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.

Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, between Oman and Saudi Arabia

24 00 N, 54 00 E

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

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

1,318 km

territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

desert; cooler in eastern mountains

flat, barren coastal plain merging into rolling sand dunes of vast desert wasteland; mountains in east

lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Jabal Yibir 1,527 m

petroleum, natural gas

arable land: 0.77%
permanent crops: 2.27%
other: 96.96% (2005)

760 sq km (2003)

frequent sand and dust storms

lack of natural freshwater resources compensated by desalination plants; desertification; beach pollution from oil spills

strategic location along southern approaches to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil

2,602,713 (July 2006 est.)

0-14 years: 24.9% (male 331,012/female 317,643)
15-64 years: 71.2% (male 1,125,286/female 726,689)
65 years and over: 3.9% (male 74,700/female 27,383) (2006 est.)

total: 28.1 years
male: 34.8 years
female: 23.3 years (2006 est.)

1.52% (2006 est.)

18.96 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

4.4 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

0.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.55 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 2.73 male(s)/female
total population: 1.43 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

total: 14.09 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 16.57 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 11.48 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

total population: 75.44 years
male: 72.92 years
female: 78.08 years (2006 est.)

2.88 children born/woman (2006 est.)

0.18% (2001 est.)

noun: Emirati(s)
adjective: Emirati

Emirati 19%, other Arab and Iranian 23%, South Asian 50%, other expatriates (includes Westerners and East Asians) 8% (1982)
note: less than 20% are UAE citizens (1982)

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

Arabic (official), Persian, English, Hindi, Urdu

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 77.9%
male: 76.1%
female: 81.7% (2003 est.)

conventional long form: United Arab Emirates
conventional short form: none
local long form: Al Imarat al Arabiyah al Muttahidah
local short form: none
former: Trucial Oman, Trucial States
abbreviation: UAE

federation with specified powers delegated to the UAE federal government and other powers reserved to member emirates

Abu Dhabi

7 emirates (imarat, singular - imarah); Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi), 'Ajman, Al Fujayrah, Ash Shariqah (Sharjah), Dubayy (Dubai), Ra's al Khaymah, Umm al Qaywayn (Quwayn)

2 December 1971 (from UK)

Independence Day, 2 December (1971)

2 December 1971; made permanent in 1996

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 judicial system; all emirates have secular courts to adjudicate criminal, civil, and commercial matters and Islamic courts to review family and religious disputes

none

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: President KHALIFA in December 2005 announced that indirect elections would be held in early 2006 for half of the seats in the FNC; the other half would be filled by appointment
note: reviews legislation, but cannot change or veto

Union Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)

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. Higher oil revenue, strong liquidity, and cheap credit in 2005 led to a surge in asset prices (shares and real estate) and consumer inflation. Any sharp correction to the UAE's equity markets could damage investor and consumer sentiment and affect bank asset quality. 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.

$74.67 billion (2005 est.)

$101.6 billion (2005 est.)

6.7% (2005 est.)

$29,100 (2005 est.)

agriculture: 4%
industry: 58.5%
services: 37.5% (2002 est.)

2.8 million
note: 73.9% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (2005 est.)

agriculture: 7%
industry: 15%
services: 78% (2000 est.)

2.4% (2001)

4.5% (2005 est.)

20.7% of GDP (2005 est.)

revenues: $34.93 billion
expenditures: $29.41 billion; including capital expenditures of $3.4 billion (2005 est.)

17.5% of GDP (2005 est.)

dates, vegetables, watermelons; poultry, eggs, dairy products; fish

petroleum and petrochemicals; fishing, aluminum, cement, fertilizers, commercial ship repair, construction materials, some boat building, handicrafts, textiles

4% (2000)

45.12 billion kWh (2004)

38.32 billion kWh (2002)

2.396 million bbl/day (2005 est.)

310,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

2.5 million bbl/day (2004 est.)

97.8 billion bbl (2005 est.)

44.79 billion cu m (2003 est.)

37.88 billion cu m (2003 est.)

7.19 billion cu m (2003 est.)

6.006 trillion cu m (2005)

$25.66 billion (2005 est.)

$103.1 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

crude oil 45%, natural gas, reexports, dried fish, dates

Japan 24.9%, South Korea 9.9%, India 5.4%, Thailand 5% (2004)

$60.15 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food

China 9.9%, India 9.8%, Japan 6.8%, Germany 6.5%, UK 6.2%, France 6.1%, US 6% (2004)

$23.53 billion (2005 est.)

$30.21 billion (2005 est.)

since its founding in 1971, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development has given about $5.2 billion in aid to 56 countries (2004)

Emirati dirham (AED)

calendar year

1,187,700 (2004)

3,683,100 (2004)

general assessment: modern fiber-optic integrated services; digital network with rapidly growing use of mobile cellular telephones; key centers are Abu Dhabi and Dubai
domestic: microwave radio relay, fiber optic and coaxial cable
international: country code - 971; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; submarine cables to Qatar, Bahrain, India, and Pakistan; tropospheric scatter to Bahrain; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia

AM 13, FM 8, shortwave 2 (2004)

15 (2004)

.ae

118,495 (2005)

1,384,800 (2005)

35 (2005)

total: 22
over 3,047 m: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 3 (2005)

total: 13
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 4 (2005)

2 (2005)

condensate 469 km; gas 2,655 km; liquid petroleum gas 300 km; oil 2,936 km; oil/gas/water 5 km (2004)

total: 1,088 km
paved: 1,088 km (including 253 km of expressways) (1999)

total: 56 ships (1000 GRT or over) 621,292 GRT/833,840 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 4, cargo 11, chemical tanker 5, container 6, liquefied gas 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 19, roll on/roll off 6, specialized tanker 1
foreign-owned: 10 (Greece 2, Kuwait 8)
registered in other countries: 234 (The Bahamas 14, Barbados 1, Belize 3, Cambodia 2, Cyprus 11, Dominica 3, Georgia 1, Hong Kong 1, India 7, Iran 1, Jamaica 3, Jordan 12, North Korea 7, Liberia 15, Libya 1, Malta 5, Marshall Islands 2, Mexico 1, Mongolia 3, Panama 89, Philippines 2, Qatar 1, Saint Kitts and Nevis 20, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 12, Saudi Arabia 1, Sierra Leone 1, Singapore 7, Sri Lanka 2, unknown 6) (2005)

Al Fujayrah, Khawr Fakkan, Mina' Jabal 'Ali, Mina' Rashid, Mina' Saqr, Mina' Zayid, Sharjan

Army, Navy (includes Marines and Coast Guard), Air and Air Defense Force, paramilitary forces (includes Federal Police Force)

the United Arab Emirate 2006 Yearbook published a map and text rescinding the 1974 boundary with Saudi Arabia, as stipulated in a treaty filed with the UN in 1993, on the grounds that the agreement was not formally ratified; 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; Iran and UAE dispute Tunb Islands and Abu Musa Island, which Iran occupies

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, but informal banking remains unregulated