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The population of the UAE and its partners in the six-nation Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) gained more than 1.7 million in two years to peak at around 38.5 million at the end of 2008, according to the United Nations.

Despite the large increase, the combined per capita income of the six members surged by nearly $7,000 (Dh25,711) in 2008 because of high growth in their economies due to a sharp rise in oil prices, the UN’s Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (WSCWA) said in a study.

From 36.807 million at the end of 2006, the population of the 28-year-old Gulf economic, defence and political alliance climbed to a record high of 38.564 millio at the end of 2008, an increase of 1.757 million or 4.77 per cent, said ESCWA, which groups the GCC and other countries in the Middle East.

The GCC population at the end of 2008 included 21,747 males and 16,817 females and the 24-65 age group accounted for the larger part.

A breakdown showed Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, remained the largest populated GCC nation, with its population rising by 4.8 per cent from 25.194 million at the end of 2006 to 26.424 million at the end of 2008.

The UAE had the second largest population of 4.865 million at the end of 2008, compared with 4.659 million at the end of 2006, a growth of 4.4 per cent, according to the Beirut-based ESCWA.

Kuwait’s population, the third largest, recorded the highest growth of 5.2 per cent to 2.910 million from 2.765 million during that period.

Oman’s population grew by 4.6 per cent to 2.732 million from 2.612 million while that of Qatar increased by 3.3 per cent to 868,000 from 840,000. Bahrain, the smallest GCC member, recorded a growth in its population by around 3.6 per cent to 765,000 from 738,000.

The report gave no figures on the GCC’s GDP per capita income but according to independent estimates, it stood at around $26,900 in 2008 compared with nearly $20,000 in 2006.

The ratio was based on GDP figures provided this week by the Saudi American Bank (Samba), which put the GCC’s combined gross domestic product at $1,037 billion in 2008 compared with nearly $736bn in 2006.

The surge in the GDP by around 40 per cent was a result of a sharp increase in the group’s oil export earnings, which climbed to their highest level of more than $500bn last year from about $313bn in 2006. A breakdown for 2008 showed Qatar remained by far the wealthiest Arab nation in terms of GDP per capita, which stood at around $104,650.

The UAE was second to Qatar, with a per capita of nearly $55,960. The per capita stood at about $46.900 in Kuwait, $26,300 in Bahrain, $18,680 in Oman and around $17,650 in Saudi Arabia.