How dependent is the United Arab Emirates on Saudi Arabia?

A product has a dominant supplier when a single country sells more than 50% of what is bought of it; we flag it separately above 75%.

• Saudi Arabia sells 38.4% of what the world exports of warships and other vessels; next come Norway (7.6%), China (6.1%) and Indonesia (6%). The rest of the world exported 2.5 times what the United Arab Emirates buys from Saudi Arabia.
• Saudi Arabia sells 24.9% of what the world exports of tugboats; next come China (11.2%), Turkey (8.7%) and Thailand (8.2%). The rest of the world exported 3.6 times what the United Arab Emirates buys from Saudi Arabia.
• Saudi Arabia sells 12.9% of what the world exports of polyethylene; next come United States (19.4%), South Korea (6.7%) and Canada (5.4%). The rest of the world exported 112.8 times what the United Arab Emirates buys from Saudi Arabia.
• Saudi Arabia sells 12.5% of what the world exports of ethers and organic peroxides; next come United States (25.1%), China (17.9%) and Netherlands (7.4%). The rest of the world exported 35.9 times what the United Arab Emirates buys from Saudi Arabia.
• Saudi Arabia sells 3.8% of what the world exports of copper scrap; next come United States (14.6%), Germany (7%) and Japan (6.6%). The rest of the world exported 180.8 times what the United Arab Emirates buys from Saudi Arabia.
• Saudi Arabia sells 4.4% of what the world exports of yogurt and fermented milk; next come Germany (17.9%), France (12%) and Greece (7.8%). The rest of the world exported 63.8 times what the United Arab Emirates buys from Saudi Arabia.
• Saudi Arabia sells 2.1% of what the world exports of fresh milk and cream; next come Germany (13.8%), Netherlands (12.1%) and France (8%). The rest of the world exported 143.5 times what the United Arab Emirates buys from Saudi Arabia.
• Saudi Arabia sells 5.5% of what the world exports of self-propelled works trucks; next come Germany (16.8%), China (13.2%) and United States (12.7%). The rest of the world exported 30.3 times what the United Arab Emirates buys from Saudi Arabia.
• Saudi Arabia sells 0.77% of what the world exports of water-based paints and varnishes; next come Germany (17.7%), United States (14.2%) and Italy (6.5%). The rest of the world exported 163.1 times what the United Arab Emirates buys from Saudi Arabia.
• Saudi Arabia sells 3.1% of what the world exports of asphalt roofing and membranes; next come Canada (18.1%), United States (15.1%) and Italy (11.4%). The rest of the world exported 80.3 times what the United Arab Emirates buys from Saudi Arabia.

Exports from the rest of the world already have buyers; the figure shows scale, not availability.

The United Arab Emirates is Saudi Arabia’s 5th-largest customer, with 6.1% of its exports.

• Trade between the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia
• Who does the United Arab Emirates rely on?
• Who does Saudi Arabia rely on?
• Dependence of the United Arab Emirates on China
• Dependence of the United Arab Emirates on India
• Dependence of the United Arab Emirates on Brazil
• Dependence of the United Arab Emirates on Australia
• Dependence of the United Arab Emirates on Switzerland
• Dependence of the United Arab Emirates on the United States
• Dependence of the United Arab Emirates on Hong Kong
• Trade profile of the United Arab Emirates
• Trade profile of Saudi Arabia
• All countries

Sources and licenses

• CEPII BACI · Licence Ouverte Etalab 2.0
• Natural Earth · Public domain

Methodology

The data come from CEPII BACI (Etalab 2.0 licence), which reconciles what the exporting and the importing country report, in current USD, FOB. Data up to 2024.

Dependence is the share of a country’s imports (or exports) that each partner accounts for. It does not measure whether a product has a substitute or how much it would cost to change supplier.

The concentration index (HHI) adds up the square of each partner’s share, in percent: it runs from 0 to 10,000. Its equivalent is 10,000 ÷ HHI, the number of partners of the same size that would give that value.

Products are HS4 headings of the 1992 nomenclature (some combine different goods), with a floor of $1 million per product and country.

The EU is the 27 current members in every year; the United Kingdom is outside the EU throughout the series.

Re-exports: countries that act as redistribution hubs carry their notice and the figures are not corrected.