PEOPLE IN RAS AL KHAIMAH
UAE POPULATION: approx.4,800,000
RAK POPULATION: approx. 250,000
Ras Al Khaimah’s population, just like of the whole UAE, is one of the most diverse in the world. While UAE citizens count for less than 20% of the population in the UAE, this figure is higher in Ras Al Khaimah. From approximately 250,000 people living in the Emirate, around 40% hold UAE nationality.
Nationals of the UAE, the Emiratis, come from many varied ethnic and tribal backgrounds. Tribal identities remain strong despite modernization and the presence of large expatriate community, or maybe because of that. Descendants of one particular tribe still predominantly inhabit some areas of Ras Al Khaimah. The Za’ab tribe, although not large, were the inhabitants of what is now the deserted village of Jazirat Al Hamra. The Shihuh (collective name for many Ru’us Al Jabel tribes, e.g. Bani Hadiyan, Bani Shatair), the Habus and the Tanaji are the mountain people, although now they largely inhabit coastal towns such as Sha’am and Rams. The Naqbi tribe populate the town of Khatt and areas further south. The Qawasim are the ruling tribe for already several centuries. Regardless of the tribe they come from, the Emiratis are mainly Sunni Muslim Arabs.
Foreign-born workers outnumber Emiratis three to one. Majority of them come from India, Pakistan, Iran, other Arab countries, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and South East Asia. There is also a rather significant percentage of Westerners. All of these nationalities interact to make up the rich and complex society that modern Ras Al Khaimah is.
One of the interesting characteristics of the population is gender imbalance; there are more than twice as many males as females.
Majority of the population live in the urban areas, while the remaining inhabitants live in small towns along the coast or in wadis.
Although, the national language is Arabic, English and several Asian languages, mainly Hindi, Urdu and Persian, are widely spoken.
Population growth rate: 3.7%
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 76 years
male: 73 years
female: 78 years
Age structure:
0-14 years: 20%
15-64 years: 79% (note: 74% of the 15-64 age group consists of non-nationals)
65 years and over: 1%
Sex ratio: 2.2 males - 1 female
