Demographics
| Historical population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1960 | 25,000 | — |
| 1965 | 50,000 | +100.0% |
| 1969 | 46,400 | −7.2% |
| 1975 | 127,763 | +175.4% |
| 1980 | 243,257 | +90.4% |
| 1985 | 283,361 | +16.5% |
| 1995 | 398,695 | +40.7% |
| 2003 | 552,000 | +38.5% |
| 2009 | 896,751 | +62.5% |
| The town of Dubai first conducted a census in 1968. All population figures in this table prior to 1968 are estimates obtained from populstat.info. Sources: |
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According to the Abu Dhabi Department of Planning and Economy, in 2006 the population of the emirate was 1,463,491.
As the emirate covers 67,341 km2 (26,001 sq mi), nearly 87% of the UAE, the population density is 21.73 /km2 (56.3 /sq mi).
Abu Dhabi also ranks as the 67th most expensive city in the world, and the second most in the region behind Dubai.
As of 2001, 25.6% of the population of the emirate was made up of UAE nationals. Approximately 74.4% of the population was expatriates. The median age in the emirate was about 30.1 years. The crude birth rate, as of 2005, was 13.6%, while the crude death rate was about 2%.
Article 7 of the UAE's Provisional Constitution declares Islam the official state religion of the UAE. The government subsidizes almost 95% of mosques and employs all imams.
The majority of the inhabitants of Abu Dhabi are expatriate workers from India, Pakistan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Philippines, the United Kingdom and various countries from across the Arab world. Consequently, English, Hindi, Urdu, Malayalam, Tamil, Somali, Tigrinya, Amharic and Bengali are widely spoken. Apart from Urdu and Hindi spoken by Indians and Pakistanis, many South Asian expatriates also contribute other South Asian languages to the cultural milieu, including Malayalam, the main language spoken in the state of Kerala.
The native-born population are Arabic-speaking Gulf Arabs who are part of a clan-based society. The Al Nahyan family, part of the al-Falah branch of the Bani Yas clan, rules the emirate and has a central place in society.
See also: Indians in the United Arab Emirates, Islam in the United Arab Emirates, Roman Catholicism in the United Arab Emirates, and Bahá'í Faith in the United Arab EmiratesRead more about this topic: Abu Dhabi