Mirdif consists mainly of villa developments, or single privately held villas. It has become popular with expatriates since the 1990s. As Dubai has grown, the area has become more popular with more land being sold to large real-estate developers such as Dubai Properties, who are responsible for the most recent addition to Mirdif, a gated community called Shorooq Community. A project named Uptown Mirdif, developed by Union Properties, encompasses the east of Mirdif.

The population of the general Mirdif area is a complete mixture of all nationalities, UAE nationals, middle-eastern expatriates, along with Asian and European expatriates.