Labor force participation rate in United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates: Labor force participation rate was 78.59 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
78.59
Change on year
up 0.1%
World rank
12th
of 186 countries
All-time high
79.47
in 2019
All-time low
74.35
in 1990
Years of data
36
1990–2025
Labor force participation rate in United Arab Emirates, 1990–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, labor force participation rate in United Arab Emirates stood at 78.59.
That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and up 0.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, labor force participation rate in United Arab Emirates peaked at 79.47 in 2019 and was at its lowest, 74.35, in 1990.
That places United Arab Emirates 12th out of 186 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Labor force participation rate in United Arab Emirates, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 74.35 | — |
| 1991 | 74.65 | +0.4% |
| 1992 | 74.95 | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 75.48 | +0.7% |
| 1994 | 75.81 | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 76.16 | +0.5% |
| 1996 | 76.03 | -0.2% |
| 1997 | 75.36 | -0.9% |
| 1998 | 74.88 | -0.6% |
| 1999 | 74.6 | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 74.51 | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 74.65 | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 74.99 | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 75.47 | +0.6% |
| 2004 | 76.06 | +0.8% |
| 2005 | 76.71 | +0.9% |
| 2006 | 77.22 | +0.7% |
| 2007 | 77.32 | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 77.06 | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 76.6 | -0.6% |
| 2010 | 76.64 | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 76.87 | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 77.05 | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 77.33 | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 77.67 | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 78 | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 78.45 | +0.6% |
| 2017 | 78.76 | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 79.11 | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 79.47 | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 78.78 | -0.9% |
| 2021 | 77.05 | -2.2% |
| 2022 | 77.24 | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 78.37 | +1.5% |
| 2024 | 78.48 | +0.1% |
| 2025 | 78.59 | +0.1% |
United Arab Emirates compared with similar countries
- United Arab Emirates's 78.59 is above the median for high income countries, which is 62.28, 1.3× the median. (62 countries reporting)
- United Arab Emirates's 78.59 is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 44.99, 1.7× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 75.23 | 74.35 | 76.16 | 10 |
| 2000s | 76.06 | 74.51 | 77.32 | 10 |
| 2010s | 77.93 | 76.64 | 79.47 | 10 |
| 2020s | 78.09 | 77.05 | 78.78 | 6 |
Countries ranked near United Arab Emirates
More work & labour data for United Arab Emirates
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual 0.9136 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth 0.7692 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth 1.09 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.1 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.7766 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 12,158 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 1,005 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 11,620 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 14,514 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 26,134 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is labor force participation rate in United Arab Emirates?
- Labor force participation rate in United Arab Emirates was 78.59 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest labor force participation rate recorded in United Arab Emirates?
- The highest recorded value was 79.47 in 2019.
- What is the lowest labor force participation rate recorded in United Arab Emirates?
- The lowest recorded value was 74.35 in 1990.
- How does United Arab Emirates rank for labor force participation rate?
- United Arab Emirates ranks 12th out of 186 countries with data for 2025.
- Is labor force participation rate rising or falling in United Arab Emirates?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United Arab Emirates data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Labor force participation rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).