UAE income distribution
There is no official UAE income percentile series, and the World Bank has only two isolated survey observations rather than a continuous one. This page fills that gap with a modelled distribution across four separate populations, published openly so it can be checked and cited.
- Median, all workers
- AED 3,662 a month
- Median, conventional-household frame
- AED 8,926 a month
- Mean, all workers
- AED 9,490 a month
- Share under AED 5,000
- About 60% of all workers
- Top 10% threshold
- AED 21,674 a month
- Wealth Gini
- 0.82, the highest in the world, tied with Russia (UBS 2026)
- Dataset
- Free CSV and JSON, CC BY 4.0
What does the UAE income distribution look like?
Extremely stretched, and different depending on who is counted. Across the full workforce of about 9.2 million, the median gross salary is AED 3,662 a month while the mean is AED 9,490, a ratio of 2.6 to 1. A mean that far above the median is the statistical signature of a long upper tail sitting on top of a very large low-wage base.
| Percentile | All workers | Household-survey frame | Professionals | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | AED 1,415 | AED 2,648 | AED 8,779 | AED 7,495 |
| 25th | AED 2,035 | AED 4,570 | AED 12,869 | AED 11,336 |
| Median | AED 3,662 | AED 8,926 | AED 20,010 | AED 19,720 |
| 75th | AED 9,068 | AED 16,635 | AED 32,476 | AED 37,850 |
| 90th | AED 21,674 | AED 30,814 | AED 55,520 | AED 74,837 |
| 95th | AED 34,244 | AED 46,189 | AED 83,129 | AED 112,093 |
| 99th | AED 87,333 | AED 115,188 | AED 183,120 | AED 218,292 |
The first three columns are individual earnings; the fourth is the combined gross income of everyone earning in a household, across roughly 2.4 million conventional UAE households. All figures are gross monthly income in dirhams as of 5 August 2026, measured among people who work. There is no personal income tax on UAE salaries, so for expatriate employees these are also take-home figures.
Why is there no official UAE income distribution?
Because the surveys that would produce one do not cover the whole population and the results that do exist have not been released. The 2024 national Household Income and Expenditure Survey covered about 19,000 families, completed fieldwork in December 2024 and was scheduled for publication in June 2025. It has still not appeared. Separately, household surveys of this kind do not reach labour camps and collective accommodation, which is where a large share of the workforce lives, so even a published result would describe a subset. The World Bank's Gini series carries only two isolated UAE observations, 32.5 in 2013 and 26.4 in 2018, with nothing before, between or since.
Why do UAE income statistics disagree with each other?
They describe different populations. The 2024 Labour Force Survey reports a median around AED 10,000 a month. Wage Protection System coverage indicates more than 60% of workers earn under AED 5,000. Neither is wrong. The first measures workers in conventional households; the second measures everyone with a registered wage. Any citation of a UAE salary figure that does not say which population it refers to is close to meaningless, which is why this model publishes all four frames side by side rather than picking one.
How unequal is income and wealth in the UAE?
The UAE's wealth Gini is 0.82, the highest in the world, tied with Russia, according to the UBS Global Wealth Report 2026. Median net worth per adult is AED 337,549 against a top 1% threshold of AED 14,419,108. The official income Gini from household surveys is 26.4 (2018, World Bank), a figure widely regarded as understating true inequality because Gulf household surveys capture only 20 to 39% of national income. The structural driver is a segmented labour market rather than a wide spread within any one occupation: see UAE wealth inequality explained.
Where can I download the UAE income distribution data?
Here, free, with no signup: CSV and JSON, under a CC BY 4.0 licence. It carries income thresholds at 21 percentile steps for each of the four frames, net worth percentiles per adult, and per-emirate population, GDP per capita, salary index, wealth per adult and rents. The dataset page documents the fields and the about page sets out the method and the limitations. Attribution to The UAE Wealth Dashboard is all the licence asks.
How was the distribution modelled?
It is fitted to four published anchors: the Wage Protection System finding on the share below AED 5,000, the Labour Force Survey median and mean, crowd-sourced professional medians, and published recruiter executive bands. The wealth curve is derived from World Inequality Database wealth shares. These are modelled estimates rather than measured statistics, uncertainty is widest at the very top and very bottom where source coverage is thinnest, and the places where the model does not fully reconcile are documented rather than smoothed over.
Check your own percentile on the interactive dashboard →Frequently asked questions
- Is there official UAE income distribution data?
- No percentile series is published. The World Bank holds only two isolated survey observations for the UAE, a Gini of 32.5 in 2013 and 26.4 in 2018, with no continuous series and no recent update. The 2024 Household Income and Expenditure Survey completed fieldwork in December 2024 and has still not been released.
- What is the median salary in the UAE?
- AED 3,662 a month across the entire workforce of about 9.2 million, or AED 8,926 a month for workers living in conventional households, which is the frame the official Labour Force Survey covers. Among white-collar professionals it is AED 20,010.
- Can I download UAE salary distribution data?
- Yes. The percentile thresholds are published as a free CSV and JSON at wealthdashboarduae.com under a CC BY 4.0 licence, with no signup and no API key. Attribution is the only condition.
- What is the UAE Gini coefficient?
- The wealth Gini is 0.82, the highest in the world per the UBS Global Wealth Report 2026. The official income Gini is 26.4 from a 2018 household survey, but that figure is widely considered to understate inequality because Gulf household surveys capture only a fraction of national income.