Points Frog guide
Saudi Arabia vs United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates' GDP per person at PPP is 1.08 times Saudi Arabia's, and a dollar goes 35% further in Saudi Arabia.
Compare two countries
A UN member state, or a continent's average.
The page updates.
In US dollars, spent in each country.
$100 spent in Saudi Arabia buys about what
$135
buys in the United Arab Emirates, at purchasing power parity
And $100 in the United Arab Emirates buys what $73.88 buys in Saudi Arabia. Prices across Saudi Arabia's economy average 74% of the United Arab Emirates', so a dollar goes 35% further in Saudi Arabia.
| Measure | Saudi Arabia | United Arab Emirates |
|---|---|---|
| Economy | ||
| Population | 37.0 million | 11.5 million |
| GDPUS dollars, market exchange rates | $1.28 trillion | $552 billion2024 |
| GDP per personUS dollars | $34,537 | $50,2742024 |
| GDP per person at PPPInternational dollars | $73,784 | $79,3442024 |
| Prices | ||
| Price levelUS prices = 100% | 47% | 63%2024 |
| A US dollar goes as far as | $2.14 in the US | $1.58 in the US2024 |
| Income | ||
| Median income or consumptionPer person, international dollars | No recent data | $76.52 a day2018 survey · $27,930 a year · income |
More figures: GDP at PPP, conversion factor and GNI
| Measure | Saudi Arabia | United Arab Emirates |
|---|---|---|
| GDP at PPPInternational dollars | $2.73 trillion | $872 billion2024 |
| PPP conversion factorLocal currency per international dollar | 1.755Saudi Arabian riyal | 2.3272024 · U.A.E. dirham |
| GNI per person, Atlas methodUS dollars | $36,070 | $51,5502024 |
| GNI per person at PPPInternational dollars | $74,400 | $81,6402024 |
World Bank income groups: Saudi Arabia, high income; United Arab Emirates, high income.
- Saudi Arabia
- United Arab Emirates
Year-by-year table
| Year | Saudi Arabia | United Arab Emirates |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $63,051 | — |
| 2024 | $63,194 | $69,702 |
| 2023 | $64,482 | $70,240 |
| 2022 | $67,179 | $70,076 |
| 2021 | $62,690 | $68,580 |
| 2020 | $57,421 | $66,809 |
| 2019 | $62,648 | $72,823 |
| 2018 | $61,359 | $72,671 |
| 2017 | $57,943 | $72,529 |
| 2016 | $57,308 | $75,671 |
| 2015 | $58,499 | $75,239 |
| 2014 | $58,872 | $74,145 |
| 2013 | $57,998 | $74,237 |
| 2012 | $59,472 | $73,644 |
| 2011 | $58,645 | $73,190 |
| 2010 | $54,912 | $70,914 |
| 2009 | $51,761 | $71,489 |
| 2008 | $54,408 | $80,285 |
| 2007 | $53,318 | $87,181 |
| 2006 | $54,374 | $94,873 |
| 2005 | $54,932 | $92,751 |
| 2004 | $54,197 | $93,166 |
| 2003 | $52,235 | $89,828 |
| 2002 | $50,372 | $87,479 |
| 2001 | $53,309 | $90,750 |
| 2000 | $55,962 | $95,391 |
World Bank figures, updated October 8, 2026. An educational estimate, not financial advice.
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<script async src="https://www.pointsfrog.com/embed.js"></script>Saudi Arabia vs United Arab Emirates: questions
Is Saudi Arabia richer than the United Arab Emirates?
Saudi Arabia's GDP per person at purchasing power parity was $73,784 in 2025, 93% of the United Arab Emirates' $79,344 (2024), so the United Arab Emirates is the richer of the two by this measure. At market exchange rates, GDP per person was $34,537 in Saudi Arabia and $50,274 (2024) in the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia ranks 19th and the United Arab Emirates 14th of the 186 countries with figures.
How far does a dollar go in Saudi Arabia compared with the United Arab Emirates?
Prices across Saudi Arabia's economy averaged 74% of the United Arab Emirates' in 2025, so $100 spent in Saudi Arabia buys about what $135 buys in the United Arab Emirates, and a dollar goes 35% further in Saudi Arabia. Against the United States, prices averaged 47% of US prices in Saudi Arabia and 63% in the United Arab Emirates. The World Bank's PPP conversion factor was 1.755 (Saudi Arabian riyal) per international dollar in Saudi Arabia and 2.327 (U.A.E. dirham) in the United Arab Emirates.
How big is Saudi Arabia's economy compared with the United Arab Emirates'?
In 2025, Saudi Arabia's GDP was $1.28 trillion at market exchange rates and $2.73 trillion at PPP; the United Arab Emirates' GDP was $552 billion (2024) at market exchange rates and $872 billion (2024) at PPP. At market rates Saudi Arabia's economy is 2.3 times the United Arab Emirates', and at PPP 3.1 times. Saudi Arabia has 37.0 million people and the United Arab Emirates 11.5 million.
Do people earn more in Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates?
In 2025, gross national income per person by the World Bank's Atlas method was $36,070 in Saudi Arabia and $51,550 (2024) in the United Arab Emirates; at PPP it was $74,400 and $81,640 (2024). The World Bank classes both as high income. In household surveys, the median person's income was $76.52 a day ($27,930 a year) in the United Arab Emirates, from a 2018 survey of income, in 2021 international dollars. The World Bank has no recent survey median for Saudi Arabia.
How has GDP per person changed since 2000?
After inflation, GDP per person at PPP grew 13% in Saudi Arabia from 2000 to 2024, 0.5% a year, and fell 27% in the United Arab Emirates, −1.3% a year. Saudi Arabia's was 59% of the United Arab Emirates' in 2000 and 91% in 2024.
What is purchasing power parity (PPP)?
A rate that converts money between countries by what it buys rather than by the exchange rate. An international dollar buys in any country what a US dollar buys in the United States. The World Bank's International Comparison Program prices the same goods and services around the world to set these rates, so GDP at PPP compares how much economies actually produce, without exchange rate swings or price gaps.
What's the difference between GDP and GNI?
GDP is the value of everything produced inside a country. GNI, gross national income, adds income residents earn abroad and takes away income sent to foreign owners and workers. They differ most where foreign companies or workers take a large share, as in Ireland or Luxembourg, so GNI per person is closer to what a country's residents earn.
What is the World Bank Atlas method?
A way of converting GNI to US dollars that averages a country's exchange rate over three years, adjusted for inflation, so one year's currency swing doesn't jump it from one income group to another. The World Bank uses it to sort countries into low, lower-middle, upper-middle and high income each July.
Why is the median income missing or old for some countries?
Median income or consumption comes from household surveys, which most countries run every few years and some haven't run in a long time. Many lower-income countries measure what households spend rather than what they earn. This page shows the latest survey from the past 15 years in the World Bank's Poverty and Inequality Platform, with its year, and says when there isn't one.
Where do these figures come from?
From the World Bank's World Development Indicators, last updated October 8, 2026, with figures through 2025, and median income or consumption from its Poverty and Inequality Platform (September 22, 2026 release). Each figure is the latest the World Bank has for that country, from 2015 on; an older one is left out. The IMF publishes its own estimates, which usually differ by a few percent.
Is this comparison financial advice?
No. It's an educational comparison of official statistics. A country's average price level covers its whole economy, so your own costs in either place depend on where you live and what you buy.
How does the comparison work?
- GDP and GNI in US dollars use market exchange rates; at PPP they use the World Bank's purchasing power parities, in international dollars.
- The price level is a country's GDP at market rates divided by its GDP at PPP: its prices against US prices, across the whole economy, not just what households buy. What $100 buys elsewhere is $100 times the ratio of the two price levels.
- GNI per person uses the Atlas method, the measure behind the World Bank's income groups.
- The chart is GDP per person at PPP in constant 2021 international dollars, so it shows growth after inflation.
- Figures: World Development Indicators, updated October 8, 2026; median income or consumption: Poverty and Inequality Platform, September 22, 2026 release. Series: GDP, GDP at PPP, GDP per person at PPP, PPP conversion factor, GNI per person (Atlas), GNI per person at PPP.