Photo: Unknown author · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale
Topic 14 of 18 · Country Index 2026
United Arab Emirates: Poverty & Inequality
How is a country’s income shared, and how many live below a line?
United Arab Emirates is placed joint 3rd of 159 countries on poverty & inequality in the Country Index 2026, from 3 of its 3 key statistics. Readings behind it: Gini Index 26.4 (2023); Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day 0 (2023).
Share
Poverty & Inequality
joint3rd
of 159 countries placed
Placed from 3 of 3 key statistics
01The evidence
The 3 key statistics that decide it
Only these place United Arab Emirates on poverty & inequality — one vote each. Every value is the publisher’s own, read at the edition the Country Index 2026 used — or, for a survey-based key, each country’s latest reading; the grey ticks are every other country it was compared with, lowest on the left.
Key 1 of 3
Gini Index
World Bank Group
Latest reading per country, 2013–2023 · United Arab Emirates’s is from 2018 · CC BY 4.0
26.4
Gini index (0 = perfect equality, 100 = perfect inequality)
Lower is better
United Arab Emirates: 26.4. Across the 159 countries at their latest reading, values run from 23 (India) to 59.07 (Namibia); the world median is 33.72.
- World median
- 33.72
- Best in Western Asia
- 26.37 Syria
Key 2 of 3
Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day
World Bank Group
Latest reading per country, 2013–2023 · United Arab Emirates’s is from 2018 · CC BY 4.0
0
Poverty gap at $3.00 a day, 2021 PPP (%)
Lower is better
United Arab Emirates: 0. Across the 159 countries at their latest reading, values run from 0 (Czechia) to 48.69 (DR Congo); the world median is 0.345.
- World median
- 0.345
- Best in Western Asia
- 0 United Arab Emirates and Qatar
Key 3 of 3
Share of Population Unable to Afford a Healthy Diet
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY 4.0
1.9
Share of the population unable to afford a healthy diet (%)
Lower is better
United Arab Emirates: 1.9. Across the 145 countries in this edition, values run from 0.6 (Belarus) to 93.9 (South Sudan); the world median is 26.4.
- World median
- 26.4
- Best in Western Asia
- 0.7 Azerbaijan
02Over time
Which way United Arab Emirates is moving
Each key’s published value, edition by edition, beside the world median. The Country Index 2026 is the first edition of the standing, so the standing itself has no history to chart yet.
Share of Population Unable to Afford a Healthy Diet
Share of the population unable to afford a healthy diet (%) · lower is better
United Arab EmiratesWorld median
United Arab Emirates fell from 3.7 in 2017 to 1.9 in 2025; the world median went from 32.4 to 26.4.
Every year’s figures
Year United Arab Emirates World median 2025 1.9 26.40 2024 2.0 27.10 2023 2.0 27.15 2022 2.3 27.90 2021 2.9 29.65 2020 2.9 31.80 2019 2.9 29.05 2018 3.1 29.85 2017 3.7 32.40
03In context
United Arab Emirates beside its neighbours
A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 159 countries on poverty & inequality, never a place within the region.
United Arab Emirates and the countries it borders
Standing among all 159; the key columns are the publishers’ own values.
| Country | Standing | Gini IndexGini index (0 = perfect equality, 100 = perfect inequality) | Poverty Gap at $3.00 a DayPoverty gap at $3.00 a day, 2021 PPP (%) | Share of Population Unable to Afford a Healthy DietShare of the population unable to afford a healthy diet (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Arab Emirates | =3rd | 26.4 | 0 | 1.9 |
 Oman | not placed | — | — | — |
 Saudi Arabiacompare | not placed | — | — | — |
“—”: no published reading in that edition. What a standing is
Across Western Asia
Every country in the sub-region, by its place among all 159.
Placed either side on poverty & inequality
The countries immediately above and below United Arab Emirates in the topic’s list.
Belarus1st
Slovenia2nd
Ukraine=3rd- United Arab Emirates=3rd
Netherlands5th
Belgium6th
Czechia7th
04Context, no vote
Where United Arab Emirates is ahead of the world, and behind
8 more statistics filed under poverty & inequality, published in full and deliberately given no vote in the standing. Select a row for the publisher, the rank and the links.
Ahead of the world median7
Statistics on which United Arab Emirates does better than the middle country measured.
Poverty Headcount at $3.00 a Day, Line-up EstimatesWorld Bank Group · 2024 · world median 2.102.1No real change since 2014
United Arab Emirates: 0 · world median 2.1 · Population below $3.00 a day, 2021 PPP, World Bank line-up estimate (%). World Bank Group, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 89.54; lower is better.
Prevalence of Moderate or Severe Food InsecurityFAO · 2024 · world median 20.94.220.9No real change since 2023
United Arab Emirates: 4.2 · world median 20.9 · Population in moderate or severe food insecurity (%). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 1 to 88.8; lower is better.
Position 125th of 135 · derived, 1st = worst.
Inequality-adjusted Human Development IndexUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 0.6090.8660.609▲ Improved since 2016
United Arab Emirates: 0.866 · world median 0.609 · IHDI (0–1). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.226 to 0.923; higher is better.
Position 16th of 169 · derived.
Coefficient of Human InequalityUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 17.057.87617.05▲ Improved since 2016
United Arab Emirates: 7.876 · world median 17.05 · Coefficient of Human Inequality (%). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 4.865 to 43.08; lower is better.
Position 147th of 169 · derived, 1st = worst.
Actual Individual Consumption per Capita (PPP)World Bank Group · 2021 · world median 12,80032,05612,800No real change since 2017
United Arab Emirates: 32,056 · world median 12,800 · Actual individual consumption per capita (PPP, current international $). World Bank Group, 2021 edition, data for 2021.
Published values in that edition run from 688.7 to 52,654; higher is better.
Position 24th of 173 · derived.
Coefficient of Variation of Habitual Caloric ConsumptionFAO · 2024 · world median 0.250.230.25No real change since 2014
United Arab Emirates: 0.23 · world median 0.25 · Coefficient of variation of habitual calorie consumption across the population (standard deviation ÷ mean). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0.17 to 0.4; lower is better.
Exclusion by Socio-Economic GroupV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 2023 · world median 0.4130.4110.413▼ Worsened since 2013
United Arab Emirates: 0.411 · world median 0.413 · Exclusion by socio-economic group index (0–1; higher = more exclusion). V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.014 to 0.969; lower is better.
Position 88th of 174 · derived, 1st = worst.
No better end1
These describe the shape of a country — more is not better or worse, only different — so they are never ahead or behind.
Cost of a Healthy DietFAO · 2025 · world median 4.553.274.55Moved since 2017
United Arab Emirates: 3.27 · world median 4.55 · Cost of the cheapest locally available healthy diet, PPP dollars per person per day. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 2.66 to 8.27.
No current reading for United Arab Emirates
Adequacy of Social Protection and Labour Benefits, Catastrophic Out-of-Pocket Health Spending, Gini Index (last 2018), Gini Index of Disposable Income (SWIID) (last 2018), Gini Index of Monthly Earnings, Global Multidimensional Poverty Index, Income Growth of the Poorest 40% (last 2023), Income Share Held by Lowest 20% (last 2018), Income Share Held by Richest 10% (last 2018), Intergenerational Persistence in Education, Low Pay Rate, Median Daily Income or Consumption per Person (last 2018), Multidimensional Poverty Measure, Palma Ratio (last 2018), Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day (last 2018), Poverty Headcount at National Poverty Lines, Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.00 a Day (last 2018), Poverty Headcount Ratio at $4.20 a Day (last 2018), Poverty Headcount Ratio at $8.30 a Day (last 2018), Poverty Severity (Squared Poverty Gap) at $3.00 a Day (last 2018), Prosperity Gap (last 2018), Severe Child Food Poverty, Children Aged 6–23 Months, Societal Poverty Rate (last 2018), Wealth Parity Index, Lower Secondary Completion and Working Poverty Rate. Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.
“Position · derived” is this site’s ordering of the published values, 1st = best unless the row says otherwise; the publisher ranks no country on it. Rank, position and standing
05Country Index 2026
Poverty & Inequality among United Arab Emirates’s 14 topics
Poverty & Inequality is United Arab Emirates’s 2nd best-placed topic of 14. Strongest first, each marker at its share of that topic’s field.
- Education & Knowledge1st of 1982/4 keys
- Poverty & Inequalityjoint 3rd of 1593/3 keys
- Work & Labour10th of 1824/4 keys
- Health & Wellbeing13th of 2003/4 keys
- Mobility & Trade14th of 1774/4 keys
- Digital & Technology26th of 1984/4 keys
- Peace & Securityjoint 34th of 1773/4 keys
- Food & Agriculturejoint 37th of 1843/4 keys
- Governance & Institutions58th of 1944/4 keys
- Development & Human Capital64th of 1963/3 keys
- Risk & Resilience75th of 1934/4 keys
- Democracy & Civil Liberties148th of 1983/4 keys
- Gender & Equality143rd of 1832/4 keys
- Environment & Sustainability173rd of 1863/4 keys
No standing on Economy & Innovation, Energy: too few of those topics’ key statistics are published for this country.
06The top of the list
Who leads on poverty & inequality
The three countries placed highest of 159, and the leaders United Arab Emirates can most readily be measured against.
1BelarusEastern Europe
1st of 159 · 3 of 3 keys
Photo: zedlik , cropped by Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
2SloveniaSouthern Europe
2nd of 159 · 3 of 3 keys
Photo: Z.K. derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY 3.0, greyscale
=3UkraineEastern Europe
Joint 3rd of 159 · 2 of 3 keys
Photo: uploaded by Chern038 · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
Placed highest nearby
Highest in Asia
United Arab Emirates=3rd3/3 keys
Positions out of 159 placed on the topic. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed, and the top of the list is often held on fewer of them.
07Questions
United Arab Emirates on poverty & inequality: questions answered
Every answer is built from the numbers on this page, so none can say something the page does not.
How does United Arab Emirates rank on poverty & inequality?
United Arab Emirates is placed joint 3rd of 159 countries on Poverty & Inequality in the Country Index 2026, from 3 of its 3 key statistics (Gini Index, Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day and Share of Population Unable to Afford a Healthy Diet). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.
What is the latest Gini Index figure for United Arab Emirates?
26.4 in 2023 (gini index (0 = perfect equality, 100 = perfect inequality)), according to World Bank Group. The world median in the same edition was 33.72.
What is the latest Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day figure for United Arab Emirates?
0 in 2023 (poverty gap at $3.00 a day, 2021 PPP (%)), according to World Bank Group. The world median in the same edition was 0.345.
How have United Arab Emirates’s poverty & inequality figures changed?
Share of Population Unable to Afford a Healthy Diet fell from 3.7 in 2017 to 1.9 in 2025.
Which poverty & inequality statistics are missing for United Arab Emirates?
No current reading is published for United Arab Emirates on Adequacy of Social Protection and Labour Benefits, Catastrophic Out-of-Pocket Health Spending, Gini Index, Gini Index of Disposable Income (SWIID), Gini Index of Monthly Earnings, Global Multidimensional Poverty Index, Income Growth of the Poorest 40%, Income Share Held by Lowest 20%, Income Share Held by Richest 10%, Intergenerational Persistence in Education, Low Pay Rate, Median Daily Income or Consumption per Person, Multidimensional Poverty Measure, Palma Ratio, Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day, Poverty Headcount at National Poverty Lines, Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.00 a Day, Poverty Headcount Ratio at $4.20 a Day, Poverty Headcount Ratio at $8.30 a Day, Poverty Severity (Squared Poverty Gap) at $3.00 a Day, Prosperity Gap, Severe Child Food Poverty, Children Aged 6–23 Months, Societal Poverty Rate, Wealth Parity Index, Lower Secondary Completion and Working Poverty Rate. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.
08Method
Method, sources and how to cite
What this topic does not measure
These figures come from household surveys, which most countries run every few years rather than every year. So the subject's standing is read from each country's most recent survey of the last decade, with the year of every reading shown, rather than from one year in which only a minority of countries were surveyed. Two readings decide it — how unequally income is shared and how deep extreme poverty runs — because the other poverty and inequality measures here largely repeat one of those two or repeat average income, which already counts under Economy and Development. Countries with no survey in the last decade have no standing here. What work pays is under Work & Labour; wealth, as opposed to income, has no global source this site is permitted to republish.
How the Poverty & Inequality standing is decided
A standing is this site’s ordering, named with its edition — never a publisher’s rank. 3 key statistics vote, one vote each; every country’s published value becomes a place within that key’s own field, the places are averaged, and the average is never published. A country needs 2 of the 3 keys to be placed.
The poverty & inequality method, step by stepHow every standing on this site is built
The key statistics and their licences
- Gini Index — World Bank Group, CC BY 4.0
- Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day — World Bank Group, CC BY 4.0
- Share of Population Unable to Afford a Healthy Diet — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), CC BY 4.0
The other 8 statistics on this page come from 4 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.
The standing itself is part of the Country Index 2026, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photographs
United Arab Emirates’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- United Arab Emirates (banner) — Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Belarus — zedlik , cropped by Jjtkk, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Slovenia — Z.K. derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY 3.0
- Ukraine — uploaded by Chern038, CC BY-SA 3.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). United Arab Emirates: Poverty & Inequality — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/united-arab-emirates/poverty