United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates is one of the 193 UN member states, in Western Asia. UN Tourism counted 25.3 million international arrivals there in 2019, more visited than 89% of the 199 places with figures, so its stamp in Globestamp is printed in Metallic.
- International arrivals
- 25.3 millionin 2019, UN Tourism
- Rank by visitors
- 23rd of 199most visited first
- Stamp finish
- Metallicrarer than 11%
- Area
- 71,459 km² (27,590 sq mi)
- Population
- 9.8 millionNatural Earth estimate
- Emirates
- 9in Globestamp’s regions layer
- Airports
- 8with scheduled flights
- World Heritage Sites
- 3on Globestamp’s list
Does the United Arab Emirates count as a country?
Yes. The United Arab Emirates is one of the 193 UN member states, so every common list counts it: the UN’s 193, Globestamp’s 250 and the Travelers’ Century Club’s 330.
| List | Counts the United Arab Emirates? |
|---|---|
| UN member states (193) | Yes, a member |
| Globestamp’s countries and territories (250) | Yes |
| Travelers’ Century Club (330) | Yes: Dubai, Ajman, Abu Dhabi, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah, Umm Al Qaiwain |
| European Union | No |
| Schengen area | No |
The United Arab Emirates stamp
Every country in Globestamp has its own stamp, drawn after a real entry stamp. Its finish shows how few travelers get there. The United Arab Emirates’s is Metallic: ink with mica in it, the finish for places with 15 to 40 million visitors a year. With 25.3 million international arrivals in 2019, the United Arab Emirates is more visited than 89% of the 199 places with figures. See every stamp on the stamp wall, or the rarest on the least-visited countries.
What counts as a visit to the United Arab Emirates
The common rule among travelers is that you set foot there: an airport layover usually doesn’t count, and a port where you went ashore does. Globestamp counts the United Arab Emirates when one of your photos was taken on its ground, or just off its coast; a photo taken from a plane never counts. Photos only at an airport make a transit stamp in lighter ink, counted only if you count layovers. Read more in how to count the countries you’ve visited.
Places in the United Arab Emirates you can collect
Under the country itself, Globestamp keeps layers of places on your globe, and a photo taken at one ticks it. These are the ones it knows in the United Arab Emirates, from 3 World Heritage Sites.
World Heritage Sites 3
Jabal Al Fayah (2025) · Wadi Wurayah (2026) · Cultural Sites of Al Ain (Hafit, Hili, Bidaa Bint Saud and Oases Areas) (2011). On the bucket list →
Famous landmarks 3
Burj Khalifa · Burj al-Arab · Sheikh Zayed Mosque. On the bucket list →
Ski resorts 1
Ski Dubai. On the bucket list →
Theme parks 14
Ferrari World Abu Dhabi · Dubailand · Wild Wadi Water Park · Legoland Dubai · Universal Studios Dubailand · Disneyland Abu Dhabi and 8 more. On the bucket list →
Zoos and aquariums 7
Al Ain Zoo · Dubai Zoo · Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo · Dubai Dolphinarium and 3 more. On the bucket list →
Science museums and planetariums 2
Sharjah Center for Astronomy and Space Sciences · Sharjah Science Museum. On the bucket list →
Largest cities
| City | People (urban area) |
|---|---|
| Dubai | 1,379,000 |
| Sharjah | 1,103,027 |
| Abu Dhabi | 603,492 |
| Al Ayn | 408,733 |
| Ras al Khaymah | 160,849 |
| Al Fujayrah | 94,163 |
| Jabal Ali | 80,000 |
Airports
The United Arab Emirates has 8 airports with scheduled flights, 7 of them large. Each is a dot on Globestamp’s airports layer, and every flight you log adds to how far you’ve flown (try the flight distance calculator).
9 emirates to fill in
Globestamp goes deeper than countries: its regions layer splits the United Arab Emirates into 9 emirates (Natural Earth’s first-level divisions), and each one fills in when a photo was taken there.
All 9
Emirate of Abu Dhabi · Emirate of Ajman · Emirate of Dubai · Emirate of Fujairah · Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah · Emirate of Sharjah · Emirate of Umm Al Quwain · Fujairah · Sayh Mudayrah
Questions people ask
Is the United Arab Emirates a country?
Yes. The United Arab Emirates is one of the 193 UN member states, so every common list counts it: the UN’s 193, Globestamp’s 250 and the Travelers’ Century Club’s 330.
How many tourists visit the United Arab Emirates a year?
UN Tourism (via the World Bank) counted 25,282,000 international arrivals in the United Arab Emirates in 2019, the 23rd most of the 199 places with figures. Countries count arrivals in different ways (some include day-trippers and cruise passengers), so treat it as a rough rank rather than an exact number of tourists.
How rare is a United Arab Emirates stamp in Globestamp?
It is printed in Metallic, the finish for places with 15 to 40 million visitors a year, rarer than 11% of the places with figures. The fewer travelers a place receives, the rarer its finish, from plain Ink to Mythic.
Does the United Arab Emirates count for the Travelers’ Century Club?
Yes, and more than once: the Travelers’ Century Club lists Dubai, and counts Ajman, Abu Dhabi, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah, Umm Al Qaiwain as separate destinations. The club’s list has 330 destinations.
Places as rare as the United Arab Emirates
Near the United Arab Emirates
Sources
- Countries, cities and regions: Natural Earth 10m admin-0 (public domain); lists as of October 2026.
- Visitors: UN Tourism via the World Bank, ST.INT.ARVL (International tourism, number of arrivals), CC BY 4.0, data updated 2026-10-08. Each country's latest year before 2020. Countries count visitors differently; use as a rough rank.
- World Heritage Sites, parks, landmarks and the bucket-list places: Wikidata (CC0), as compiled in the app, October 2026.
- Airports: OurAirports (public domain), airports with scheduled service.
- Travelers’ Century Club: the club’s list of 330 destinations, as of January 2022.