Abu Dhabi has one car for every two people

Abu Dhabi Emirate had nearly 728,900 cars at the end of September, an average of a car for every two persons, one of the highest ratios in the world, traffic police data showed Saturday.

The vehicles are registered with the traffic police in the Capital, the oasis city of Al Ain and other parts of the emirate, which had an estimated population of around 1.6 million at the end of September.

“At the end of September, the total vehicles registered in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi stood at 728,000,” said Lt Colonel Suhail Al Kkhaili, Director of the Vehicle Licensing Division at the Abu Dhabi Traffic Police.

Quoted by local newspapers, he said demand for new driving licences has remained high, with 224,032 people applying in the first nine months of 2010 compared with 347,896 through 2009.
He said this had prompted plans by the Traffic Police to open new service centres through the emirate.

“The expansion in residential areas and growth in the population required an expansion in our services,” he said.

Abu Dhabi, the main oil producer in the UAE, is one the wealthiest cities in the world, with its per capita income exceeding Dh200,000 in 2009.

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