"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"
},
"Geography - note":{
"text":"strategic location along southern approaches to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> the UN estimated the country's total population was 10,082,000 as of 2022; immigrants make up 88.1% of the total population, according to UN data (2020)"
"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.)",
"note":"<strong>note</strong><strong>:</strong> data represent the total population; as of 2019,immigrants make up about87.9% of the total population, according to UN data"
"text":"<br>كتاب حقائق العالم، المصدر الذي لا يمكن الاستغناء عنه للمعلومات الأساسية (Arabic)<br><br>The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information."
"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":"<strong>note</strong><strong>:</strong> data represent the total population; as of 2020, immigrants make up about 88.1% of the total population, according to UN data"
"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"
"text":"<strong>note:</strong> widespread ongoing transmission of a respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is occurring throughout UAE; as of 18 August 2022, UAE has reported a total of 1,007,039 cases of COVID-19 or 10,181.98 cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population with a total of 2,340 cumulative deaths or a rate of 23.65 cumulative deaths per 100,000 population"
"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"
"text":"<strong>note:</strong> widespread ongoing transmission of a respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is occurring throughout UAE; as of 18 August 2022, UAE has reported a total of 1,007,039 cases of COVID-19 or 10,181.98 cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population with a total of 2,340 cumulative deaths or a rate of 23.65 cumulative deaths per 100,000 population"
"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)"
"text":"in Arabic, <em>abu</em> means \"father\" and <em>dhabi</em> 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 MUHAMMAD bin Zayid Al-Nuhayan (since 14 May 2022); Vice President MUHAMMAD bin Rashid Al-Maktoum (since 5 January 2006); note - MUHAMMAD bin Zayid Al-Nuhayan elected president by the Federal Supreme Council following the death of President KHALIFA bin Zayid Al-Nuhayan on 13 May 2022"
"text":"Prime Minister and Vice President MUHAMMAD bin Rashid Al-Maktoum (since 5 January 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers SAIF bin Zayid Al-Nuhayan, MANSUR bin Zayid Al-Nuhayan (both since 11 May 2009), and MAKTOUM bin Mohammed Al-Maktoum (since 25 September 2021)"
"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); unscheduled election held on 14 May 2022, following the death of President KHALIFA bin Zayid Al-Nuhayan (next election NA); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president"
"note":"<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"
"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%"
"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":"the UAE has a strong mobile market, dominated by Etisalat and du; both are majority-owned by the government; in a bid to attract additional foreign investment, it was resolved in early 2021 that the stake held by foreigners in the two companies could be increased; Etisalat and du have deployed LTE networks providing national coverage, while the 5G penetration rate is the second highest globally after China; this has underpinned growth in the mobile broadband sector, and has enabled the strong development in the take-up of rich content and applications, as well as m-commerce; to help increase the capacity of 5G networks in coming years, and so keep up with data demand, the government has allowed for the GSM networks to be closed down and for spectrum and other assets to be re-purposed for 5G by the end of 2022; the fixed-broadband network in the UAE is dominated by fiber, with DSL having a minor and declining presence; this focus on a fully fiber infrastructure has also facilitated growth in e-commerce, and has supported the government’s long-term aim of transitioning the economy from its dependence on oil to being knowledge-based and supported by digital services; the country stands to benefit from having signed the Abraham Accord Declaration with Israel, which aims to normalize relations between the two countries; such benefits can be seen in the agreement to enable local ISPs to access Bezeq International’s submarine cable infrastructure, and so improve direct connectivity to Europe, South East Asia, and Africa; the UAE’s ISPs can also access Bezeq International’s data center in Tel Aviv, improving internet services. (2022)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced a downturn, particularly in mobile device production; progress toward 5G implementation has resumed, as well as upgrades to infrastructure; consumer spending on telecom services has increased due to the surge in demand for capacity and bandwidth; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home is still evident, and the spike in this area has seen growth opportunities for development of new tools and increased services"
"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)"
"text":"United Arab Emirates Armed Forces: Land Forces, Navy Forces, Air Force, Presidential Guard (includes special operations forces); Ministry of Interior: Critical Infrastructure and Coastal Patrol Agency (CICPA) (2022)",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> each emirate maintains a local police force called a general directorate, which is officially a branch of the federal Ministry of Interior; all emirate-level general directorates of police enforce their respective emirate’s laws autonomously; they also enforce federal laws within their emirate in coordination with one another under the federal ministry"
"text":"the military's inventory is comprised of wide variety of mostly modern imported equipment; since 2010, the UAE has acquired military equipment from more than 20 countries with France, Russia, and the US as the leading suppliers; in recent years, the UAE has tried to boost its domestic defense industry (2022)"
"text":"18-30 years of age for compulsory military service for men (compulsory service initiated in 2014); 17 years of age for volunteers with parental approval; men can volunteer up to age 40; 24-month general service obligation, 16 months for secondary school graduates; women can volunteer to serve for 9 months regardless of education (2022)",
"note":"<strong>note 1:</strong> compulsory service may be completed in the uniformed military, the Ministry of Interior, the State Security Service, or other institutions designated by the military leadership"
"text":"the UAE hosts a multi-service French military base, which includes the French naval command for the Indian Ocean (ALINDIEN); the UAE has a defense cooperation agreement with the US and hosts about 3,500 US troops, mostly air and naval personnel<br><br>in 2015, UAE intervened militarily in Yemen as part of the Saudi-led coalition in support of the Republic of Yemen Government with an estimated 3,500 troops, as well as supporting air and naval forces; UAE withdrew its main military force from Yemen in 2019, but has retained a small military presence while working with proxies in southern Yemen, most notably the Southern Transitional Council (STC)<br><br>the UAE's military traces its origins to the establishment of the Trucial Oman Scouts in 1951, a joint UK-Abu Dhabi organization modeled after Jordan’s Arab Legion, which became the Abu Dhabi Defense Force in 1965; the modern Emirati armed forces were formed in 1976 (2022)"
"text":"<p><em>UAE-Oman</em>: 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</p> <p><em>UAE-Iran</em>: Iran and UAE dispute Tunb Islands and Abu Musa Island near the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has occupied since 1971</p> <p><em>UAE-Saudi Arabia</em>: t<em>he </em>UAE has differences with Saudi Arabia<em></em>over their border and the sharing of a major oilfield there, although the issue is seldom mentioned publically</p>"
"text":"a transshipment point for illegal narcotics and a pass-through for drug proceeds; numerous exchange houses and general trading companies increase potential for money laundering; major source of precursor chemicals used in the production of illicit narcotics"
