Share of female business owners in United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates: Share of female business owners was 8.8% in 2018. ▼ Falling
Share of female business owners in United Arab Emirates, 2014–2018
Source: World Bank's Entrepreneurship Survey and database (https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/entrepreneurship). Downloaded on May 2, 2026. Measured in % of total business owners.
Analysis
United Arab Emirates recorded 8.8% for share of female business owners in 2018. That is the lowest value across all 5 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 9.4% on the previous year and down 9.3% over five years.
United Arab Emirates ranks 68th of 72 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
Share of female business owners in United Arab Emirates, year by year
| Year | % of total business owners | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 9.7% | — |
| 2015 | 10.0% | +4.0% |
| 2016 | 8.8% | -12.4% |
| 2017 | 9.7% | +9.9% |
| 2018 | 8.8% | -9.4% |
United Arab Emirates compared with similar countries
- United Arab Emirates's 8.8% is below the median for high income countries, which is 25.5%, 34% of the median. (21 countries reporting)
- United Arab Emirates's 8.8% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 15.0%, 59% of the median. (14 countries reporting)
Countries ranked near United Arab Emirates
More private sector data for United Arab Emirates
- Merchandise trade 208.2% (2024)
- Food imports 5.0% (2023)
- Manufactures imports 54.9% (2023)
- Merchandise imports 618.88 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 2.9% (2023)
- Manufactures exports 8.8% (2023)
- Merchandise exports 706.67 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 61,380 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 1.1 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 16.69 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of female business owners in United Arab Emirates?
- Share of female business owners in United Arab Emirates was 8.8% in 2018, according to World Bank's Entrepreneurship Survey and database (https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/entrepreneurship). Downloaded on May 2, 2026.
- What is the highest share of female business owners recorded in United Arab Emirates?
- The highest recorded value was 10.0% in 2015.
- What is the lowest share of female business owners recorded in United Arab Emirates?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.8% in 2018.
- How does United Arab Emirates rank for share of female business owners?
- United Arab Emirates ranks 68th out of 72 countries with data for 2018.
- Where does this United Arab Emirates data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank's Entrepreneurship Survey and database (https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/entrepreneurship). Downloaded on May 2, 2026, published as part of Share of female business owners (% of total business owners). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of female business is the proportion of female newly registered limited liability company owners out of the total number of newly registered limited liability company owners in the economy in the calendar year.