Map of United Arab Emirates

Flag of the United Arab Emirates

Facts about the United Arab Emirates

Geography

Time Zone:
GMT +4, EST +9

Location: Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Gulf, between Oman and Saudi Arabia

Geographic coordinates: 24 00 N, 54 00 E

Area:
total: 82,880 sq km
land: 82,880 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Land boundaries:
total: 867 km
border countries: Oman 410 km, Saudi Arabia 457 km

Coastline: 1,318 km

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: Arabian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Jabal Yibir 1,527 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas

Geography—note: strategic location along southern approaches to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil.

Government

Country name:
conventional long form: United Arab Emirates
local long form: Al Imarat al Arabiyah al Muttahidah
former: Trucial States
abbreviation: UAE

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), Dubai, Ash Shariqah (Sharjah) 'Ajman, , Umm al Qaywayn, Al Fujayrah, Ra's al Khaymah

Independence: 2 December 1971 (from UK)

National holiday: National Day, 2 December (1971)

Constitution: 2 December 1971 (made permanent in 1996)

Executive branch:
chief of state: President H.H. Sheik ZAYID bin Sultan Al Nuhayyan (since 2 December 1971), ruler of Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi) (since 6 August 1966) and Vice President H.H. Sheik MAKTUM bin Rashid al-Maktum (since 8 October 1990), ruler of Dubai

People

Population: 2,344,402 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 31% (male 368,844; female 353,183)
15-64 years: 67% (male 1,015,690; female 558,902)
65 years and over: 2% (male 32,935; female 14,848) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.78% (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: 2.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.82 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 2.22 male(s)/female
total population: 1.53 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 75.24 years
male: 73.83 years
female: 76.72 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.5 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Religions: Muslim 96% (Shi'a 16%), Christian, Hindu, and other 4%

Languages: Arabic (official), English (Second Language), Persian, Hindi, Urdu

Economy

Economy—overview: The UAE has an open economy with one of the world's highest per capita incomes and with a sizable annual trade surplus. Its wealth is based on oil and gas output (about 33% of GDP), and the fortunes of the economy fluctuate with the prices of those commodities. Since 1973, 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 over 100 years. The UAE Government is encouraging increased privatization within the economy. Industrial development has picked up in 1997-98, but lower world oil prices caused GDP to drop 5% in 1998.

GDP: purchasing power parity—$40 billion (1998 est.)

GDP—real growth rate: -5% (1998 est.)

GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$17,400 (1998 est.)

GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: 3%
industry: 52%
services: 45% (1996 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5% (1997 est.)

Labor force: 1.3 million (1997 est.)

Labor force—by occupation: services 60%, industry 32%, agriculture 8% (1996 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
revenues: $5.4 billion
expenditures: $5.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $350 million (1998 budget est.)

Industries: petroleum, fishing, petrochemicals, construction materials, some boat building, handicrafts, pearling

Industrial production growth rate: 0% (1997 est.)

Electricity—production: 18 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity—production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1996)

Electricity—consumption: 18 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity—exports: 0 kWh (1996)

Electricity—imports: 0 kWh (1996)

Agriculture—products: dates, vegetables, watermelons; poultry, eggs, dairy products; fish

Exports: $38 billion (f.o.b., 1997 est.)

Exports—commodities: crude oil 45%, natural gas, reexports, dried fish, dates

Exports—partners: Japan 36%, South Korea 9%, Singapore 5%, India 5%, Oman 3% (1997)

Imports: $29.7 billion (f.o.b., 1997 est.)

Imports—commodities: manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food

Imports—partners: US 9%, Japan 9%, UK 9%, Germany 6%, India 6% (1997)

Economic aid—recipient: $NA

Currency: 1 Emirian dirham (Dh) = 100 fils

Exchange rates: Emirian dirhams (Dh) per US$1—central bank mid-point rate: 3.6725 (January 1999), 3.6725 (1998); fixed rate: 3.6710 (1994-1997)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communication

International dialing code:
+971

Telephones: 3,000,000 (2000 est.)

Telephone system: modern system consisting of microwave radio relay and coaxial cable; key centers are Abu Dhabi Dubai and Sharjah.  The UAE leads the region in mobile communications infrastructure with a state-of-the-art  mobile communication systems (Terrestrial and Satellite based mobile communications systems)