Outdoor air pollution exposure in United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates: Outdoor air pollution exposure was 55.7 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
55.7
Change on year
down 0.4%
World rank
4th
of 241 countries
All-time high
60.4
in 2018
All-time low
48.4
in 1998
Years of data
27
1998–2024
Outdoor air pollution exposure in United Arab Emirates, 1998–2024
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
United Arab Emirates recorded 55.7 for outdoor air pollution exposure in 2024.
That represents a change of down 0.4% on the previous year and up 6.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, outdoor air pollution exposure in United Arab Emirates peaked at 60.4 in 2018 and was at its lowest, 48.4, in 1998.
That places United Arab Emirates 4th out of 241 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 27 years of available data.
Outdoor air pollution exposure in United Arab Emirates, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 48.4 | — |
| 1999 | 50.7 | +4.8% |
| 2000 | 53.1 | +4.7% |
| 2001 | 53.1 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 48.8 | -8.1% |
| 2003 | 53.2 | +9.0% |
| 2004 | 52.6 | -1.1% |
| 2005 | 50.7 | -3.6% |
| 2006 | 53.2 | +4.9% |
| 2007 | 54.5 | +2.4% |
| 2008 | 56.2 | +3.1% |
| 2009 | 55.5 | -1.2% |
| 2010 | 54.9 | -1.1% |
| 2011 | 55.1 | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 58.3 | +5.8% |
| 2013 | 53.6 | -8.1% |
| 2014 | 52.1 | -2.8% |
| 2015 | 54.8 | +5.2% |
| 2016 | 54.7 | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 55.8 | +2.0% |
| 2018 | 60.4 | +8.2% |
| 2019 | 57 | -5.6% |
| 2020 | 52.2 | -8.4% |
| 2021 | 55.6 | +6.5% |
| 2022 | 59.9 | +7.7% |
| 2023 | 55.9 | -6.7% |
| 2024 | 55.7 | -0.4% |
United Arab Emirates compared with similar countries
- United Arab Emirates's 55.7 is above the median for high income countries, which is 10.3, 5.4× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- United Arab Emirates's 55.7 is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 34.1, 1.6× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 49.55 | 48.4 | 50.7 | 2 |
| 2000s | 53.09 | 48.8 | 56.2 | 10 |
| 2010s | 55.67 | 52.1 | 60.4 | 10 |
| 2020s | 55.86 | 52.2 | 59.9 | 5 |
Countries ranked near United Arab Emirates
More environment data for United Arab Emirates
- Grazing land use over the long-term, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0 hectares per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per capita 0.0261 hectares per person (2025)
- 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)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per square kilometre 4.22 hectares per square kilometre (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 3.87 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is outdoor air pollution exposure in United Arab Emirates?
- Outdoor air pollution exposure in United Arab Emirates was 55.7 in 2024, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest outdoor air pollution exposure recorded in United Arab Emirates?
- The highest recorded value was 60.4 in 2018.
- What is the lowest outdoor air pollution exposure recorded in United Arab Emirates?
- The lowest recorded value was 48.4 in 1998.
- How does United Arab Emirates rank for outdoor air pollution exposure?
- United Arab Emirates ranks 4th out of 241 countries with data for 2024.
- Is outdoor air pollution exposure rising or falling in United Arab Emirates?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.9%. 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 Outdoor air pollution exposure. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).