Guide to United Arab Emirates Introduction Background: The Trucial States of the Persian Gulf coast granted the UK control of their defense and foreign affairs in 19th century treaties. In 1971, six of these states - Abu Zaby, 'Ajman, Al Fujayrah, Ash Shariqah, Dubayy, and Umm al Qaywayn - merged to form the United Arab Emirates (UAE). They were joined in 1972 by Ra's al Khaymah. The UAE's per capita GDP is on par with those of leading West European nations. Its generosity with oil revenues and its moderate foreign policy stance have allowed the UAE to play a vital role in the affairs of the region.
Geography Location: Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, between Oman and Saudi Arabia
Geographic coordinates: 24 00 N, 54 00 E
Map references: Middle East
Area: total
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Maine
Land boundaries: total
Coastline: 1,318 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea
Climate: desert; cooler in eastern mountains
Terrain: flat, barren coastal plain merging into rolling sand dunes of vast desert wasteland; mountains in east
Elevation extremes: lowest point
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas
Land use: arable land
Irrigated land: 720 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: frequent sand and dust storms
Environment - current issues: lack of natural freshwater resources compensated by desalination plants; desertification; beach pollution from oil spills
Environment - international agreements: party to
Geography - note: strategic location along southern approaches to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil
People Population: 2,563,212 note
Age structure: 0-14 years
Median age: total
Population growth rate: 1.54% (2005 est.)
Birth rate: 18.78 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate: 4.26 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.84 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth
Infant mortality rate: total
Life expectancy at birth: total population
Total fertility rate: 2.94 children born/woman (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.18% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Nationality: noun
Ethnic groups: Emirati 19%, other Arab and Iranian 23%, South Asian 50%, other expatriates (includes Westerners and East Asians) 8% (1982) note
Religions: Muslim 96% (Shi'a 16%), Christian, Hindu, and other 4%
Languages: Arabic (official), Persian, English, Hindi, Urdu
Literacy: definition
Government Country name: conventional long form
Government type: federation with specified powers delegated to the UAE federal government and other powers reserved to member emirates
Capital: Abu Dhabi
Administrative divisions: 7 emirates (imarat, singular - imarah); Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi), 'Ajman, Al Fujayrah, Ash Shariqah (Sharjah), Dubayy (Dubai), Ra's al Khaymah, Umm al Qaywayn
Independence: 2 December 1971 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 2 December (1971)
Constitution: 2 December 1971 (made permanent in 1996)
Legal system: federal court system introduced in 1971; applies to all emirates except Dubayy (Dubai) and Ra's al Khaymah, which are not fully integrated into the federal system; all emirates have secular courts to adjudicate criminal, civil, and commercial matters and Islamic courts to review family and religious disputes
Suffrage: none
Executive branch: chief of state
Legislative branch: unicameral Federal National Council (FNC) or Majlis al-Ittihad al-Watani (40 seats; members appointed by the rulers of the constituent states to serve two-year terms) elections
Judicial branch: Union Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)
Political parties and leaders: none
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and black with a wider vertical red band on the hoist side
Economy Economy - overview: The UAE has an open economy with a high per capita income and a sizable annual trade surplus. Its wealth is based on oil and gas output (about 30% of GDP), and the fortunes of the economy fluctuate with the prices of those commodities. Since the discovery of oil in the UAE more than 30 years ago, the UAE has undergone a profound transformation from an impoverished region of small desert principalities to a modern state with a high standard of living. At present levels of production, oil and gas reserves should last for more than 100 years. The government has increased spending on job creation and infrastructure expansion and is opening up its utilities to greater private sector involvement. In April 2004, the UAE signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) with Washington and in November 2004 agreed to undertake negotiations toward a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $63.67 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 5.7% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $25,200 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture
Labor force: 2.36 million note
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 7%, industry 15%, services 78% (2000 est.)
Unemployment rate: 2.4% (2001)
Population below poverty line: NA
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.2% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): 20.8% of GDP (2004 est.)
Budget: revenues
Public debt: 17.6% of GDP (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products: dates, vegetables, watermelons; poultry, eggs, dairy products; fish
Industries: petroleum, fishing, aluminum, cement, fertilizers, commercial ship repair, petrochemicals, construction materials, some boat building, handicrafts, textiles
Industrial production growth rate: 4% (2000)
Electricity - production: 45.12 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel
Electricity - consumption: 36.51 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2004)
Oil - production: 2.335 million bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - consumption: 310,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - exports: 2.5 million bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - imports: 0 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - proved reserves: 97.8 billion bbl (2004 est.)
Natural gas - production: 44.4 billion cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: 33.7 billion cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - exports: 7.19 billion cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves: 6.06 trillion cu m (2004)
Current account balance: $6.3 billion (2004 est.)
Exports: $69.48 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities: crude oil 45%, natural gas, reexports, dried fish, dates
Exports - partners: Japan 24.9%, South Korea 9.9%, India 5.4%, Thailand 5.2% (2004)
Imports: $45.66 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food
Imports - partners: China 10%, India 9.8%, Japan 6.8%, Germany 6.5%, UK 6.2%, France 6.1%, US 6% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $18.64 billion (2004 est.)
Debt - external: $5.9 billion (2004 est.)
Economic aid - donor: since its founding in 1971, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development has given about $5.2 billion in aid to 56 countries (2004)
Currency (code): Emirati dirham (AED)
Currency code: AED
Exchange rates: Emirati dirhams per US dollar - 3.6725 (2004), 3.6725 (2003), 3.6725 (2002), 3.6725 (2001), 3.6725 (2000) note
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Telephones - main lines in use: 1,135,800 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 2,972,300 (2003)
Telephone system: general assessment
Radio broadcast stations: AM 13, FM 8, shortwave 2 (2004)
Radios: 820,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 15 (2004)
Televisions: 310,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .ae
Internet hosts: 56,283 (2004)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000)
Internet users: 1,110,200 (2003)
Transportation Highways: total
Pipelines: condensate 469 km; gas 2,655 km; liquid petroleum gas 300 km; oil 2,936 km; oil/gas/water 5 km (2004)
Ports and harbors: Al Fujayrah, Khawr Fakkan, Mina' Jabal 'Ali, Mina' Rashid, Mina' Saqr, Mina' Zayid, Sharjan
Merchant marine: total
Airports: 35 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total
Airports - with unpaved runways: total
Heliports: 2 (2004 est.)
Military Military branches: Army, Navy (includes Marines and Coast Guard), Air and Air Defense Force, paramilitary forces (includes Federal Police Force)
Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age (est.); no conscription (2001)
Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49
Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49
Manpower reaching military service age annually: males
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $1.6 billion (FY00)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 3.1% (FY00)
Transnational Issues Disputes - international: because the treaties have not been made public, the exact alignment of the boundary with Saudi Arabia is still unknown; boundary agreement was signed and ratified with Oman in 2003 for entire border, including Oman's Musandam Peninsula and Al Madhah enclaves, but contents of the agreement and maps showing the alignment have not been published; UAE engage in direct talks and solicit Arab League support to resolve disputes over Iran's occupation of Lesser and Greater Tunb Islands and Abu Musa Island
Illicit drugs: the UAE is a drug transshipment point for traffickers given its proximity to southwest Asian drug producing countries; the UAE's position as a major financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering; anti-money-laundering controls improving
Last updated: 20 October, 2005
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