ore than 80 % of the population of the UAE are non-citizens. Virtually all of the country's citizens are Muslims; approximately 85 % are Sunni and the remaining 15 % are Shi'a. Foreigners are predominantly from South and Southeast Asia, although there are a substantial number from the Middle East, Europe, and North America. Although no official figures are available, local observers estimate that approximately 55 % of the foreign population is Muslim, 25 % is Hindu, 10 % is Christian, 5 % is Buddhist, and 5 % (most of whom reside in Dubai and Abu Dhabi) belongs to other religions, including Parsi, Bahá'ís, and Sikh.

Most of the citizen Sunni adhere to the Maliki legal tradition. Some Sunnis of the Wahhabi sect (followers of a strict interpretation of the Hanbali legal school) live in the Al Buraymi Oasis, and some who follow the Shafi'i legal school live along the Al Batinah coast.

Although varying from emirate to emirate, the degree of religious freedom afforded non-Muslims is greater in the UAE than in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. For example, non-Muslims are permitted to worship but not to proselytize. There are several large Christian churches and schools in the UAE, primarily in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.