Children account for one-third of UAE population

The UAE has about 1.1 million children, representing one-third of the country's population in 2001. Recently released figures of the Ministry of Planning indicate that the number of those in the 0 to 19 age group has been increasing steadily.

According to these figures, the number of children grew at an average annual growth rate of 5.8 per cent from 1995 to 2001. This increase is attributed to both the population growth and an increase in the influx of expatriates into the country.

In general, during the six years from 1995 to 2001, the total number of births increased at an average growth rate of 2.4 per cent.

Although the number of births declined by 1.8 per cent in 1995 compared with 1991 figures, births increased consistently from 1995 to 2001. This decline is actually a result of the decrease in the number of expatriate births, as the national births have been growing regularly throughout the ten-year period.