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Netherlands vs United Arab Emirates

Netherlands vs United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates is larger; Netherlands has more people
41,543 km² vs 83,600 km² · 18,087,633 vs 11,513,149

United Arab Emirates is 2.0 times larger than Netherlands — 83,600 against 41,543 km². Netherlands is 1.6 times more populous than United Arab Emirates — 18,087,633 against 11,513,149 people.

Side by side

Netherlands United Arab Emirates
Capital Amsterdam Abu Dhabi
Area 41,543 km² 83,600 km²
Population 18,087,633 (2025) 11,513,149 (2025)
Density 435.4 /km² 137.7 /km²
Currency Euro (EUR) United Arab Emirates dirham (AED)
Official languages Dutch Arabic
Time zones UTC+01:00 UTC+04:00
Calling code +31 +971
Drives on the right right
Continent Europe Asia
ISO codes NL / NLD AE / ARE

Population density

Netherlands is 3.2 times more densely populated than United Arab Emirates — 435 against 138 people per km². Density is where area and population interact, and it often reverses the impression the headline figures give — a large country with a small population can feel emptier than a small crowded one by an enormous margin.

Practical differences

  • Different currencies: the Euro and the United Arab Emirates dirham.
  • Different continents — Europe and Asia.

Netherlands

About a quarter of the Netherlands lies below sea level and roughly a fifth of its present land area has been reclaimed from sea, lake and marsh. Flevoland, a province of some 1,400 km², was drained from the Zuiderzee in the 20th century and is the largest artificial island in the world. The lowest point, in Zuidplaspolder, is about 6.8 m below sea level.

United Arab Emirates

The Burj Khalifa in Dubai is 828 m, the tallest building in the world, and has been since 2010. Most of the country is desert; the Liwa Oasis on the edge of the Empty Quarter carries dunes over 250 m high. Jebel Jais in the Hajar mountains reaches 1,934 m and sees occasional snow.

Neutral facts only. Nothing here addresses politics, government, economics or which country is preferable in any respect — population is the one figure that dates, and it carries its year.

Common questions

Is Netherlands bigger than United Arab Emirates?
United Arab Emirates is larger — 83,600 km² against 41,543 km².
Which has more people, Netherlands or United Arab Emirates?
Netherlands, with 18,087,633 against 11,513,149.
What is the time difference between Netherlands and United Arab Emirates?
Netherlands is UTC+01:00 and United Arab Emirates is UTC+04:00. Daylight saving shifts the gap during the year in places that observe it.

Related pages

Sources

  1. The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (Public domain (US Government))
  2. World Bank Open Data — The World Bank (CC BY 4.0)

How these figures are compiled and checked