COUNTRY PROFILES EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN REGION

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (THE)

Recorded adult per capita consumption (age 15+)

16

14

12
Litres of pure alcohol

10 Total
Beer
8
Spirits
6 Wine

0
1961 1965 1969 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001

Year

Sources: FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), World Drink Trends 2003

Lifetime abstainers

Data from the 2003 World Health

Survey. Total sample size n =
1120; males n = 587 and females
n = 533. Population aged 18 years
Total 1
and above.
89.6%
Female 94.4%
Male 85.8%

Heavy and hazardous drinkers

Data from the 2003 World Health

Survey. Total sample size n =
1120; males n = 587 and females
Total n = 533. Population aged 18 years
0.6% and above. Definition used:
average consumption of 40 g or
Female 1.0%

more of pure alcohol a day for

Male 0.2%

men and 20 g or more of pure

1
alcohol a day for women.

According to the 2003 World Health Survey (total sample size n = 99; males n = 72 and females n = 27), the
mean value (in grams) of pure alcohol consumed per day among drinkers was 12.0 (total), 11.3 (males) and 10.8
(females).1

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COUNTRY PROFILES EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN REGION

Heavy episodic drinkers

Data from the 2003 World Health

Survey. Total sample size n =
1120; males n = 587 and females
Total n = 533. Population aged 18 years
0.1% and above. Definition used: at
least once a week consumption of

Female 0.0%
five or more standard drinks in

Male 0.2%
one sitting.1

Youth drinking (lifetime abstainers)

Data from the 2003 World Health

Survey. Total sample size n =
185; males n = 97 and females n =
88. Population aged 18 to 24
Total 1
years old.
98.5%

Female 98.0%
Male 99.0%

Youth drinking (heavy episodic drinkers)

Data from the 2003 World Health

Survey. Total sample size n =
185; males n = 97 and females n =
Total
88. Population aged 18 to 24
0.0% years old. Definition used: at least
once a week consumption of five
Female 0.0%

or more standard drinks in one

Male 0.0%

1
sitting.

Note: These are preliminary, early-release, unpublished data from WHO's World Health Survey made available exclusively for this report.
Some estimates may change in the final analyses of these data.

Unrecorded alcohol consumption

The unrecorded alcohol consumption in the United Arab Emirates is estimated to be 1.0 litre pure alcohol per
capita for population older than 15 for the years after 1995 (estimated by a group of key alcohol experts).2

Morbidity, health and social problems from alcohol use

In a study conducted on family violence as well as its causes and how it leads to divorce, alcohol abuse was
believed to be a major cause of domestic violence in this country.3
Of 747 male patients admitted during a 2-year period (1990–1991) to the psychiatric ward in Al-Ain district
hospital, 71 (9.5%) were admitted with alcohol and drug use disorders. Regarding the type of drug used, 16
(22.5%) used alcohol alone. Hospital statistics on alcohol and drug misuse do not necessarily represent the drug
situation in a community but may give a true profile of the more severe cases of substance use disorders. The
public attitude in Arab-Muslim societies is intolerant to alcohol drinking and drug use in general, but more so in
the case of women, so the absence of females in this sample is a reflection of this fact. If alcohol and drug use

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ever occurs among women it is very secretive and may not reach the extent of dependence or harmful use and
hence will not come to medical attention.4

Country background information

Total population 2003 2 995 000 Life expectancy at birth (2002) Male 71.3
Adult (15+) 2 246 250 Female 75.1
% under 15 25 Probability of dying under age 5 per 1000 (2002) Male 10
Population distribution 2001 (%) Female 10
Urban 87 Gross National Income per capita 2002 US$ *
*Estimated to be in the high income range ($9076 or less)
Rural 13 In the United Arab Emirates, approximately 96% of the population are Muslim.

Sources: Population and Statistics Division of the United Nations Secretariat, World Bank World Development Indicators database, The
World Factbook 2003, The World Health Report 2004

References
1. Ustun TB et al. The World Health Surveys. In: Murray CJL, Evans DB, eds. Health Systems
Performance Assessment: Debates, Methods and Empiricism. Geneva, World Health Organization,
2003.
2. Alcohol per capita consumption, patterns of drinking and abstention worldwide after 1995. Appendix
2. European Addiction Research, 2001, 7(3):155–157.
3. Za’za B. Divorce due to domestic violence up. Gulf News, 7 January 2004
(http://www.amanjordan.org/english/daily_news/wmview.php?ArtID=3629, accessed 31 March 2004).
4. Younis YO, Saad AG. A profile of alcohol and drug misusers in an Arab community. Letters to the
Editor, Addiction, 1995, 90(12):1683–1684.

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© World Health Organization 2004