People not using safely managed drinking water sources in United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates: People not using safely managed drinking water sources was 149,823 people in 2024. ▲ Rising
People not using safely managed drinking water sources in United Arab Emirates, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
United Arab Emirates recorded 149,823 people for people not using safely managed drinking water sources in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.5% on the previous year and up 23.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people not using safely managed drinking water sources in United Arab Emirates peaked at 149,823 people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 63,140 people, in 2000.
That places United Arab Emirates 99th out of 163 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
People not using safely managed drinking water sources in United Arab Emirates, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 63,140 people | — |
| 2001 | 67,229 people | +6.5% |
| 2002 | 70,478 people | +4.8% |
| 2003 | 73,648 people | +4.5% |
| 2004 | 76,708 people | +4.2% |
| 2005 | 79,633 people | +3.8% |
| 2006 | 84,255 people | +5.8% |
| 2007 | 93,192 people | +10.6% |
| 2008 | 102,829 people | +10.3% |
| 2009 | 107,719 people | +4.8% |
| 2010 | 109,659 people | +1.8% |
| 2011 | 111,933 people | +2.1% |
| 2012 | 114,626 people | +2.4% |
| 2013 | 117,713 people | +2.7% |
| 2014 | 121,656 people | +3.3% |
| 2015 | 125,855 people | +3.5% |
| 2016 | 128,656 people | +2.2% |
| 2017 | 129,124 people | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 128,233 people | -0.7% |
| 2019 | 128,435 people | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 129,185 people | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 133,621 people | +3.4% |
| 2022 | 139,582 people | +4.5% |
| 2023 | 144,810 people | +3.7% |
| 2024 | 149,823 people | +3.5% |
United Arab Emirates compared with similar countries
- United Arab Emirates's 149,823 people is above the median for high income countries, which is 30,638 people, 4.9× the median. (68 countries reporting)
- United Arab Emirates's 149,823 people is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 2.16 million people, 7% of the median. (18 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 81,883 people | 63,140 people | 107,719 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 121,589 people | 109,659 people | 129,124 people | 10 |
| 2020s | 139,404 people | 129,185 people | 149,823 people | 5 |
Countries ranked near United Arab Emirates
More environment data for United Arab Emirates
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -80.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -85.4 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.331 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.5 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 3.87 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 1.89 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is people not using safely managed drinking water sources in United Arab Emirates?
- People not using safely managed drinking water sources in United Arab Emirates was 149,823 people in 2024, according to WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest people not using safely managed drinking water sources recorded in United Arab Emirates?
- The highest recorded value was 149,823 people in 2024.
- What is the lowest people not using safely managed drinking water sources recorded in United Arab Emirates?
- The lowest recorded value was 63,140 people in 2000.
- How does United Arab Emirates rank for people not using safely managed drinking water sources?
- United Arab Emirates ranks 99th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people not using safely managed drinking water sources rising or falling in United Arab Emirates?
- Over the last ten years it is up 23.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United Arab Emirates data come from?
- The figures come from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of People not using safely managed drinking water sources. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
People not using safely managed drinking water sources either use unimproved drinking water sources or the improved sources they use are not located on their premises, not available when needed, or not free of contamination.