Country import demand

United Arab Emirates
import demand

A reported view of United Arab Emirates's import scale, sector demand, supplier breadth, economy, and trade history.

Explore import sectors Open country workspace

ARE1995-2024 coverage270 active partner marketsMacro trend resilient

Latest imports$379.9B2024 reported

Import growth+7.1%Year on year

Population11MReported population

GDP per capita$50.3KCurrent-dollar GDP

Trade openness149.5%Exports + imports / GDP

The country import read

What does United Arab Emirates import?

In 2024, United Arab Emirates recorded $379.9B in reported imports. Imports changed +7.1% year on year and +10.5% annualized over three years. Mineral fuels was the largest displayed import sector.

Import history

A long view of demand

Latest twelve years from the reported country series.

Reported imports by year

2013

$275.4B

2014

$269.3B

2015

$255.0B

2016

$243.3B

2017

$229.3B

2018

$213.4B

2019

$242.0B

2020

$202.3B

2021

$281.3B

2022

$339.2B

2023

$354.9B

2024

$379.9B

Demand drivers

The economy behind import demand

Macro and structural indicators add context to reported imports.

GDP$552.3B2024 macro context

GDP growth4.9%Five-year CAGR

Population growth3.1%Five-year CAGR

Investment rate26.4%National rate

Savings rate61.5%National rate

Trade openness149.5%Exports + imports / GDP

Import portfolio

The sectors shaping demand

All returned HS2 sectors ranked by latest import value.

Import demand by HS2All returned · 2024

Leading import sectors for United Arab Emirates
Rank	Sector	Imports	Share	Import partners	Active HS6
1	Mineral fuelsHS2 27	$24.8B	6.5%	141	43
2	Precious stones and metalsHS2 71	$112.0B	29.5%	155	51
3	MachineryHS2 84	$46.7B	12.3%	187	515
4	Electrical machineryHS2 85	$46.5B	12.3%	181	262
5	VehiclesHS2 87	$32.3B	8.5%	166	87
6	AluminiumHS2 76	$1.7B	0.4%	137	35
7	PlasticsHS2 39	$6.3B	1.7%	161	129
8	TobaccoHS2 24	$2.1B	0.5%	125	10
9	Essential oils and cosmeticsHS2 33	$3.9B	1%	143	29
10	Articles of iron or steelHS2 73	$5.5B	1.4%	160	124

Import values are reported observations. Full rows remain in the downloads.

Supply diversification

Where import exposure is spread

Partner breadth, concentration, access, and distance add supplier context.

Supplier markets270Reported partner count

Partner concentration463.8Partner HHI

Top 3 partner share27.9%Reported concentration

FTA partner markets16Reported count

Average distance7,141 kmCalculated average

Macro resilienceMacro trend resilientCountry context

Complete country valuesOpen the full import evidenceFull profile, history, and HS2 sector fields remain available here and in the downloads.

Profile fields

Year	2,024
Country Iso3	ARE
Exports Usd	$401.2B
Imports Usd	$379.9B
Trade Balance Usd	$21.3B
Yoy Exports Growth Pct	-10.4%
Yoy Imports Growth Pct	7.1%
Exports Cagr 3y Pct	5.2%
Imports Cagr 3y Pct	10.5%
Export Partner Hhi	463.8
Export Product Hhi	963.6
Momentum Score	-5.7
Risk Score	7.1
Gdp Million Usd	552,324.8 million USD
Gdp Per Capita Usd	$50.3K
Population	10,986,400
Labor Force	6,991.5
Investment Rate Pct	26.4%
Savings Rate Pct	61.5%
Secondary Education Pct	74.5%
Tertiary Education Pct	16.1%
Total Factor Productivity	1,961.9
Trade Openness Pct	149.5%
Exports Gdp Pct	76.8%
Num Active Partners	270
Num Fta Partners	16
Num Wto Partners	169
Num Eu Partners	28
Num Shared Border Partners	2%
Num Shared Language Partners	27%
Avg Partner Distance Km	7,141 km
Avg Partner Gdp Million Usd	533,678,518.3 million USD
Avg Partner Gdp Per Capita Usd	$15.8
Avg Buyer Biz Entry Days	Not reported
Avg Buyer Biz Entry Cost Pct	Not reported
Pct Partners With Fta	6
Pct Partners Shared Language	10%
Pct Partners Shared Border	0.7%
Avg Applied Tariff Pct	0.1%
Avg Mfn Tariff Pct	0.1%
Avg Preferential Tariff Pct	0%
Tariff Advantage Pp	0.1
Avg Distance All Partners Km	7,223 km
Num Border Partners	75
Num Colonial Partners	25
Avg Substitution Elasticity	-10.7
Pct Products High Elasticity	75.7
Pct Products Low Elasticity	2.7
Real Market Potential	65,043.1
Foreign Market Potential	13,799.9

Supplier context

Country Iso3	ARE
All History Lane Count	30,139
Current Lane Count	21,989
Critical Lane Count	270
High Attention Lane Count	5,062
High Volatility Lane Count	16,852
Unrecovered Drawdown Lane Count	10,166
Declining Demand Lane Count	57
Concentrated Market Lane Count	11,850
Access Friction Lane Count	2,537
Buyer Macro Weakness Lane Count	1,732
Monitored Exports Current Usd	$385.3B
Attention Exports Usd	$217.9B
Critical Exports Usd	$18.1B
High Volatility Exports Usd	$263.8B
Unrecovered Drawdown Exports Usd	$45.4B
Non Fta Exports Usd	$284.1B
Monitored Attention Share Pct	56.5%
Monitored Critical Share Pct	4.7%
Fta Covered Exports Share Pct	25.4%
Export Weighted Volatility Cv	1.4
Export Weighted Below Peak Pct	24.8%
Export Weighted Distance Km	4,154 km
Export Weighted Tariff Pct	0.2%
Latest Data Year	2,024
First Data Year	1,995
Country Years Count	30
Total Exports Latest Usd	$401.2B
Total Imports Latest Usd	$379.9B
Trade Balance Latest Usd	$21.3B
Exports Yoy Latest Pct	-10.4%
Exports Cagr 3y Latest Pct	5.2%
Gdp Latest Million Usd	552,324.8 million USD
Gdp Per Capita Latest Usd	$50.3K
Population Latest	10,986,400
Investment Rate Latest Pct	26.4%
Savings Rate Latest Pct	61.5%
Trade Openness Latest Pct	149.5%
Exports Gdp Latest Pct	76.8%
Active Partners Latest	270
Fta Partners Latest	16
Foreign Market Potential Latest	13,799.9
Gdp 5y Cagr Pct	4.9%
Gdp Per Capita 5y Cagr Pct	1.8%
Population 5y Cagr Pct	3.1%
Partner Hhi Latest	463.8
Partner Top1 Share Latest Pct	11.9%
Partner Top3 Share Latest Pct	27.9%
Partner Hhi All Avg	1,025.2
Partner Hhi All Max	2,334.8
Product Hhi Latest	963.6
Product Top1 Share Latest Pct	22.9%
Product Top3 Share Latest Pct	48.3%
Product Hhi All Avg	1,802.6
Product Hhi All Max	3,792.5
Total Exports Attention Share Pct	54.3%
Total Exports Critical Share Pct	4.5%
Attention Level	Watch
Primary Risk Driver	Market access exposure
Macro Resilience Label	Macro trend resilient

Annual import history

Year	Imports	Exports	Balance	Imports YoY
1995	$24.2B	$20.5B	-$3.7B	+0%
1996	$25.9B	$23.8B	-$2.1B	+7%
1997	$27.7B	$26.0B	-$1.6B	+6.8%
1998	$20.1B	$15.8B	-$4.3B	-27.3%
1999	$28.8B	$25.6B	-$3.1B	+43.2%
2000	$30.7B	$37.1B	$6.3B	+6.8%
2001	$34.2B	$34.2B	-$36.0M	+11.4%
2002	$42.8B	$46.8B	$4.1B	+24.9%
2003	$51.7B	$61.5B	$9.8B	+20.9%
2004	$68.3B	$81.0B	$12.7B	+32%
2005	$83.1B	$103.1B	$20.0B	+21.7%
2006	$100.9B	$128.8B	$27.9B	+21.4%
2007	$126.0B	$141.0B	$15.0B	+24.9%
2008	$171.4B	$195.4B	$24.0B	+36.1%
2009	$150.8B	$158.0B	$7.1B	-12%
2010	$170.3B	$187.5B	$17.2B	+12.9%
2011	$202.5B	$244.6B	$42.1B	+18.9%
2012	$236.2B	$318.4B	$82.2B	+16.6%
2013	$275.4B	$336.2B	$60.9B	+16.6%
2014	$269.3B	$313.4B	$44.1B	-2.2%
2015	$255.0B	$271.4B	$16.4B	-5.3%
2016	$243.3B	$252.5B	$9.2B	-4.6%
2017	$229.3B	$261.0B	$31.7B	-5.7%
2018	$213.4B	$272.3B	$59.0B	-6.9%
2019	$242.0B	$298.1B	$56.1B	+13.4%
2020	$202.3B	$258.1B	$55.8B	-16.4%
2021	$281.3B	$344.7B	$63.4B	+39%
2022	$339.2B	$440.8B	$101.6B	+20.6%
2023	$354.9B	$447.7B	$92.9B	+4.6%
2024	$379.9B	$401.2B	$21.3B	+7.1%

Import sectors

Rank	HS2	Sector	Imports	Share	Import partners	Active HS6
1	27	Mineral fuels	$24.8B	6.5%	141	43
2	71	Precious stones and metals	$112.0B	29.5%	155	51
3	84	Machinery	$46.7B	12.3%	187	515
4	85	Electrical machinery	$46.5B	12.3%	181	262
5	87	Vehicles	$32.3B	8.5%	166	87
6	76	Aluminium	$1.7B	0.4%	137	35
7	39	Plastics	$6.3B	1.7%	161	129
8	24	Tobacco	$2.1B	0.5%	125	10
9	33	Essential oils and cosmetics	$3.9B	1%	143	29
10	73	Articles of iron or steel	$5.5B	1.4%	160	124

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