Pakistanis outnumber Emiratis in three UAE states

Pakistanis living in Dubai, Sharjah, and Ajman make up to 12% of the combined population of these three emirates

Pakistani expats living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) outnumber the indigenous Emiratis in three of seven states.

Pakistanis living in Dubai, Sharjah, and Ajman makes up of 12% of the combined population of these three emirates, which is 3% higher than the Emirati population, Gulf News reported.

Quoting statistics provided by Euromonitor International, a market intelligence company, the newspaper said the number of Indian expats living in these three emirates is higher than any other nationality, making up 25 % of the total population.

While Indian and Pakistanis expats combined make more than one third of Dubai, Sharjah, and Ajman, other leading nationalities include Emirati (9%), Bangladeshi (7%), and Filipino (5%).



Explaining the phenomena of such a high number of Pakistanis and Indians in the UAE, Nikola Kosutic, a research manager at Euromonitor International, said that ease of trade and job opportunities especially for low-paid jobs, along with the graphic proximity of these countries facilitate the movement of people from India and Pakistan to the UAE. The fact that many Pakistanis and Indians have someone living in the UAE who can help them with the transition makes it easier for them to move to the UAE, he added.

According to data provided by the Dubai Statistics Centre (DSC), Dubai’s population is expected to grow by approximately 5% from 2.3 million in 2014 to 2.4 million in 2015.

Commenting on the recent population growth, Gurdish Bassi, project director at GRMC advisory services, said the increase in population over last two years can be attributed to increases in demand for blue collar workforce driven by construction activity as a result of real estate market recovery and infrastructure development related to Expo 2020. “To a smaller extent there has also been growth in white collar employment as a result of Dubai’s economy being more buoyant than before,” he said.

The article originally appeared on Gulf News