Parliament
20 of 40 seats elected
IPU Parline records that 175,487 of 398,879 electoral college members voted, a turnout of 44.0 percent, up from 34.8 percent in 2019.
Country desk · updated 25 Oct
United Arab Emirates
The seat map is IPU Parline, Federal National Council, election of 7 October 2023. It shows 40 seats: Members elected by the electoral college 20, Members appointed by the rulers 20. A majority of 40 is 21. Seats are split by emirate: Abu Dhabi and Dubai 8 each, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah 6 each, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah 4 each, half elected and half appointed. The next election is due in 2027. There are no parties and no vote shares. The trend line is electoral college turnout from IPU Parline for 2015, 2019 and 2023, not a poll.
Key takeaways
- 1
Parliament. Members elected by the electoral college holds the most seats: 20 of 40 (50%). A majority needs 21.
- 2
Headlines. The tone is getting grimmer: 18% of the last 3 days' headlines read grim, 9% upbeat. Top topic: Economy (27%).
- 3
Government. Government barometer 58/100 (Builder). 0 of 2 moves on file read as smart, 0 as harmful.
Headline mood · 3 days
Line: mood · bars: stories
25 Oct · 3 stories · neutral0 upbeat · 3 neutral · 0 grim
What the headlines are about
- Other 36%
- Economy 27%
- Politics 9%
- Security 9%
- Climate 9%
- Society 9%
A simple word-list estimate from the daily wire headlines. Not a judgement.
Who holds the seats · Federal National Council
40 seats · 21 for a majority (line)
Members elected by the electoral college
20 seats · 50%
20 of 40 seats. IPU Parline records that an electoral college of 398,879 Emiratis elected 20 of the 40 members on 7 October 2023. 175,487 voted, a turnout of 44.0 percent. There are no political parties; all candidates ran as independents. The figure in the poll column is that turnout, not a share of support.
Map · mood compared
United Arab Emirates
Overall mood: 18% grim, 9% upbeat · today +0
What changed today
25 Oct
- 25 Oct: 3 stories (average 4); tone grimmer than usual.
New headlines
- UAE Nominates Diplomat Lana Nusseibeh for UN Secretary-General Amid Sudan Controversy
Sudanese refugees in Chad turned away flour sacks from a UAE delegation, demanding an end to alleged support for forces accused of genocide in Sudan.
UnverifiedTrending on X · 24 Oct
- UAE Closes Northern Beaches After Oil Spill from Damaged Tanker
Black oil slicks washed ashore on UAE beaches, forcing closures and drawing cleanup teams to protect coastlines and marine life.
The National · Trending on X · 24 Oct
- UFC 333: Petr Yan beats Merab Dvalishvili to retain title
Petr Yan settled his trilogy bout with Merab Dvalishvili with a unanimous victory at UFC 333 to retain the bantamweight title as Abu Dhabi witnesses a fight-of-the-year contender. The champion took his time to get going, constantly defending the relentless Georgian's takedown attempts through the first two rounds. A kick to the liver in Round 3 changed the momentum of the contest in the champion'…
The National · 24 Oct
Headlines and summaries come from the linked sources; the selection is automatic.
Go deeper
Parties, people, promises, money
40 seats, and Members elected by the electoral college holds 20.
The seat map is IPU Parline, Federal National Council, election of 7 October 2023. It shows 40 seats: Members elected by the electoral college 20, Members appointed by the rulers 20. A majority of 40 is 21. Seats are split by emirate: Abu Dhabi and Dubai 8 each, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah 6 each, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah 4 each, half elected and half appointed. The next election is due in 2027. There are no parties and no vote shares. The trend line is electoral college turnout from IPU Parline for 2015, 2019 and 2023, not a poll.
A score on this desk is an editorial average of six work topics, times ten, with the method written on the row.
The room
Federal National Council
40 seats · 20 elected by the electoral college · 20 appointed by the rulers · no parties
The deal
20 seats elected, 20 appointed, no parties
The Federal National Council has 40 seats. An electoral college of 398,879 Emiratis elected 20 in 2023; the rulers of the seven emirates appoint the other 20. There are no parties and no governing majority: the council advises, and the Federal Cabinet is appointed.
The mood
Election vs now
The left bar is the vote share. The right bar is seats divided by 40. They are different counts.
- Elected44.0%
- Appointed0.0%
The UAE has no parties and no opinion polls on party support, so this line is not a poll. It is turnout in the electoral college that elects 20 of the 40 members, as IPU Parline records it: 79,157 of 224,279 in 2015, 117,592 of 337,738 in 2019 and 175,487 of 398,879 in 2023.
The trend
From election night to now
Public pollster blend — not a forecast
The split
Seat share beside the vote share
The right bar is seats divided by 40. The left bar is the vote share. The electoral system means the two differ.
The mismatch
Seats they hold vs the poll
The seat bar is seats divided by 40. The other bar is electoral college turnout in 2023 as IPU Parline records it.
The rude gauge
Growth king or a fight with work
Who grows the pie, who picks a fight with work. Cabinet sits at 58 / 100. The number is an editorial reading, not an official index. Six topics are averaged and multiplied by ten: energy supply, hiring, keeping and investing money, building, hours in paid work, and paperwork. Ten means the public record makes that easier for work. Zero means it makes it harder. The band is a label for that average, not a court ruling.
Against the workBuilderGrowth king
Full causal chains live on every promise
This week
The pulse
Taxes
Corporate tax stays at 9 percent
PwC's UAE summary, reviewed on 9 September 2026, keeps the federal corporate tax at 9 percent above AED 375,000.
Politics 101
How this country actually works
What this chamber drawing is
40 seats. 21 to govern alone.
The seat map is IPU Parline, Federal National Council, election of 7 October 2023. It shows 40 seats: Members elected by the electoral college 20, Members appointed by the rulers 20. A majority of 40 is 21. Seats are split by emirate: Abu Dhabi and Dubai 8 each, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah 6 each, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah 4 each, half elected and half appointed. The next election is due in 2027. There are no parties and no vote shares. The trend line is electoral college turnout from IPU Parline for 2015, 2019 and 2023, not a poll.
Who holds the offices this desk names
Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President; Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister.
Office holders come from the CIA World Leaders list for the UAE, updated 25 June 2025. Party leaders are named from the press reports linked on each bio.
How foreigners are seen
Openness in United Arab Emirates
Published surveys only. Each figure shows its source and year.
Who's welcomed
Share of adults in United Arab Emirates with a favourable opinion of each country Pew asked about.
No data
Pew's 2025 Global Attitudes survey did not poll in United Arab Emirates, and no other survey of views of other countries is on this desk yet.
Openness score
Three separate measures, each in its own year. We do not blend them.
Gallup, 2016
MIPEX, 2019
What expats say
InterNations Expat Insider 2025: rank out of 46 destinations, 1 is best.
- Ease of settling in11 of 46
- Culture and welcome8 of 46
- Local friendliness11 of 46
- Finding friends14 of 46
In plain words
- Expats ranked United Arab Emirates 11 of 46 for ease of settling in (2025); its best sub-score was culture and welcome at 8.
- No published survey here asks people about other countries, so who's welcomed shows no data.
Sources and method
Pew asks adults for their opinion of a country. That is a view of the country, not of its people or of any visitor. We never estimate a pair that was not asked.
InterNations ranks come from expats living in the country (46 destinations). Gallup's Migrant Acceptance Index runs from 0 to 9. MIPEX scores integration law and policy from 0 to 100.
What it means for you
What it means for you
Only figures with a source, a date, and a link. Anything not listed here is not on file.
Taxes
The general rate is 5 percent, with some goods and services at 0 percent or exempt.
PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, United Arab Emirates, other taxes, 2026-09-09 Source
Business
The headline federal corporate tax rate is 9 percent on taxable income above AED 375,000.
PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, United Arab Emirates, taxes on corporate income, 2026-09-09 Source
Pay
The portal states that the UAE does not levy income tax on individuals, so the rate is 0 percent.
UAE Government portal (u.ae), other taxes, 2026-10-19 Source
Sources, licences and image credits
Data
- Wire (public RSS feeds): X, The National.
- The left bar is the vote share. The right bar is seats divided by 40. They are different counts.
- Editorial economic-competence gauge, not a court and not a Nobel. Six axes: energy, hiring, capital, building, hours in work, red tape. Scores are a judgement from public records of this term and the last — not a bribery charge, not a voting recommendation.
Survey sources
- United Arab Emirates — Gallup Migrant Acceptance Index 2016: Gallup. Neli Esipova, John Fleming and Julie Ray, “New Index Shows Least-, Most-Accepting Countries for Migrants”, Gallup, 23 August 2017. The full-country table lists United Arab Emirates at 5.79. The survey-methods note says the index was asked in 138 countries in 2016, so the year used here is 2016. Source. Gallup allows a contextual citation when the publication date and a link are given. The table and graphics are not reproduced.
- United Arab Emirates — MIPEX overall score 2019: MIPEX. Migrant Integration Policy Index, United Arab Emirates country page. The block headed 2019 prints “MIPEX Score (with Health): 29” and the label “Integration denied”. Source. The overall score is cited from the country page. The report is not reproduced.
Image credits
- Members elected by the electoral college mark — Nation Runner · Original geometric mark. Not an official party logo. Public domain. Source
- Members appointed by the rulers mark — Nation Runner · Original geometric mark. Not an official party logo. Public domain. Source
- Federal Cabinet (no FNC seat) mark — Nation Runner · Original geometric mark. Not an official party logo. Public domain. Source
- Flag of United Arab Emirates — Wikimedia Commons · Public domain Source
Questions the desk actually answers
FAQ
Questions the desk actually answers
- Is the United Arab Emirates desk live on Nation Runner?
- Yes. It draws IPU Parline, Federal National Council, election of 7 October 2023, IPU Parline's electoral college figures for 2015, 2019 and 2023, and the CIA World Leaders list for the UAE, updated 25 June 2025. It is an editorial dashboard, not an official record.
- Which culture figures does the United Arab Emirates desk show?
- Gallup’s Migrant Acceptance Index for United Arab Emirates in 2016 (5.79 out of 9) and the Migrant Integration Policy Index score of 29, with 2019 printed beside that score. No Pew row for the UAE is on the perceptions page, so none is added here.
- Does the money tab score political donations in United Arab Emirates?
- No. Zeros mean the access scale is not filled. A zero is not a finding that a party has no donors.
How we source this
Seats: IPU Parline, Federal National Council, election of 7 October 2023. Votes: IPU Parline's electoral college figures for 2015, 2019 and 2023. Ballot support: FNC election 2019 (turnout); FNC election 2023 (turnout). Offices: the CIA World Leaders list for the UAE, updated 25 June 2025. Culture: Gallup 2016 and the Migrant Integration Policy Index block headed 2019.