Share of cereals allocated to human food in United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates: Share of cereals allocated to human food was 41.1% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Share of cereals allocated to human food in United Arab Emirates, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
United Arab Emirates recorded 41.1% for share of cereals allocated to human food in 2023.
The figure is down 8.8% on the previous year and up 33.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of cereals allocated to human food in United Arab Emirates peaked at 90.5% in 1963 and was at its lowest, 30.7%, in 2013.
That places United Arab Emirates 140th out of 192 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Share of cereals allocated to human food in United Arab Emirates, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 88.2% | — |
| 1962 | 89.5% | +1.4% |
| 1963 | 90.5% | +1.1% |
| 1964 | 87.5% | -3.3% |
| 1965 | 88.0% | +0.6% |
| 1966 | 85.7% | -2.6% |
| 1967 | 87.1% | +1.6% |
| 1968 | 56.9% | -34.7% |
| 1969 | 86.5% | +52.1% |
| 1970 | 86.0% | -0.5% |
| 1971 | 79.2% | -8.0% |
| 1972 | 79.6% | +0.6% |
| 1973 | 85.9% | +7.9% |
| 1974 | 82.0% | -4.5% |
| 1975 | 62.0% | -24.4% |
| 1976 | 48.7% | -21.5% |
| 1977 | 82.2% | +68.7% |
| 1978 | 80.1% | -2.5% |
| 1979 | 46.9% | -41.5% |
| 1980 | 63.1% | +34.5% |
| 1981 | 61.5% | -2.6% |
| 1982 | 65.5% | +6.5% |
| 1983 | 67.6% | +3.2% |
| 1984 | 58.5% | -13.5% |
| 1985 | 63.3% | +8.2% |
| 1986 | 52.3% | -17.3% |
| 1987 | 50.3% | -3.9% |
| 1988 | 60.8% | +21.0% |
| 1989 | 59.2% | -2.7% |
| 1990 | 57.4% | -2.9% |
| 1991 | 64.6% | +12.5% |
| 1992 | 51.3% | -20.6% |
| 1993 | 46.0% | -10.4% |
| 1994 | 43.4% | -5.5% |
| 1995 | 43.1% | -0.7% |
| 1996 | 50.1% | +16.1% |
| 1997 | 55.2% | +10.1% |
| 1998 | 55.1% | -0.1% |
| 1999 | 50.1% | -9.1% |
| 2000 | 48.8% | -2.6% |
| 2001 | 56.6% | +16.0% |
| 2002 | 56.5% | -0.2% |
| 2003 | 50.7% | -10.3% |
| 2004 | 61.1% | +20.5% |
| 2005 | 54.5% | -10.7% |
| 2006 | 52.2% | -4.3% |
| 2007 | 54.1% | +3.7% |
| 2008 | 51.5% | -4.7% |
| 2009 | 59.5% | +15.5% |
| 2010 | 43.3% | -27.3% |
| 2011 | 45.5% | +5.1% |
| 2012 | 33.3% | -26.9% |
| 2013 | 30.7% | -7.6% |
| 2014 | 35.2% | +14.5% |
| 2015 | 36.0% | +2.3% |
| 2016 | 43.9% | +21.7% |
| 2017 | 42.7% | -2.5% |
| 2018 | 44.3% | +3.6% |
| 2019 | 41.6% | -6.0% |
| 2020 | 41.7% | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 46.1% | +10.5% |
| 2022 | 45.0% | -2.3% |
| 2023 | 41.1% | -8.8% |
United Arab Emirates compared with similar countries
- United Arab Emirates's 41.1% is above the median for high income countries, which is 38.1%, 1.1× the median. (63 countries reporting)
- United Arab Emirates's 41.1% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 61.8%, 66% of the median. (22 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of cereals allocated to human food in United Arab Emirates changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | +68.7% | 48.7% | 82.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 84.4% | 56.9% | 90.5% | 9 |
| 1970s | 73.3% | 46.9% | 86.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 60.2% | 50.3% | 67.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 51.6% | 43.1% | 64.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 54.6% | 48.8% | 61.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 39.7% | 30.7% | 45.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 43.5% | 41.1% | 46.1% | 4 |
Countries ranked near United Arab Emirates
More agriculture & rural data for United Arab Emirates
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 6.43 % change on previous year (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0077 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 386.83 current US$ per person (2024)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 3.73 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1404 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 0.8% (2024)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 0.8% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.0% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.4% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of cereals allocated to human food in United Arab Emirates?
- Share of cereals allocated to human food in United Arab Emirates was 41.1% in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of cereals allocated to human food recorded in United Arab Emirates?
- The highest recorded value was 90.5% in 1963.
- What is the lowest share of cereals allocated to human food recorded in United Arab Emirates?
- The lowest recorded value was 30.7% in 2013.
- How does United Arab Emirates rank for share of cereals allocated to human food?
- United Arab Emirates ranks 140th out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of cereals allocated to human food rising or falling in United Arab Emirates?
- Over the last ten years it is up 33.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United Arab Emirates data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of cereals allocated to human food. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of cereals available for domestic use – after accounting for trade – that is allocated to direct human consumption, relative to the total used for human food, animal feed, and industrial purposes. This excludes cereals used for seed, processing, and losses.