arabia: 3.0× the refugees for its size | 0.06 per 1,000#129 of 190 · 2025 | 0.02 per 1,000#145 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyUnited Arab Emirates: 4.1 years longer | 79.0 years#45 of 192 · 2024 | 83.1 years#16 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalitySaudi Arabia: 1.24× the infant mortality | 4.7 per 1,000 births#144 of 191 · 2024 | 3.8 per 1,000 births#156 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsSaudi Arabia: 1.14× the doctors per person | 3.41 per 1,000#48 of 178 · 2023 | 2.99 per 1,000#60 of 178 · 2023 |
| University enrolmentSaudi Arabia: 1.32× the university enrolment | 83.9%#18 of 145 · 2024 | 63.7%#54 of 145 · 2024 |
| Human Development IndexUnited Arab Emirates: 0.040 higher | 0.900#36 of 190 · 2023 | 0.940#14 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaUnited Arab Emirates: 1.43× the income per person | $36,070#33 of 185 · 2025 | $51,550#22 of 185 · 2024 |
| GDPSaudi Arabia: 2.31× the economy | $1.28T2025 | $552.33B2024 |
| Income group | High income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)United Arab Emirates: 1.08× the output per person | $73,784#19 of 184 · 2025 | $79,344#14 of 184 · 2024 |
| GDP growthSaudi Arabia: 0.5 points higher | +4.5%#55 of 187 · 2025 | +4.0%#69 of 187 · 2024 |
| InflationSaudi Arabia: 0.7 points higher | +2.0%#120 of 176 · 2025 | +1.3%#136 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentSaudi Arabia: 1.36× the unemployment | 3.0%#138 of 178 · 2025 | 2.2%#158 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | — | 0.0%#136 of 149 · 2018 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | — | 26.4#140 of 149 · 2018 |
| Jobs in agricultureSaudi Arabia: 1.1 points higher | 2.5% of jobs#152 of 178 · 2025 | 1.4% of jobs#165 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryUnited Arab Emirates: 7.5 points higher | 23.1% of jobs#54 of 178 · 2025 | 30.6% of jobs#17 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesSaudi Arabia: 6.4 points higher | 74.4% of jobs#31 of 178 · 2025 | 68.0% of jobs#60 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentUnited Arab Emirates: 5.7 points higher | 2.6% of GDP#73 of 184 · 2025 | 8.3% of GDP#22 of 184 · 2024 |
| ExportsUnited Arab Emirates: 77.1 points higher | 29.7% of GDP#104 of 168 · 2025 | 106.8% of GDP#7 of 168 · 2023 |
| Military spending | 6.5% of GDP#7 of 155 · 2025 | — |
| Internet usersAbout the same share online | 100%#1 of 184 · 2024 | 100%#1 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsUnited Arab Emirates: 1.27× the mobile subscriptions | 160 per 100#20 of 191 · 2024 | 203 per 100#2 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaUnited Arab Emirates: 3.54× the forest share | 1% of land#175 of 192 · 2024 | 5% of land#166 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personAbout the same CO₂ per person | 18.5 t a year#8 of 185 · 2024 | 18.3 t a year#9 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyUnited Arab Emirates: 0.9 points higher | 0.1%#183 of 190 · 2021 | 1.0%#177 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityThe same | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Saudi Arabia: 1.28× the air pollution | 73.5 µg/m³#2 of 191 · 2023 | 57.2 µg/m³#8 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landUnited Arab Emirates: 0.7 points higher | 18.5% of land#90 of 191 · 2025 | 19.2% of land#85 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landSaudi Arabia: 1.2 points higher | 2.0% of land#161 of 190 · 2024 | 0.8% of land#173 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressUnited Arab Emirates: 1.55× the water stress | 974.2%#3 of 176 · 2022 | 1,509.9%#2 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationUnited Arab Emirates: 1.32× the rain and snow | 59 mm#178 of 180 · 2022 | 78 mm#176 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityUnited Arab Emirates: 0.81 higher | +0.02#103 of 193 · 2025 | +0.83#47 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionUnited Arab Emirates: 0.34 higher | +0.81#41 of 193 · 2025 | +1.15#30 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateSaudi Arabia: 1.29× the homicide rate | 0.9 per 100,000#110 of 146 · 2019 | 0.7 per 100,000#123 of 146 · 2022 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Absolute monarchy | Absolute monarchyfederation of monarchies |
| Member of | G20, OPEC | BRICS, OPEC |
| Capital | Riyadh | Abu Dhabi |
| Currency | Saudi riyal (SAR) | UAE dirham (AED) |
| Official languages | Arabic | Arabic |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+3 | UTC+4 |
| Calling code | +966 | +971 |
| Region | Western Asia, Asia | 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. Saudi Arabia sits at about 24° N and is stretched to 1.2× 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 Saudi Arabia bigger than United Arab Emirates?
- Yes. Saudi Arabia is 26.9 times larger than United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia covers 2,250,000 km² and United Arab Emirates covers 83,600 km².
- How many times does United Arab Emirates fit into Saudi Arabia?
- About 27 times: Saudi Arabia has 26.9× the area of United Arab Emirates.
- Why do Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Saudi Arabia is drawn about 1.2× 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, Saudi Arabia or United Arab Emirates?
- Saudi Arabia: 36,973,555 people against 11,513,149. Density: Saudi Arabia 16 per km², United Arab Emirates 138 per km².
- Which is richer, Saudi Arabia or United Arab Emirates?
- By gross national income per person, United Arab Emirates: $51,550 against $36,070 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.43× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Saudi Arabia or United Arab Emirates?
- In United Arab Emirates: life expectancy at birth is 83.1 years, against 79.0 — 4.1 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates have?
- The same form of government, by constitution: absolute monarchy (CIA World Factbook).