Sluggish economic activities do not deter expat population to expand in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as their share rose close to 90% in the past three years.

Recently released figures by the National Bureau of Statistics claimed that domestic population too rose sharply and the proportion of non-nationals stood at 88.5% of the UAE’s combined estimated population.

UAE, having combined population of 8.26 million as of the middle of 2010, declined from a peak of 88.8% in 2008 but still higher than 83% as recently as 2006. Experts have expressed reservation over rising expat population in the country warning against its serious socio-religious outcomes.

Khalid Al Yahya, director of governance and public administration at the Dubai School of Government, told, “Are we more concerned about national identity and social stability than economic growth, or double-digit economic growth?”

It is to be noted that rapid bird rate has made the UAE and the other Gulf regions as one of the world's highest population growth nations. Most Gulf countries, including the UAE have yet to conduct official census in the respective countries.