Tap water in United Arab Emirates

Generally safe to drink

This reflects the CDC's travel health guidance for United Arab Emirates; no WHO coverage figure is published for this country. National figures describe a country, not the tap in front of you.

What the sources say

US CDC Travelers' Health

Advises travellers that tap water is generally safe to drink in United Arab Emirates.

Numbeo

65.36/100 on the water drinkability and accessibility index, which Numbeo reads as “High”. This one is crowdsourced from residents rather than measured.

Lonely Planet

The UAE's tap water is perfectly safe to drink. It is desalinated water so it does have a slight taste.

Safe nationally still means ask locally. Older buildings can carry lead or copper pipework, and a single street can differ from the network feeding it. If you are staying somewhere old, ask your host.

What bottled water costs you here

Drinking tap water instead of bottled would save one adult about 475$ a year in United Arab Emirates, and keep several hundred plastic bottles out of circulation.

Work out your own saving

Places in United Arab Emirates

Water quality is local. These places have their own readings.

Elsewhere in Asia