Dubai population ‘unbalanced’, stats show

However, what might come as a surprise to many people is that a little over three-quarters of Dubai’s population is male.

Statistics collected by the Dubai Statistic Centre show that 75.77 per cent of Dubai’s estimated population of 2.2 million are men, and 24.23 per cent are women.

Describing the population as “unnatural” the centre’s report attributed the unbalanced structure to the large proportion of foreign workers living in Dubai — most of whom are working-age males who are not accompanied by their family members.

While the ratio of men to women in Dubai is 313 males per 100 females, the rapid economic growth witnessed by the emirate is a result of the large number of expat workers.

Statistics also show that two-thirds of the population is between the ages of 20-39. In 2013, the total number of men in that age group was almost 60 per cent more than that of females in the same age group.

Another major factor affecting Dubai’s population is the estimated number of ‘active individuals’ during the day. The term ‘active individuals’ includes residents and individuals working in the governmental (federal, local) and private sectors in Dubai and residing in the emirate as well as the average number of tourists, sailors, and the dynamic movement of people coming into and leaving Dubai during the day.

The report states that the number of workers residing outside Dubai as well as temporary residents adds an additional million to the overall population of Dubai. The total number of active individuals during the day in Dubai is 3.2 million.

The increasing movement of people during the day is mainly due to the availability of various investment opportunities in the emirate, which requires many people from other emirates to come to Dubai on a daily basis to manage their business or work for others. The report showed that another main reason is the cheaper accommodation rates in neighbouring emirates, which leads many employees and families to live outside Dubai but continue to work in the emirate.

The trend seen in Dubai’s population growth continues however, as preliminary statistics collected by the Dubai Statistic Center estimate another five per cent growth in 2014. Gulf News