Dubai population crosses 4.5 million by end of 2025

Dubai population reached 4.58 million by the end of 2025, marking a record 7.5 per cent growth.

Stats from Digital Dubai, through Dubai Data and Statistics Establishment, showed an increase of around 332,000 people compared to 2024.

It revealed that the average number of people present in the emirate during daytime peak hours rose to 6.392 million. This included more than 1.812 million people temporarily present for work, tourism, study or shopping.

Younus Al Nasser, Chief Executive Officer of the Dubai Data and Statistics Establishment, explained that the population growth reflects the expansion of the labour market, rising demand for services and improved quality of life. It also marks the vitality of Dubai’s economy, which recorded real gross domestic product growth of 5.4 per cent in 2025. During the same year, emirate attracted 19.6 million international tourists, with around 96 million passengers travelling through Dubai airports.

Data also showed that Dubai's population has increased nearly 380-fold over 144 years, from around 12,000 people in 1881.

Earlier, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, approved real-time census and population growth monitoring project in the emirate. It enables data to be updated continuously, demographic trends to be forecast and planning to be improved across the housing, education, healthcare and transport sectors.