United Arab Emirates | General Information

United Arab Emirates is located in Middle East. Surrounded by Oman and Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates has borders with both the Persian Golf and Gulf of Oman. With a total of 83.600 sq km, it is ranked as the 115 country in the world according to its surface.

The name of United Arab Emirates came from the ancient Egyptians who were referring to Arabia as the As Rabi region. The word emirates derives from amir, known as commander, lord or prince.

UAE has a desert climate, with relatively cool temperatures in the mountains. The majority of land is used for agriculture.

In terms of population, there are three large emirates: Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, hosting approximately 85% of the population. Overall, United Arab Emirates has a population of 9,856,612, according to studies from July 2021. As a matter of fact, immigrants represent 87.9% of the population.

The official language is Arabic. People in UAE also speak English, Urdu, Hindi and Persian. The official religion is Muslim. Even so, 9% of the population is Christian and the rest have different religions such as Buddhist, Hindu, or Jews. According to studies made in 2020, 87% of the population represents urban population.

In the 19th century, the Trucial States of the Persian Gulf coast enabled UK control over the foreign affairs. In 1971, six of the Persian Gulf states (Abu Dhabi, 'Ajman, Al Fujayrah, Ash Shariqah, Dubayy, and Umm al Qaywayn) decide to form United Arab Emirates. They became a state in 1972. UAE’s economy has been constantly driven by petroleum, oil and global finances.

In 2011 took place the well-known Arab Spring. However, the United Arab Emirates didn’t suffer from the crisis that affected the majority of Middle East countries. The reason behind this is the government’s multi-year, the massive infrastructure investment plan ($1.6 billion) dedicated to the less prosperous Northern emirates and lastly the pursuit of advocates of political reform.

During recent years, United Arab Emirates had an essential role in the growth of regional affairs. One remarkable thing UAE did was to donate billions of dollars as economic aid for stabilizing Egypt.

United Arab Emirates is a federation of monarchies. The capital is Abu Dhabi. The ethimology of Abu Dhabi may sound amuzing, because "abu" means father and "dhabi" means gazelle. The name of Abu Dhabi derives from the abudances of gazelles that used to live in the area where Abu Dhabi was formed.

United Arab Emirates gained its independence from the United Kingdom on 2 December 1972. Currently, the country is divided in seven emirates: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, 'Ajman, Al Fujayrah, Ash Shariqah (Sharjah), Ra's al Khaymah and Umm al Qaywayn.

UAE Constitution was officially adopted in 1996. Our legal system is a combination of Islamic (sharia) system and civil law. Khalifa bin Zayid Al-Nuhayyan is the current President since 2004 and Muhammad bin Rashid Al-Maktum is the Vice President and Prime Minister since 2006.

United Arab Emirates flag includes all four Pan-Arab colors (green, white, black, red). They symbolize represent fertility (green), neutrality (white), petroleum resources (black), and unity (red). The National symbol is the golden falcon.

The most important thing you should know that UAE has an open economy with a high per capita income. Over 60 years ago, United Arab Emirates discovered that their soil is full of oil. Since this discovery, the country transformed itself from a desert region to a modern state with a high living standard. From that moment, the government emphasizes the increase of jobs and infrastructure expansion. Moreover, the country has free trade zones which offer 100% foreign ownership and zero taxes. In this way, they are attracting foreign investors.

In the following years United Arab Emirates will focus on economic diversification, industry development and creating more job opportunities. Also, UAE is not only as a global trade, but also as a tourism hub. Moreover, they put increase the employment rate in the private sectors and improve the education.

All in all, United Arab Emirates is a country that will constantly develop both economically and politically. UAE is one of the Gulf countries that has a very modern lifestyle and cities like Dubai are known for their amazing infrastructure.