UAE population grew 6.1% in 2007
The population of the United Arab Emirates grew 6.1 percent in 2007 to 4.49 million people, led by an influx of new residents into Dubai and strong growth in the construction sector, the central bank said on Wednesday.
Dubai, the Gulf commercial hub which is witnessing a real estate boom, posted a 7.7 percent growth in population to 1.48 million people last year, the central bank said in its 2007 annual report, citing data from the UAE Ministry of Economy.
Total employees in the UAE, the world's fifth-largest oil exporter, grew 7.9 percent to 3.1 million, the central bank said
The construction sector accounted for a fifth of employees last year, with its total workforce growing 7.9 percent over 2006, it said.
In the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, a population of 1.49 million in 2007 was 4.4 percent higher than 2006. Abu Dhabi's population has fallen 11.2 percent since 2004, according to the data.
In the UAE, foreigners comprise more than 80 percent of the population, with migrant workers from south Asia dominating the population.
More than 30,000 migrant workers went on strike in Dubai last November to call for higher wages after the dollar-pegged UAE dirham.
