Distillers United Arab Emirates
A one-page guide to the United Arab Emirates for the spirits trade: the country, its people, its economy and how it drinks.
At a glance
- Capital
- Abu Dhabi
- Official languages
- Arabic
- Currency
- UAE dirham (AED)
- Time zone
- UTC+4 (GST)
- Area
- 83,600 km²
People
- Population
- 11.3 million (2025)
- Population growth
- 4.7% a year
- Living in towns and cities
- 86.0%
- Aged under 15
- 16.0%
- Aged 65 and over
- 1.8%
- Life expectancy
- 83.1 years
Economy
- GDP
- US$614.4 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$54,151 (2025)
- Economic growth
- 6.2% (2025)
- Inflation
- 1.3% (2025)
Climate
Subtropical desert: coastal highs exceed 45 C in July-August, January-February minima are about 10-14 C, and the Hajar Mountains are cooler.
Alcohol
- Alcohol is
- Legal with dry areas
- Legal drinking age
- 21 in most emirates; 18 in Ras Al Khaimah; alcohol prohibited in Sharjah (per Wikipedia)
- Alcohol per adult a year
- 0.7 litres of pure alcohol (2022)
Sources: World Bank (population, economy and demographics), WHO Global Health Observatory (alcohol per adult and drinking mix); Business France - spirits in the UAE; Wikipedia - Legal drinking age; Wikipedia - United Arab Emirates (basics, climate); IMF DataMapper WEO (GDP, population, growth, inflation; retrieved 26 Oct 2026); UN Comtrade (HS 2208); WHO Global Health Observatory; Wikipedia - Legal drinking age; AGBI - alcohol brands blocked from Dubai (2024). Figures are the latest each source publishes; the year is shown beside each one.