For the second year in a row, the UAE has been revealed as the number one country gaining talent from around the world. Our new talent migration global study, which you can read more about here, analyzed every new position added to member profiles between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2014, to identify the countries that have gained and lost the most talent.

The UAE topping the list for the second year in a row is a testament to the level of growth the country is experiencing. During the study period, the UAE gained 1.89 per cent as a percentage of its total workforce. Compare this to second-place Switzerland, with an inflow of 0.90 per cent, and Saudi Arabia’s inflow of 0.85 per cent, and it’s clear that the UAE is leaps and bounds ahead of even its closest competition.

What makes the country so appealing? To try and understand what draws people to the UAE, we have determined the origins and job functions of the professionals who migrated to join its workforce, as well as the sectors they joined.

• India, Pakistan, and neighboring countries are traditionally a strong source of talent for the UAE, and remain so. However, increasingly more professionals from the UK and US are choosing to migrate to the Emirates.
• The most common occupations of professionals moving into the UAE are salespeople, marketing specialists, project managers, corporate finance specialists, accountants, consultants, and mechanical engineers.
• Professional services, technology, financial services, and engineering firms gained the most talent. This falls in line with the most prominent areas of growth in the UAE – Smart initiatives are on the rise, the financial sector is booming, and construction is experiencing a high with the preparations for Expo 2020 and the strong economy.