About

Overview In 2021, United Arab Emirates was the number 35 economy in the world in terms of GDP (current US$), the number 23 in total exports, the number 22 in total imports, the number 30 economy in terms of GDP per capita (current US$) and the number 55 most complex economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI) .

Exports The top exports of United Arab Emirates are Crude Petroleum ($58.5B), Refined Petroleum ($42.5B), Gold ($32.8B), Broadcasting Equipment ($16.5B), and Diamonds ($13.6B), exporting mostly to India ($42B), Japan ($24.8B), China ($22.8B), Saudi Arabia ($22.3B), and Iraq ($14.3B).

In 2021, United Arab Emirates was the world's biggest exporter of Sulphur ($937M), Limestone ($553M), and Gravel and Crushed Stone ($371M)

Imports The top imports of United Arab Emirates are Gold ($46B), Broadcasting Equipment ($18.5B), Refined Petroleum ($16.7B), Diamonds ($13.6B), and Cars ($9.3B), importing mostly from China ($46.4B), India ($25.4B), United States ($14.9B), Saudi Arabia ($14B), and Germany ($8.44B).

In 2021, United Arab Emirates was the world's biggest importer of Tug Boats ($1.02B) and Pitch Coke ($136M)

Location United Arab Emirates borders Oman and Saudi Arabia by land and Iran and Qatar by sea.

Latest Trends

Latest Trade

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Y-AXIS SCALE

The following section uses the most recent trade data from partners of United Arab Emirates.

Disclaimer: data is presented based on availability and only countries that use the harmonized system are being shown.

*All data is converted to USD using January 2020 exchange rates when data is reported in local currency.

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Latest Data

Flow
Color
Depth

The data obtained is mirror data. The trade of countries that do not report current data can be reconstructed based on data reported by partner countries with current data available.

*All data is converted to USD using January 2020 exchange rates when data is reported in local currency.

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Historical Data

Yearly Trade

Flow
Color
Depth
Top Export (2021)Crude Petroleum$58.5B
Top Destination (2021)India$42B

In 2021, United Arab Emirates exported a total of $296B, making it the number 23 exporter in the world. During the last five reported years the exports of United Arab Emirates have changed by $121B from $175B in 2016 to $296B in 2021.

The most recent exports are led by Crude Petroleum ($58.5B), Refined Petroleum ($42.5B), Gold ($32.8B), Broadcasting Equipment ($16.5B), and Diamonds ($13.6B). The most common destination for the exports of United Arab Emirates are India ($42B), Japan ($24.8B), China ($22.8B), Saudi Arabia ($22.3B), and Iraq ($14.3B).

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Exports (2021)
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Destinations (2021)
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Market Growth

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Fastest Growing Export Markets (2020 - 2021)
India$20B (+ 90.6%)
Japan$9.59B (+ 63%)
Singapore$6B (+ 99.5%)
Fastest Growing Import Markets (2020 - 2021)
China$11.3B (+ 32.2%)
India$6.7B (+ 35.9%)
Saudi Arabia$4.77B (+ 51.9%)

Total Export Growth by Market (2020 - 2021)

Service Trade

Service Trade

United Arab Emirates Exports Services (2015)$27.2B
United Arab Emirates Imports Services (2015)$24.4B

In 2015, United Arab Emirates exported $27.2B worth of services. The top services exported by United Arab Emirates in 2015 were Travel ($16B), Transportation ($10.3B), and Government services, n.i.e. ($871M).

The top services imported by United Arab Emirates in 2015 were Travel ($15.1B), Transportation ($8.06B), and Government services, n.i.e. ($1.2B).

Service Exports (2015)

Service Imports (2015)

Economic Complexity

Overview

Economic Complexity (Trade)0.16Rank 55 of 131
Economic Complexity (Technology)-0.027Rank 50 of 96
Economic Complexity (Research)0.19Rank 48 of 140

Most Specialized Products by RCA Index

United Arab Emirates has a high level of specialization in Limestone (36.5), Sulphur (11.4), Rolled Tobacco (10.8), Cast Iron Pipes (8.61), and Diamonds (8.46). Specialization is measured using RCA, an index that takes the ratio between United Arab Emirates observed and expected exports in each product.

Most Complex Products by PCI

The highest complexity exports of United Arab Emirates according to the product complexity index (PCI) are Pianos; including automatic pianos, harpsichords and other keyboard stringed instruments (0.9), Microphones and their stands; loudspeakers, mounted or not in their enclosures; headphones... (0.79), Electrical apparatus for switching, protecting electrical circuits, for making connections to or... (0.73), Zinc; articles n.e.c. in chapter 79 (0.65), and Retreaded or used pneumatic tyres of rubber; solid or cushion tyres, tyre... (0.65). PCI measures the knowledge intensity of a product by considering the knowledge intensity of its exporters.

Export Opportunities by Relatedness

The top export opportunities for United Arab Emirates according to the relatedness index, were Raw Cotton (0.18), Crustaceans (0.18), Ammonia (0.18), Hard Liquor (0.17), and Other Oily Seeds (0.17). Relatedness measures the distance between a country's current exports and each product. The barchart show only products that United Arab Emirates is not specialized in.

Product Space

The product space is a network connecting products that are likely to be co-exported. The product space can be used to predict future exports, since countries are more likely to start exporting products that are related to current exports. Relatedness measures the distance between a product, and all of the products a country currently specializes in.

Relatedness Space

This network shows the products most related to the production structure of United Arab Emirates. These are products that tend to be co-exported with the products that United Arab Emirates exports. Higher relatedness values ​​indicate greater knowledge, which predicts a greater probability of exporting that product in the future.

Diversification Frontier

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Depth

The Complexity-Relatedness diagram compares the risk vs strategic value of a country's potential export oppotunities. Relatedness is predictive of the probability that a country increases its exports in a product. Complexity, is associated with higher levels of income, economic growth, less income inequality, and lower greenhouse emissions.

Economic Complexity Ranking

Scale

During the last 20 years United Arab Emirates's⁩ ⁨economy has become relatively more complex, moving from the ⁩⁨73rd to the 55th⁩ position in the ECI rank.

These economic complexity rankings use 6 digit exports classified according to the HS96 classification. We consider only countries with population of at least 1 million and exports of at least $1 billion, and products with world trade over $500 million. To explore different rankings and vary these parameters visit the custom rankings section.

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ECI Ranking by Country

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