Health facilities have been expanded rapidly since independence. Modern hospitals have been built in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and other towns. In 1991, there were 1,526 doctors and 2,800 nurses. In 1991–1993, 95% of the population had access to health care services. In 1995, 95% of the population had access to safe water and 98% had adequate sanitation in 1994–1995. As of 1999, there were an estimated 1.8 physicians and 2.6 hospital beds per 1,000 people. In the same year total health care expenditure was estimated at 8.4 % of GDP.
Average life expectancy in 2000 was 75 years and the infant mortality rate was 7 per 1,000 live births. As of 2002, the crude birth rate and overall mortality rate were estimated at, respectively, 18.3 and 3.9 per 1,000 people. Children up to one year old were immunized in 1994 against tuberculosis, 98%; diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus, 90%; polio, 90%; and measles, 90%. As of 1999 the rates for DPT and measles were, respectively, 94% and 95%.
Typhoid fever and tuberculosis are rare; malaria remains a problem. Malaria incidence was 3,735 reported cases in 1993. The goiter prevalence was 40.4 per 100 school children in 1996. The HIV prevalence rate in 1997 was 0.2 per 100 adults. The next year, there were only eight cases of AIDS reported.
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