The average monthly household income of UAE residents is AED18,248.60, according to a new survey by the UAE Ministry of Economy.
The average household expenditure is AED11,241.20 a month, with 14.2 percent of its income spent on food and drink.
Meanwhile, nearly 40 percent of household income is spent on housing and utilities, the report revealed.
Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, the UAE’s Minister of Economy, said the results would aid the formulation of socio-economic policies and help the country meet the statistical requirements of international organisations, such as the World Bank.
“The results will help us to further enhance the lifestyle standards of residents in the country through judicious planning, especially in preparing consumer price indices and inflation rates in line with international standards,” Al Mansouri said.
The survey also showed that average national household income and expenditure are more than double that of non-national households.
The average monthly income for national households is AED36,438.10 and expenditure is AED22,989, while non-national household income is AED15,074.30 and expenditure is AED9645.40.
Rashed Al Suwaidi, assistant undersecretary for statistics and planning at the Ministry of Economy, said: “The average expenditure of nationals and non-nationals vary for different commodities with several factors influencing the decision.”