"text":"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 Dhabi, '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. For more than three decades, oil and global finance drove the UAE's economy. In 2008-09, the confluence of falling oil prices, collapsing real estate prices, and the international banking crisis hit the UAE especially hard. The UAE did not experience the \"Arab Spring\" unrest seen elsewhere in the Middle East in 2010-11, partly because of the government's multi-year, $1.6-billion infrastructure investment plan for the poorer northern emirates, and its aggressive pursuit of advocates of political reform. The UAE in recent years has played a growing role in regional affairs. In addition to donating billions of dollars in economic aid to help stabilize Egypt, the UAE was one of the first countries to join the Defeat-ISIS coalition, and to participate as a key partner in a Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen. On 15 September 2020, the UAE and Bahrain signed a peace agreement (the Abraham Accords) with Israel – brokered by the US – in Washington DC. The UAE and Bahrain thus became the third and fourth Middle Eastern countries, along with Egypt and Jordan, to recognize Israel."
"text":"population is heavily concentrated to the northeast on the Musandam Peninsula; the three largest emirates - Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah - are home to nearly 85% of the population"
},
"Natural hazards":{
"text":"frequent sand and dust storms"
},
"Environment - current issues":{
"text":"air pollution; rapid population growth and high energy demand contribute to water scarcity; lack of natural freshwater resources compensated by desalination plants; land degradation and desertification; waste generation, beach pollution from oil spills"
"note":"<p><strong>note:</strong> the UN estimated the country's total population was 9,771,000 as of mid-year 2019; immigrants make up 87.9% of the total population, according to UN data (2019)</p>"
"text":"Emirati 11.6%, South Asian 59.4% (includes Indian 38.2%, Bangladeshi 9.5%, Pakistani 9.4%, other 2.3%), Egyptian 10.2%, Filipino 6.1%, other 12.8% (2015 est.)"
"text":"Muslim (official) 76%, Christian 9%, other (primarily Hindu and Buddhist, less than 5% of the population consists of Parsi, Baha'i, Druze, Sikh, Ahmadi, Ismaili, Dawoodi Bohra Muslim, and Jewish) 15% (2005 est.)",
"note":"<p><strong>note:</strong> data represent the total population; as of 2019, immigrants make up about 87.9% of the total population, according to UN data</p>"
"text":"population is heavily concentrated to the northeast on the Musandam Peninsula; the three largest emirates - Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah - are home to nearly 85% of the population"
},
"Urbanization":{
"urban population":{
"text":"87% of total population (2020)"
},
"rate of urbanization":{
"text":"1.71% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)"
}
},
"Major urban areas - population":{
"text":"2.878 million Dubai, 1.685 million Sharjah, 1.483 million ABU DHABI (capital) (2020)"
"text":"self-descriptive country name; the name \"Arabia\" can be traced back many centuries B.C., the ancient Egyptians referred to the region as \"Ar Rabi\"; \"emirates\" derives from \"amir\" the Arabic word for \"commander,\" \"lord,\" or \"prince\""
}
},
"Government type":{
"text":"federation of monarchies"
},
"Capital":{
"name":{
"text":"Abu Dhabi"
},
"geographic coordinates":{
"text":"24 28 N, 54 22 E"
},
"time difference":{
"text":"UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)"
"note":"<br><br><strong>etymology:</strong> in Arabic, \"abu\" means \"father\" and \"dhabi\" refers to \"gazelle\"; the name may derive from an abundance of gazelles that used to live in the area, as well as a folk tale involving the \"Father of the Gazelle,\" Shakhbut bin Dhiyab al Nahyan, whose hunting party tracked a gazelle to a spring on the island where Abu Dhabi was founded"
"text":"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":{
"text":"2 December 1971 (from the UK)"
},
"National holiday":{
"text":"Independence Day (National Day), 2 December (1971)"
},
"Constitution":{
"history":{
"text":"previous 1971 (provisional); latest drafted in 1979, became permanent May 1996"
},
"amendments":{
"text":"proposed by the Supreme Council and submitted to the Federal National Council; passage requires at least a two-thirds majority vote of Federal National Council members present and approval of the Supreme Council president; amended 2009"
}
},
"Legal system":{
"text":"mixed legal system of Islamic (sharia) law and civil law"
},
"International law organization participation":{
"text":"has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt"
},
"Citizenship":{
"citizenship by birth":{
"text":"no"
},
"citizenship by descent only":{
"text":"the father must be a citizen of the United Arab Emirates; if the father is unknown, the mother must be a citizen"
},
"dual citizenship recognized":{
"text":"no"
},
"residency requirement for naturalization":{
"text":"30 years"
}
},
"Suffrage":{
"text":"limited; note - rulers of the seven emirates each select a proportion of voters for the Federal National Council (FNC) that together account for about 12 percent of Emirati citizens"
"text":"President KHALIFA bin Zayid Al-Nuhayyan (since 2 November 2004), ruler of Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi) (since 4 November 2004); Vice President and Prime Minister MUHAMMAD BIN RASHID Al-Maktum (since 5 January 2006)"
"text":"Prime Minister Vice President MUHAMMAD BIN RASHID Al-Maktum (since 5 January 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers SAIF bin Zayid Al-Nuhayyan, MANSUR bin Zayid Al-Nuhayyan (both since 11 May 2009)"
},
"cabinet":{
"text":"Council of Ministers announced by the prime minister and approved by the president"
},
"elections/appointments":{
"text":"president and vice president indirectly elected by the Federal Supreme Council - composed of the rulers of the 7 emirates - for a 5-year term (no term limits); election last held 3 November 2009 (next election NA); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president"
},
"election results":{
"text":"KHALIFA bin Zayid Al-Nuhayyan reelected president; FSC vote NA"
"note":"<p><strong>note:</strong> there is also a Federal Supreme Council (FSC) composed of the 7 emirate rulers; the FSC is the highest constitutional authority in the UAE; establishes general policies and sanctions federal legislation; meets 4 times a year; Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi) and Dubayy (Dubai) rulers have effective veto power</p>"
"text":"unicameral Federal National Council (FNC) or Majlis al-Ittihad al-Watani (40 seats; 20 members indirectly elected using single non-transferable vote by an electoral college whose members are selected by each emirate ruler proportional to its FNC membership, and 20 members appointed by the rulers of the 7 constituent states; members serve 4-year terms)"
},
"elections":{
"text":"last held for indirectly elected members on 5 October 2019 (next to be held in October 2023)"
},
"election results":{
"text":"all candidates ran as independents; seats by emirate - Abu Dhabi 4, Dubai 4, Sharjah 3, Ras al-Khaimah 3, Ajman 2, Fujairah 2, Umm al-Quwain 2; composition (preliminary) - 13 men, 7 women, percent of elected women 35%; note - to attain overall FNC gender parity, 13 women and 7 men will be appointed; overall FNC percent of women 50%"
}
},
"Judicial branch":{
"highest courts":{
"text":"Federal Supreme Court (consists of the court president and 4 judges; jurisdiction limited to federal cases)"
},
"judge selection and term of office":{
"text":"judges appointed by the federal president following approval by the Federal Supreme Council, the highest executive and legislative authority consisting of the 7 emirate rulers; judges serve until retirement age or the expiry of their appointment terms"
"text":"Federal Court of Cassation (determines the constitutionality of laws promulgated at the federal and emirate level; federal level courts of first instance and appeals courts); the emirates of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Ra's al Khaymah have parallel court systems; the other 4 emirates have incorporated their courts into the federal system; note - the Abu Dhabi Global Market Courts and the Dubai International Financial Center Courts, the country’s two largest financial free zones, both adjudicate civil and commercial disputes."
"text":"three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and black with a wider vertical red band on the hoist side; the flag incorporates all four Pan-Arab colors, which in this case represent fertility (green), neutrality (white), petroleum resources (black), and unity (red); red was the traditional color incorporated into all flags of the emirates before their unification"
},
"National symbol(s)":{
"text":"golden falcon; national colors: green, white, black, red"
},
"National anthem":{
"name":{
"text":"\"Nashid al-watani al-imarati\" (National Anthem of the UAE)"
},
"lyrics/music":{
"text":"AREF Al Sheikh Abdullah Al Hassan/Mohamad Abdel WAHAB"
"text":"<p>The UAE has an open economy with a high per capita income and a sizable annual trade surplus. Successful efforts at economic diversification have reduced the portion of GDP from the oil and gas sector to 30%.</p><p></p><p>Since the discovery of oil in the UAE nearly 60 years ago, the country has undergone a profound transformation from an impoverished region of small desert principalities to a modern state with a high standard of living. The government has increased spending on job creation and infrastructure expansion and is opening up utilities to greater private sector involvement. The country's free trade zones - offering 100% foreign ownership and zero taxes - are helping to attract foreign investors.</p><p></p><p>The global financial crisis of 2008-09, tight international credit, and deflated asset prices constricted the economy in 2009. UAE authorities tried to blunt the crisis by increasing spending and boosting liquidity in the banking sector. The crisis hit Dubai hardest, as it was heavily exposed to depressed real estate prices. Dubai lacked sufficient cash to meet its debt obligations, prompting global concern about its solvency and ultimately a $20 billion bailout from the UAE Central Bank and Abu Dhabi Government that was refinanced in March 2014.</p><p></p><p>The UAE’s dependence on oil is a significant long-term challenge, although the UAE is one of the most diversified countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council. Low oil prices have prompted the UAE to cut expenditures, including on some social programs, but the UAE has sufficient assets in its sovereign investment funds to cover its deficits. The government reduced fuel subsidies in August 2015, and introduced excise taxes (50% on sweetened carbonated beverages and 100% on energy drinks and tobacco) in October 2017. A five-percent value-added tax was introduced in January 2018. The UAE's strategic plan for the next few years focuses on economic diversification, promoting the UAE as a global trade and tourism hub, developing industry, and creating more job opportunities for nationals through improved education and increased private sector employment.</p>"
"text":"modern fiber-optic integrated services; digital network with rapidly growing use of mobile-cellular telephones; key centers are Abu Dhabi and Dubai; 5G capabilities launched in 2019; two operators are competitive, but majority owned by the government; HSPA (high speed packet access) + LTE networks cover most of the population; low cost smart phones readily available; mobile penetration levels among the world's highest; well-established fiber-broadband network provides future growth (2020)"
"note":"<br><br><strong>note:</strong> the COVID-19 outbreak is negatively impacting telecommunications production and supply chains globally; consumer spending on telecom devices and services has also slowed due to the pandemic's effect on economies worldwide; overall progress towards improvements in all facets of the telecom industry - mobile, fixed-line, broadband, submarine cable and satellite - has moderated"
"text":"except for the many organizations now operating in media free zones in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, most TV and radio stations remain government-owned; widespread use of satellite dishes provides access to pan-Arab and other international broadcasts; restrictions since June 2017 on some satellite channels and websites originating from or otherwise linked to Qatar (2018)"
"Military and security service personnel strengths":{
"text":"the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces have approximately 63,000 total active personnel (44,000 Land Forces; 2,500 Navy; 4,500; 12,000 Presidential Guard) (2019)"
},
"Military equipment inventories and acquisitions":{
"text":"the UAE Armed Forces inventory is comprised of mostly modern imported equipment; since 2010, the UAE has acquired military equipment from more than 20 countries with the US as the leading supplier, followed by France and Russia (2019 est.)"
"text":"18-30 years of age for compulsory military service for men; 17 years of age for male volunteers with parental approval; 24-month general service obligation, 16 months for secondary school graduates; women can volunteer to serve for 9 months regardless of education (2018)"
"text":"<p>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 detailed maps showing the alignment have not been published; Iran and UAE dispute Tunb Islands and Abu Musa Island, which Iran occupies</p>"
"text":"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"
