United Arab Emirates
Capital: Abu Dhabi · High income · Pop. 11.0 million
Source: World Bank Open Data (WHO/UNICEF JMP & FAO AQUASTAT) · drinking water 2024
In United Arab Emirates, 98.64% of the population uses safely managed drinking water — an improved source, located on premises, available when needed, and free from contamination (2024 estimate). That leaves roughly 149,415 people without safely managed drinking water at home.
Sanitation tracks closely: 98.45% use safely managed sanitation services and 99.09% have at least a basic service (2024).
United Arab Emirates has about 15 cubic meters of renewable internal freshwater per person each year — below the ~1,000 m³ threshold widely used to define water scarcity. It withdraws the equivalent of 1,510% of those internal resources annually (extreme (over-extraction) water stress), meaning it relies on rivers from outside its borders, desalination, or drawing down stored reserves.
Agriculture accounts for about 51% of United Arab Emirates's water withdrawals, the rest going to households and industry.
Common questions
How many people in United Arab Emirates have safe drinking water?
98.64% of United Arab Emirates's population uses safely managed drinking water (2024), per WHO/UNICEF data; about 149,415 people do not.
Does United Arab Emirates have enough freshwater?
United Arab Emirates has roughly 15 m³ of renewable internal freshwater per person per year, and uses about 1,510% of it annually (extreme (over-extraction) stress).