Equity risk premium of the United Arab Emirates
The equity risk premium of the United Arab Emirates is 3.86% (as of 28 Oct 2026).
- Mature market 3.22%
- United Arab Emirates 0.64%
The breakdown
| Part | Value | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Mature market premium | 3.2230% | Observed |
| Country default spread | 0.4200% | Published table |
| Volatility ratio | 1.5238 | Table premium divided by table spread |
| Country risk premium | 0.6400% | Published table |
| Total equity risk premium | 3.8630% | Our mature premium plus published table |
Observed means worked out from market or official data. Published table means taken from a public country risk table.
How each part was found
We do not work out a default spread for the United Arab Emirates ourselves. It and the country risk premium come from Aswath Damodaran's country risk table (NYU Stern), the January 2026 edition. The volatility ratio is that premium divided by that spread.
The total is our mature market premium plus the table's country premium.
The table changes only when its author publishes a new one. Its country premiums are measured from its own base, so totals for table countries can run slightly high.
Where the United Arab Emirates stands
The United Arab Emirates is joint 157th of 175 countries by equity risk premium, counted from the highest.
Among the 155 countries whose totals come from the published table, the United Arab Emirates is joint 144th.
The median for the 13 countries in the Middle East is 7.88%, and totals there run from 3.86% (Qatar) to 29.88% (Lebanon). The United Arab Emirates is 4.02 points below that median.
At 3.86%, that is 1.20 times the mature market premium of 3.22%.
The closest countries by total are Qatar (3.86%), South Korea (3.86%) and Finland (3.88%).
How it is calculated
Total premium = mature market premium + country premium.
For the United Arab Emirates the country premium is the published table's own figure, shown in the breakdown above.
Use it in a cost of equity calculation
Cost of equity = risk-free rate + beta x equity risk premium. With made-up inputs of a 4.00% risk-free rate and a beta of 1.2, a company earning in the United Arab Emirates has a cost of equity of 4.00% + 1.2 x 3.86% = 8.63%.
The figures are in US dollar terms. For another currency, add the inflation difference between the two currencies.
Get it by API or MCP
GET /v1/economics/ARE/equity-risk-premium
{ "country": "ARE", "as_of": "2026-10-28",
"country_risk_premium": "0.6400", "total_erp": "3.8630",
"basis": { "total_erp": "table", ... } }
MCP: economics_get_equity_risk_premium { "country": "ARE" }Latest figure, history and every country, free with an API key.
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Common questions
What is the equity risk premium of the United Arab Emirates?
The equity risk premium of the United Arab Emirates is 3.86% (as of 28 Oct 2026), the extra return investors expect from shares over a risk-free government bond.
How is the country risk premium of the United Arab Emirates worked out?
It is taken from Aswath Damodaran's country risk table (NYU Stern), which we cite and link on this page. The country premium is 0.64% and the total is 3.86%.
Which equity risk premium should I use for the United Arab Emirates?
For a company whose cash flows are mostly earned in the United Arab Emirates, use 3.86%. For one earning in several countries, weight each country's premium by where its cash flows come from.
How often is it updated?
Every month. Each figure carries its date, and earlier dates stay in the history endpoint.