UAE, Aug 4 (Emirates 247): The Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority announced today that the UAE population for the year 2016 was 9,121,167 according to administrative records dated up to the 31st of December 2016. The population administrative records also showed that the country's male population breaks down as 6,298,294 and 2,822,873 female, making the gender split in the UAE 69 percent male and 31 percent female.

The UAE is among the first countries in the region to reveal the population count relying on national administrative data methodology. This methodology has many advantages, such as very high accuracy, speed of processing and dissemination of data, and significant financial savings in costs of field count and survey operations, whereas there is virtually no direct cost in disseminating data based on national administrative records.

"Since the inception of the FCSA, one of our strategic objectives has always been to spare no effort in evolving and modernising the statistical ecosystem in the United Arab Emirates in accordance with best and most advanced global standards and best practices," said Abdulla Nasser Lootah, the authority's Director-General. "And thanks to the successful collaboration and support of our national partners and stakeholders in the UAE, we can now unveil the most up-to-date UAE population figures for the year 2016. We will be able to update the population number on an annual basis," he added.

Population data is one of the most important national data sets and is used for research, planning, decision-making support and policy formation. With the official population now available, UAE government entities, international organisations and the private sector will be able to use the findings in their research and studies.