Pakistan
United Arab EmiratesCompare countries · Pakistan vs United Arab Emirates
Pakistan vs United Arab Emirates
PakistanSouthern Asia
United Arab EmiratesWestern Asia
The FCDO advises against all travel to parts of Pakistan and all but essential travel to other areas.Pakistan is cheaper (cost of living 19.6 vs 55.2).The United Arab Emirates is more peaceful (Global Peace Index 1.927 vs 2.919), scores higher on human development (0.940 vs 0.544) and has the higher income per person ($51,550 vs $1,500).It also has the longer life expectancy (83.1 vs 67.8 years).
The United Arab Emirates is the more peaceful
- Global Peace Indexlower is more peaceful
- Pakistan2.919Very low safety#150 of 161IEP GPI · 2026
- United Arab Emirates1.927High safety#72 of 161IEP GPI · 2026
- Homicidesper 100,000 people a year
- Pakistan4.3HighUNODC / World Bank · 2023
- United Arab Emirates0.7Very lowUNODC / World Bank · 2022
- Safety indexNumbeo's safety index, higher is safer
- Pakistan57.6ModerateNumbeo · 2026
- United Arab Emirates86Very highNumbeo · 2026
- UK travel adviceFCDO, for British travellers
- PakistanAgainst all travel to parts, all but essential to other areasFCDO foreign travel advice, GOV.UK · read 2026-10-29
- United Arab EmiratesNo advice against travelFCDO foreign travel advice, GOV.UK · read 2026-10-29
Income per person is higher in the United Arab Emirates
- GNI per personnational income per person, US dollars
- Pakistan$1,500Very lowWorld Bank · 2025
- United Arab Emirates$51,550Very highWorld Bank · 2024
- Cost of living indexexcluding rent, New York = 100
- Pakistan19.6Very affordableNumbeo · 2026
- United Arab Emirates55.2ModerateNumbeo · 2026
People live longer in the United Arab Emirates
- Life expectancyyears, at birth
- Pakistan67.8Low#147 of 195World Bank · 2024
- United Arab Emirates83.1Very high#17 of 195World Bank · 2024
Broadband is faster in the United Arab Emirates
- Home internetmedian download speed
- Pakistan18 MbpsSlow#139 of 149Ookla Speedtest · 2025
- United Arab Emirates398 MbpsVery fast#2 of 149Ookla Speedtest · 2025
Human development: United Arab Emirates 0.940, Pakistan 0.544
PakistanUnited Arab Emirates
UNDP Human Development Report, 1990–2023.
Year by year:PakistanUnited Arab Emirates
Practical facts
- Capital
- Islamabad
- Abu Dhabi
- Population
- 255.2M (2025)
- 11.5M (2025)
- Languages
- English, Urdu
- Arabic
- Currency
- Pakistani rupee (PKR)
- United Arab Emirates dirham (AED)
- Area
- 770,880 km²
- 71,020 km²
- Plug type
- Type C/D
- Type G
- Drives on the
- left
- right
- Short visit
- Visa-free for UK, EU and US passports
- Visa-free for UK, EU and US passports
Short visits: passport-index-dataset, 2024, for UK, EU (German) and US passports. Population and area: World Bank. Languages, currency and driving side: restcountries.com. Plug types: worldstandards.eu.
Pakistan and United Arab Emirates, side by side
Pakistan leads on 14 United Arab Emirates on 451 level102 figures. 9 are held for only one country; the other shows a dash. Rows such as population, religion and tax levels have no better or worse end, so they show both values and no verdict. Level means under 2% apart.
Money and cost21
- PPP / Cap aheadWorld Bank · 2024–2025
- $6,573Very low
- $79,344High
- GDP / Cap aheadWorld Bank · 2024–2025
- $1,596Very low
- $50,274Very high
- GNI / Cap aheadWorld Bank · 2024–2025
- $1,500Very low
- $51,550Very high
- Local purchasing power aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 29.5Very low
- 126.4Very high
- Cost of Living aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 19.6Very affordable
- 55.2Moderate
- Cost of living with rent aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 12.4Very low
- 48.2Very high
- Rent index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 3.4Very affordable
- 39.6Very expensive
- Groceries index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 18.2Very low
- 44.4Moderate
- Restaurant prices index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 17.2Very low
- 56.5Very high
- Property Price-to-Income aheadNumbeo Property Investment · 2026
- 18.7Very expensive
- 7.4Very affordable
- Price level ratio aheadWorld Bank ICP
- 0.396Very low
- 1.170High
- Inflation aheadWorld Bank · 2025
- 3.5%Moderate
- 1.3%Low
- Bank Account aheadWorld Bank Global Findex · 2024
- 27.3%Very low
- 85.7%High
- Send Remittance aheadWorld Bank Remittance Prices Worldwide · 2023
- 7.8%Very high
- 3.1%Moderate
- Top Income TaxWikipedia · 2024
- 45%
- 0%
- Corporate TaxWikipedia · 2024
- 1.3%
- 0%
- VAT / GSTWikipedia · 2024
- 18%
- 5%
- Tax RevenueWorld Bank · 2024
- —
- 0.6%
- GDP (total)World Bank · 2024–2025
- $407 bn
- $552 bn
- FDI InflowsWorld Bank · 2024–2025
- 0.5%
- 8.3%
- Innovation aheadWIPO Global Innovation Index · 2025
- 22.1Low
- 44.2High
Work1
- UnemploymentWorld Bank · 2025
- 5.4%
- 2.2%
Equality6
- Income InequalityWorld Bank · 2024
- 33.5Moderate
- —
- Income Share Bot. 20%World Bank · 2024
- 8.2High
- —
- Income Share Top 10%World Bank · 2024
- 27.7Moderate
- —
- Poverty RateWorld Bank · 2024
- 87.1%Very high
- —
- Gender Inequality aheadUNDP Human Development Report · 2023
- 0.536Very high
- 0.040Very low
- Inequality-Adj. HDI aheadUNDP HDR
- 0.364Very low
- 0.866Very high
Safety9
- Peace Index aheadIEP Global Peace Index · 2026
- 2.919Very low safety
- 1.927High safety
- Safety aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 57.6Moderate
- 86Very high
- Homicides / 100k aheadUNODC / World Bank · 2022–2023
- 4.3High
- 0.7Very low
- Assault Rate aheadUNODC CTS · 2022–2023
- 12.8Low
- 2Very low
- Robbery Rate aheadUNODC CTS · 2023
- 32.5High
- 1.4Very low
- Sexual Violence Rate aheadUNODC CTS · 2016–2023
- 2.4Very low
- 4.9Very low
- Kidnapping Rate aheadUNODC CTS · 2022–2023
- 12.3Very high
- 2.4High
- Road Deaths / 100k aheadWHO GHO · 2021
- 11.9Moderate
- 5.9Very low
- Disaster Risk aheadWorld Risk Index · 2022
- 26.8Very high
- 6.5Moderate
Health16
- Life Expectancy aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 67.8Low
- 83.1Very high
- Infant Mortality aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 48.2Very high
- 3.8Very low
- Healthcare Quality aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 59.5Fair
- 70.8Good
- UHC Service Coverage aheadWHO GHO · 2023
- 56Low
- 84Very high
- Physicians / 1k aheadWorld Bank · 2021–2023
- 1.160Moderate
- 3High
- Hospital Beds aheadWorld Bank · 2020–2022
- 0.600Very low
- 1.900Low
- Out-of-Pocket Health % aheadWorld Bank · 2023
- 52.9%Very high
- 9.7%Very low
- Healthcare SpendWorld Bank · 2023
- $30
- $2,402
- Clean Water aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 90.7%Low
- 100%Very high
- PM2.5 concentration aheadWHO GHO · 2023
- 42.9Very high
- 34.0Very high
- Air-pollution Deaths / 100k aheadWHO GHO · 2021
- 159.1High
- 46.7Low
- Obesity aheadWHO GHO · 2024
- 24.5%Moderate
- 31.6%High
- Tobacco Use aheadWHO GHO · 2015
- 21.1%Moderate
- 14.3%Low
- Raised Blood Glucose aheadWHO GHO · 2014
- 12.4%Very high
- 15.1%Very high
- Suicide Rate / 100k aheadWHO GHO · 2021
- 5.6Low
- 1.7Very low
- Alcohol L / capitaWHO GHO · 2024
- 0.100
- 0.600
Education and getting online8
- PISA MathOECD PISA Results · 2022
- —
- 431Moderate
- PISA ReadingOECD PISA Results · 2022
- —
- 417Moderate
- PISA ScienceOECD PISA Results · 2022
- —
- 432Moderate
- Education SpendWorld Bank · 2021–2023
- 1.9%
- 3.9%
- English ProficiencyLevelEF English Proficiency Index · 2025
- 493Low
- 487Low
- Internet aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 57.3%Low
- 100%Very high
- Home internet speed aheadOokla Speedtest Global Index · 2025
- 18 MbpsSlow
- 398 MbpsVery fast
- Mobile internet speed aheadOokla Speedtest Global Index · 2025
- 24 MbpsVery low
- 681 MbpsVery high
Governance and freedom8
- Rule of Law aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- -1.07Very low
- 0.54High
- Corruption aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- -1.07Very low
- 1.15Very high
- Political Stability aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- -1.95Very low
- 0.83High
- Government Effectiveness aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- -0.61Low
- 1.13Very high
- Regulatory Quality aheadWorld Bank WGI · 2025
- -0.92Very low
- 1.17Very high
- Democracy aheadEIU Democracy Index · 2025
- 2.4Very low
- 3.2Low
- Freedom House aheadFreedom House · 2025
- 32Low
- 18Very low
- Press Freedom aheadRSF World Press Freedom Index · 2026
- 32.6Difficult
- 30.9Difficult
Quality of life10
- Human Development aheadUNDP Human Development Report · 2023
- 0.544Low
- 0.940Very high
- Happiness aheadWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 4.87Very low
- 6.82Moderate
- Quality of life index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 98.3Very low
- 175.5High
- Climate index aheadNumbeo · 2026
- 67.1Good
- 43.4Poor
- WHR: GDPWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 1.224
- 1.980
- WHR: Social SupportWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.556
- 1.096
- WHR: Healthy Life Exp.World Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.489
- 0.710
- WHR: FreedomWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.564
- 1.071
- WHR: GenerosityWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.144
- 0.149
- WHR: Corruption TrustWorld Happiness Report · 2026
- 0.071
- 0.228
People and planet20
- PopulationWorld Bank · 2025
- 255,219,554
- 11,513,149
- AreaWorld Bank
- 770,880 km²
- 71,020 km²
- Median AgeWorld Bank age-group shares
- 26.6
- 35.7
- Population GrowthWorld Bank · 2025
- 1.56%
- 4.68%
- Urban PopulationWorld Bank · 2025
- 39.5%
- 86%
- Net MigrationWorld Bank · 2025
- -1,235,336
- 158,634
- Foreign-Born %UN DESA International Migrant Stock · 2024
- 1.7%
- 74%
- Fertility RateWorld Bank · 2024
- 3.55
- 1.21
- ChristianPew Research · 2020
- 1.3%
- 14.3%
- MuslimPew Research · 2020
- 96.5%
- 72.9%
- HinduPew Research · 2020
- 2.1%
- 11.8%
- BuddhistPew Research · 2020
- 0%
- 0.2%
- JewishPew Research · 2020
- 0%
- 0%
- UnaffiliatedPew Research · 2020
- 0%
- 0.3%
- Other religionsPew Research · 2020
- 0%
- 0.5%
- CO₂ / Capita aheadWorld Bank · 2024
- 0.810Low
- 18.3Very high
- Renewables aheadWorld Bank · 2021
- 41.6%High
- 1%Very low
- Forest CoverWorld Bank · 2023
- 4.7%
- 4.5%
- Climate Vulnerability aheadND-GAIN Country Index · 2023
- 0.515High
- 0.383Low
- Climate Readiness aheadND-GAIN Country Index · 2023
- 0.299Very low
- 0.587Very high
Other3
- LiteracyWorld Bank · 2021–2024
- 58.9%
- 98.8%
- Mobile MoneyWorld Bank Global Findex · 2024
- 18.4%
- 13.3%
- Receive RemittanceWorld Bank Remittance Prices Worldwide · 2023
- 2.1%
- —
Quick answers
Is Pakistan cheaper than United Arab Emirates?
Numbeo's 2026 cost-of-living index (NYC = 100) puts Pakistan at 19.6 and United Arab Emirates at 55.2. Pakistan is about 64% cheaper overall.
Is Pakistan or United Arab Emirates safer?
On the Global Peace Index (lower = more peaceful), Pakistan scores 2.92 and United Arab Emirates scores 1.93. United Arab Emirates ranks as the more peaceful of the two.
Which has the higher quality of life, Pakistan or United Arab Emirates?
On the UN Human Development Index, Pakistan scores 0.544 and United Arab Emirates scores 0.940. United Arab Emirates scores higher on this composite of income, health and education. Single indexes hide trade-offs; the full comparison above shows where each country wins.
What is life like in Pakistan compared to United Arab Emirates?
GNI per capita runs $1,500 in Pakistan against $51,550 in United Arab Emirates; people live 67.8 years on average against 83.1; Numbeo users rate healthcare 60 against 71. Those are national averages and they hide the thing you actually feel: capital-city costs run well ahead of the national figure in most countries, and rural provision of healthcare and internet often lags the number shown here. The table below splits it indicator by indicator.