Key UAE company and SME statistics for 2026
- The UAE had more than 1.4 million companies at the end of 2025. (UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism, Jan 2026)
- About 250,000 new companies were set up in the UAE in 2025. (UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism, Jan 2026)
- 557,000 SMEs operated in the UAE at the end of 2022, the latest published national count. (Ministry of Economy, Apr 2023)
- SMEs contributed 63.5% of the UAE's non-oil GDP, the latest published figure. (UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism, Sep 2025)
- SMEs provide 85% of private-sector jobs in the UAE. (UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism, Sep 2026)
- Dubai Chamber of Commerce had 292,486 active member companies at the end of 2025, up 13.2% from 258,318 in 2024. (Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Jan 2026)
- 71,830 new companies joined Dubai Chamber of Commerce in 2025. (Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Jan 2026)
- 18,486 Indian companies joined Dubai Chamber of Commerce in 2025, up 11%, the most of any foreign nationality. (Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Feb 2026)
- New economic licences issued in Abu Dhabi rose 29% in 2025 compared with 2024. (Abu Dhabi Registration Authority, Feb 2026)
- DIFC passed 10,000 active registered companies for the first time, reaching 10,018 at the end of H1 2026. (DIFC, Jul 2026)
- The UAE ranked first of 53 economies for entrepreneurial environment in the GEM 2025/2026 report, for the fifth year running. (GEM 2025/2026 report, 2026)
- The UAE aims to have more than two million companies by 2031. (UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism, Sep 2025)
How to cite this page. Use any figure here, credit the original source shown next to it, and link to this page: "UAE Company & SME Statistics 2026, Adjoltz, updated 15 October 2026, https://adjoltz.com/blog/uae-company-sme-statistics/".
How many companies are there in the UAE?
The UAE had more than 1.4 million companies at the end of 2025. (UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism, Jan 2026)
| Statistic | Source |
|---|---|
| The number of companies in the UAE grew 118.7% between mid-2021 and the end of 2025. | UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism, Jan 2026 |
| Around 760,000 companies have entered the UAE since the Commercial Companies Law was issued in September 2021. | UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism, Jan 2026 |
| Around one million UAE companies, nearly 94% of the total, are owned by entrepreneurs. | UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism, Sep 2025 |
| The Federal Tax Authority completed more than 245,000 Corporate Tax registration applications in 2025. | Federal Tax Authority, Jun 2026 |
The 245,000 is corporate tax registration applications, not a count of companies.
How many new companies were set up in the UAE in 2025?
About 250,000 new companies were set up in the UAE in 2025. (UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism, Jan 2026)
| Statistic | Source |
|---|---|
| The UAE attracted more than 220,186 new companies between January and November 2025. | UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism, Dec 2025 |
| The UAE expects company registrations and licences to rise by 10% to 15% in the first year of the 2025 company-law amendments. | UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism, Jan 2026 (estimate) |
| Nearly 125,000 companies worked in the UAE's 'new economy' sectors at mid-2026, up about 37% in a year. | UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism, Oct 2026 |
How many SMEs are there in the UAE?
557,000 SMEs operated in the UAE at the end of 2022, the latest published national count. (Ministry of Economy, Apr 2023)
| Statistic | Source |
|---|---|
| SMEs make up 95% of all companies operating in the UAE. | UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism, Sep 2026 |
| Micro-enterprises were 395,000 of UAE SMEs in 2022, or 70.9% of the total. | UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism, SME data for 2022 |
| Small enterprises were 150,000 of UAE SMEs in 2022, or 26.8%. | UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism, SME data for 2022 |
| Medium enterprises were 13,000 of UAE SMEs in 2022, or 2.3%. | UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism, SME data for 2022 |
| The number of active SME licences in the UAE grew by more than 140% in five years, compared with 2020. | UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism, Sep 2026 |
| Active SME licences in the UAE grew by more than 900% over two decades. | UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism, Sep 2026 |
| SMEs owned by UAE nationals grew by 63% over the five years to 2025. | UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism, Jan 2026 |
557,000 (end of 2022) is the latest national SME count the government has published.
How much do SMEs contribute to the UAE economy?
SMEs contributed 63.5% of the UAE's non-oil GDP, the latest published figure. (UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism, Sep 2025)
| Statistic | Source |
|---|---|
| SMEs provide 85% of private-sector jobs in the UAE. | UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism, Sep 2026 |
| Family businesses contribute around 60% of UAE GDP. | UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism, Nov 2025 |
| Family businesses make up nearly 90% of all private-sector companies in the UAE. | UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism, Nov 2025 |
| The UAE is home to 50 business incubators. | UAE Government, Sep 2025 |
| SMEs contribute 42.8% of Abu Dhabi's non-oil GDP. | Khalifa Fund, Nov 2024 |
How many companies are there in Dubai?
Dubai Chamber of Commerce had 292,486 active member companies at the end of 2025, up 13.2% from 258,318 in 2024. (Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Jan 2026)
| Statistic | Source |
|---|---|
| 71,830 new companies joined Dubai Chamber of Commerce in 2025. | Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Jan 2026 |
| 2,709 new companies joined Dubai Chamber of Commerce in March 2026. | Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Apr 2026 |
| Real estate, renting and business services firms were 37.6% of new Dubai Chamber members in 2025, the largest sector. | Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Feb 2026 |
| Wholesale and retail trade firms were 34.5% of new Dubai Chamber members in 2025. | Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Feb 2026 |
| Construction firms were 17.2% of new Dubai Chamber members in 2025. | Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Feb 2026 |
| Dubai International Chamber attracted 373 companies to Dubai in 2025, up 80.2% from 207 in 2024. | Dubai International Chamber, Jan 2026 |
| Dubai International Chamber attracted 309 foreign SMEs to Dubai in 2025, up 98% from 156. | Dubai International Chamber, Jan 2026 |
| Dubai SME helped launch 3,461 new Emirati businesses in 2024, taking the total it has supported to 19,904 since 2002. | Dubai SME, Apr 2025 |
| Dubai's Emirati Supplier Programme helped Emirati SMEs win more than AED1.78 billion in contracts in 2025, up 38% from AED1.29 billion. | Dubai SME, Jul 2026 |
| TECOM Group's Dubai business districts had more than 12,200 customers at the end of 2025, up from about 11,900. | TECOM Group PJSC, Feb 2026 |
Dubai Chamber counts member companies, which is the closest published measure of active companies in Dubai, not the total of every licence.
Which nationalities are setting up companies in the UAE?
18,486 Indian companies joined Dubai Chamber of Commerce in 2025, up 11%, the most of any foreign nationality. (Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Feb 2026)
| Statistic | Source |
|---|---|
| Pakistani companies were second, with 9,138 new Dubai Chamber members in 2025, up 12%. | Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Feb 2026 |
| Egyptian companies were third, with 5,043 new Dubai Chamber members in 2025. | Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Feb 2026 |
| 2,733 UK companies joined Dubai Chamber of Commerce in 2025, up 5%. | Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Feb 2026 |
| 2,721 Bangladeshi companies joined Dubai Chamber of Commerce in 2025, up 15%. | Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Feb 2026 |
| 1,907 Syrian companies joined Dubai Chamber of Commerce in 2025. | Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Feb 2026 |
| 1,583 Chinese companies joined Dubai Chamber of Commerce in 2025, up 7%. | Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Feb 2026 |
| Indian investors set up 33% of new RAKEZ companies in 2025. | Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone, Feb 2026 |
| US companies showed the fastest growth in new DMCC registrations in 2025, up 59%, ahead of China at 56%. | DMCC, Apr 2026 |
How fast are business licences growing outside Dubai?
New economic licences issued in Abu Dhabi rose 29% in 2025 compared with 2024. (Abu Dhabi Registration Authority, Feb 2026)
| Statistic | Source |
|---|---|
| Active economic licences in Abu Dhabi rose 13.5% in 2025. | Abu Dhabi Registration Authority, Feb 2026 |
| New 'Tajer Abu Dhabi' licences, which let entrepreneurs trade without an office, rose 24% from 7,187 in 2024 to 8,901 in 2025. | Abu Dhabi Registration Authority, Feb 2026 |
| Freelance licences in Abu Dhabi rose 70% from 2,065 in 2024 to 3,502 in 2025. | Abu Dhabi Registration Authority, Feb 2026 |
| New economic licences in Abu Dhabi rose 21% in Q1 2026 compared with Q1 2025. | Abu Dhabi Registration Authority, Jun 2026 |
| Emirati businesswomen received 3,058 new economic licences in Abu Dhabi in H1 2026, up 6.4% from 2,873. | Abu Dhabi Registration Authority, Aug 2026 |
| SMEs make up more than 90% of businesses in Abu Dhabi and employ nearly half of the workforce. | Khalifa Fund, Nov 2024 |
| Hub71, Abu Dhabi's tech ecosystem, had 390 startups in its community at the end of 2025. | Hub71, Jun 2026 |
| Hub71 received more than 5,000 startup applications in 2025, up 62%, and admitted 52 startups. | Hub71, Jun 2026 |
| Sharjah issued 4,597 new business licences in H1 2026, up 5%. | Sharjah Economic Development Department, Jul 2026 |
| Sharjah issued and renewed 38,169 business licences in H1 2026, up 2%. | Sharjah Economic Development Department, Jul 2026 |
| Ajman issued 1,617 new business licences in Q1 2026. | Ajman Department of Economic Development, Apr 2026 |
| Ajman had 41,603 active business licences in Q1 2026, up 16% year on year. | Ajman Department of Economic Development, Apr 2026 |
| Ajman had 73,418 registered investors in Q1 2026, up 11%. | Ajman Department of Economic Development, Apr 2026 |
Sharjah and Ajman count licences issued and renewed, not companies.
How many companies are in the UAE's free zones?
DMCC had more than 26,000 registered companies at the end of 2025. (DMCC, Apr 2026)
| Statistic | Source |
|---|---|
| DMCC registered 2,300 new companies in 2025. | DMCC, Apr 2026 |
| Technology is DMCC's largest sector, with more than 4,000 companies. | DMCC, Apr 2026 |
| DMCC accounts for 15% of foreign direct investment into Dubai. | DMCC, Apr 2026 |
| DIFC had 8,844 active companies at the end of 2025, up 28% year on year. | DIFC, Feb 2026 |
| DIFC passed 10,000 active registered companies for the first time, reaching 10,018 at the end of H1 2026. | DIFC, Jul 2026 |
| DIFC added 2,318 new active registered companies in the 12 months to June 2026, organic growth of 30%. | DIFC, Jul 2026 |
| ADGM had 12,671 active licences at the end of 2025, up 30%. | ADGM, Mar 2026 |
| 19,000 new companies joined RAKEZ in 2025, up 44% on 2024. | Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone, Feb 2026 |
| RAKEZ is home to more than 40,000 companies. | Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone, Feb 2026 |
| E-commerce licences were 17% of new RAKEZ company registrations in 2025. | Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone, Feb 2026 |
ADGM reports active licences rather than companies.
How much funding goes to UAE SMEs and startups?
UAE bank lending to SMEs grew 8.8% in 2025. (Central Bank of the UAE, Aug 2026)
| Statistic | Source |
|---|---|
| The UAE banking system's total loan portfolio grew 17.8% in 2025, about twice the pace of SME lending. | Central Bank of the UAE, Aug 2026 |
| UAE banks had AED81.7 billion in loans and facilities outstanding to SMEs at the end of Q1 2024, the latest balance published. | Central Bank of the UAE data, Jun 2024 |
| SME loans were 9.7% of bank credit to the trade and industrial sector in Q1 2024. | Central Bank of the UAE data, Jun 2024 |
| Hub71 startups raised $599 million in 2025. | Hub71, Jun 2026 |
| Dubai's Mohammed Bin Rashid Fund for SMEs funded 44 Emirati projects worth AED35.17 million in 2024. | Dubai SME, Apr 2025 |
How does the UAE rank for entrepreneurship?
The UAE ranked first of 53 economies for entrepreneurial environment in the GEM 2025/2026 report, for the fifth year running. (GEM 2025/2026 report, 2026)
| Statistic | Source |
|---|---|
| 20.4% of UAE adults were starting or running a new business in 2025, up from 13.6% in 2024. | GEM 2025/2026 report, 2026 |
| In 2025, 22.4% of UAE men were early-stage entrepreneurs, against 16.0% of women. | GEM 2025/2026 report, 2026 |
| Only 4.8% of UAE adults owned an established business in 2025, up from 3.1%. | GEM 2025/2026 report, 2026 |
| The UAE is one of only 4 of 53 economies rated sufficient on all 13 entrepreneurial framework conditions. | GEM 2025/2026 report, 2026 |
| 87.2% of UAE adults say it is easy to start a business, up from 76.0% in 2024. | GEM 2025/2026 report, 2026 |
| 81% of new UAE entrepreneurs say they started a business partly because jobs are scarce, second only to Saudi Arabia (82%) among the upper high-income economies GEM lists. | GEM 2025/2026 report, 2026 |
| 40.7% of UAE early-stage entrepreneurs earn at least 25% of revenue from customers abroad, up from 34.9%. | GEM 2025/2026 report, 2026 |
What holds UAE entrepreneurs back?
55.2% of UAE adults who see good business opportunities would not start a business for fear it might fail, up from 48.6%. (GEM 2025/2026 report, 2026)
| Statistic | Source |
|---|---|
| 30.7% of UAE early-stage entrepreneurs say starting a business is harder than a year ago, up from 23.5%. | GEM 2025/2026 report, 2026 |
| Only 37.9% of new UAE entrepreneurs expect to employ six or more people in five years, down from 73.5% in 2024. | GEM 2025/2026 report, 2026 |
| Entrepreneurship education at school is the UAE's weakest-rated entrepreneurial condition, scoring 5.4 out of 10, down from 6.5. | GEM 2025/2026 report, 2026 |
| Dubai Chamber of Commerce handled 201 business mediation cases in 2025, up 17.5% from 171. | Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Jan 2026 |
What are the UAE's targets for companies and SMEs?
The UAE aims to have more than two million companies by 2031. (UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism, Sep 2025)
| Statistic | Source |
|---|---|
| The UAE aims to produce 10 unicorns by 2031; about five have come from the country so far. | UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism, Sep 2025 |
| The UAE plans to reach 1 million SMEs by the end of 2030. | Ministry of Economy, Apr 2023 |
| The StartupEmirates platform aims to attract 10,000 entrepreneurs and create 30,000 jobs by 2030. | UAE Government, Sep 2025 |
How we built this page
Every figure comes from the organisation that produced it: government bodies and regulators, company filings and official documents, and original research by the organisation that ran it. We opened each source, confirmed the number on the page and kept the exact wording in a verification sheet, checked on 15 October 2026. UAE bodies count different things: the national company total, Chamber membership, free-zone companies and licences. Each line says which one it is, and we never add them together. Research paid for by a company with an interest in the result is labelled "commissioned", and modelled figures are labelled "estimate". We check every source link monthly and refresh the numbers each quarter.
Sources
- Abu Dhabi Registration Authority (ADRA), via Abu Dhabi Media Office, Abu Dhabi Registration Authority (ADRA) records 29% increase in new economic licences in 2025 (2026-02-25)
- Abu Dhabi Registration Authority (ADRA), via Abu Dhabi Media Office (Arabic release), سلطة أبوظبي للتسجيل تسجِّل زيادة بنسبة 29% في الرخص الاقتصادية الجديدة خلال 2025 (2026-02-25)
- Abu Dhabi Registration Authority (ADRA), via WAM, New economic licences in Abu Dhabi increase 21% in Q1 2026 (2026-06-22)
- Abu Dhabi Registration Authority (ADRA), via WAM, ADRA reports 6.4% growth in new economic licences issued to Emirati businesswomen in Abu Dhabi during H1-2026 (2026-08-31)
- ADGM, via Abu Dhabi Media Office, ADGM records asset management, licensing and workforce growth in 2025 (2026-03-30)
- Ajman Department of Economic Development, via WAM, Ajman DED issues 1,617 new licences, renews 8,777 in Q1 (2026-04-16)
- Central Bank of the UAE, Financial Stability Report 2025 (2026-08-17)
- Central Bank of the UAE data, via WAM, Banks provide AED81.7 bn in financial facilities to SMEs by end of Q1-24: CBUAE (2024-06-20)
- DIFC, via Government of Dubai Media Office, Dubai International Financial Centre announces landmark annual results for 2025 (2026-02-05)
- DIFC, via Government of Dubai Media Office, DIFC records industry-leading achievements in H1 2026 (2026-07-28)
- DMCC, DMCC Annual Report 2025 (2026-04)
- DMCC, via Government of Dubai Media Office, DMCC reports strong 2025 growth, welcomes over 2,300 companies, tech community surpasses 4,000 (2026-04-14)
- Dubai Chamber of Commerce (Dubai Chambers), Dubai Chamber of Commerce records highest-ever annual member exports of AED356.5 billion in 2025, up 15.1% (2026-01-14)
- Dubai Chamber of Commerce (Dubai Chambers), Indian businesses top list of foreign new companies joining Dubai Chamber of Commerce during 2025 (2026-02-17)
- Dubai Chamber of Commerce, via WAM, 2,709 new member companies joined Dubai Chamber of Commerce in March 2026 (2026-04-05)
- Dubai International Chamber (Dubai Chambers), Dubai International Chamber attracted 64 multinational companies to Dubai during 2025, achieving annual growth of 25.5% (2026-01-28)
- Dubai SME (Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism), via WAM, Dubai SME achieves remarkable milestones, transforms entrepreneurial landscape in 2024 (2025-04-20)
- Dubai SME (Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism), via WAM, Dubai SME enables Emirati Supplier Programme members to secure AED1.78 billion in contracts in 2025 (2026-07-03)
- Federal Tax Authority (UAE), Federal Tax Authority Issues 2025 Annual Report (2026-06-29)
- Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), GEM 2025/2026 Global Report: From Uncertainty To Opportunity (2026)
- Hub71, via WAM, Hub71 startups surpass $2.7 billion in funding (2026-06-08)
- Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development / Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, via WAM, SMEs contribute 42.8 percent to Abu Dhabi's non-oil GDP: Moza Al Nasri (2024-11-18)
- Ministry of Economy (UAE), via WAM, 557,000 SMEs operated in UAE at end of 2022: Minister of Economy (2023-04-06)
- Ministry of Economy and Tourism (UAE), UAE Council for Entrepreneurship reviews results of 'Startup Capital of the World' campaign (2026-09-06)
- Ministry of Economy and Tourism (UAE), Entrepreneurship (MoET Entrepreneurs and SMEs page) (n.d.)
- Ministry of Economy and Tourism (UAE), via WAM, Minister of Economy: UAE seeks to increase number of startups to more than two million by 2031 (2025-09-21)
- Ministry of Economy and Tourism (UAE), via WAM, Family businesses contribute 60% to UAE GDP, says Ministry of Economy and Tourism (2025-11-07)
- Ministry of Economy and Tourism (UAE), via WAM, Minister of Economy & Tourism: 77.5% non-oil share of real GDP; AED36 bn hotel revenues mark exceptional growth on 54th Eid Al Etihad (2025-12-01)
- Ministry of Economy and Tourism (UAE), via WAM, More than 1.4 million companies operating in UAE: Minister of Economy (2026-01-07)
- Ministry of Economy and Tourism (UAE), via WAM, Investopia builds bridges between capital, opportunities: Abdulla bin Touq (2026-10-07)
- Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ), via WAM, RAKEZ records strong growth in 2025, welcoming 19,000 new companies (2026-02-01)
- Sharjah Economic Development Department (SEDD), via WAM, Sharjah: 38,169 issued, renewed licenses in H1 (2026-07-12)
- TECOM Group PJSC, TECOM Group achieves record revenues of AED 2.9 billion in 2025 (2026-02-03)
- UAE Government (statement by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum), via WAM, Mohammed bin Rashid launches national campaign 'The Emirates: The Startup Capital of the World' (2025-09-21)
