New figures emerged today demonstrating growth of jiu-jitsu in the United Arab Emirates, a country pioneering the development of the martial art. 

An article published in the Arabic-language daily newspaper Al-Ittihad quoted figures from Palm Sports, the company responsible for administrating jiu-jitsu training in the country. 

It reported that there are 90,000 overall practitioners of jiu-jitsu in the UAE training at over 300 centers in the country under the supervision of more than 570 coaches. 

Jiu-jitsu is mandatory for all school children in the UAE, and the same report says there are 52,000 children training in 162 schools. 

The United Arab Emirates is a country with a population of 9.27 million, so a figure of 90,000 practitioners is 0.97% of the total populace. 

The original report (Arabic language) can be found here.