Middle East
UAE
EU Compliance · Geopolitical Risk · Sourcing Attractiveness
Market-entry intelligence →Why these scores
EU Compliance, by dimension
1 = lowest risk · methodology & sources
Geopolitical Risk, by dimension
1 = lowest risk · methodology & sources
Attractiveness, by dimension
9 = most attractive · methodology & sources
Analyst scores, last reviewed June 2026; each dimension's sources and cadence are on its methodology page.
Data layers
The EU is UAE's #3 import source (world lens). UAE is the EU's #64 goods supplier.
UAE on the world stage
Total imports
$470.5bn
2023 annual
Total exports
$570.2bn
231 partners
#1 import source
Areas, nes
16.7%
#1 export dest.
Areas, nes
50.3%
2023 annual, UN Comtrade (HS TOTAL, all partners). Line colour: coverage (exports/imports per partner).
UAE and the EU
EU imports from
€9.3bn
0.4% of extra-EU
EU exports to
€51.8bn
2.0% of extra-EU
EU supplier rank
EU's #64 supplier
EU trade balance
balanced or surplus
coverage 5.58
2025 annual totals, Eurostat COMEXT. EU trade board →
Electricity & grid
National sources · carbon from Ember
Industrial
55
EUR/MWh
Consumer
70
EUR/MWh, all-in
Grid carbon
493
gCO₂e/kWh
Renewables
9%
of generation
Wholesale 50 EUR/MWh · regulated market
Power market
● Take-or-pay / single-buyer lock-inMarket model
Emirate-level single buyers
Direct PPA
Prohibited
grid access: closed
Reserve margin
–
Regulator
Not independent
Department of Energy (DOE, Abu Dhabi); DEWA Board (Dubai); no federal electricity regulator
A fragmented emirate-by-emirate utility structure (Abu Dhabi, Dubai, northern emirates each separate) with single-buyer procurement in each, no unified national market, and no third-party access despite having the…
Tracked infrastructure
103 gas plants
41.6 GW · 11 building
16 solar farms
6.5 GW · 1 building
4 nuclear plants
5.7 GW
0 hydro plants
capacity n/a · 1 building
Operating assets tracked by Global Energy Monitor (CC BY 4.0); counts are tracked facilities, not exhaustive totals. Energy overview →
Monitored ports (6)
Source: IMF PortWatch. Port count reflects monitoring coverage, not economic significance.
Demographics
UN World Population Prospects 2024 · medium variant
Median age
31.6
→ 32.6 by 2050
Fertility
1.21
below replacement
Working-age
82.1%
aged 15–64
Old-age dep.
2.2
→ 2.6 by 2050
Median age 1990–2050
Population 11M · still growing past 2100
By 2050: +40% (15.4M)