This article is about the United Arab Emirates. For the Amiga Emulator, see
UAE (emulator).
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a Middle Eastern federation of seven states situated in the southeast of the Arabian
Peninsula in Southwest Asia on the Persian
Gulf, bordering Oman and Saudi Arabia. The seven
states, termed emirates, are Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm
al-Quwain.
The UAE is rich in oil and, although it lacks other natural resources, it expects recent
additional economic diversification to draw more financial and banking firms.[citation needed] It has become highly prosperous after gaining foreign direct investment funding in the 1970s. The country has
a relatively high Human Development Index for the Asian continent.
Before 1971, the UAE were known as the Trucial States or Trucial Oman, in reference to a nineteenth-century truce between Britain and several Arab
Sheikhs. The name Pirate Coast has also been used in reference to the area's emirates in
the 18th to early 20th century.[1]
History
-
The United Arab Emirates was formed from the group of tribally organized Arabian Peninsula sheikhdoms along the southern coast
of the Persian Gulf and the northwestern coast of the Gulf
of Oman. The area accepted Islam in the 7th
century; it was famous for being home to many companions of the Islamic Prophet
Muhammad.
Later, portions of the nation came under the direct influence of the Ottoman Empire
during the 16th century. Thereafter the region was known as the Pirate Coast, as raiders based there harassed the shipping
industry, despite both European and Arab navies patrolling the area
from the 17th century into the 19th century. British
expeditions to protect the Indian trade from raiders at Ras
al-Khaimah led to campaigns against that headquarters and other harbors along the coast in 1819. The next year, a peace treaty was signed to which all the sheikhs of the coast adhered. Raids continued
intermittently until 1835, when the sheikhs agreed not to engage in hostilities at sea. In
1853, they signed a treaty with the United Kingdom, under
which the sheikhs (the "Trucial Sheikhdoms") agreed to a "perpetual maritime truce." It was enforced by the United Kingdom, and
disputes among sheikhs were referred to the British for settlement.
Primarily in reaction to the ambitions of other European countries, the United Kingdom
and the Trucial Sheikhdoms established closer bonds in an 1892 treaty, similar to treaties entered into by the UK with other
Persian Gulf principalities. The sheikhs agreed not to dispose of any territory except to the United Kingdom and not to enter
into relationships with any foreign government other than the United Kingdom without its consent. In return, the British promised
to protect the Trucial Coast from all aggression by sea and to help in case of land attack.
In 1955, the United Kingdom sided with Abu Dhabi in the latter's dispute with
Oman over the Buraimi Oasis and other territory to the south. A
1974 agreement between Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia would have settled the Abu Dhabi-Saudi border dispute; however, the agreement
has yet to be ratified by the UAE Government and is not recognized by the Saudi Government. The border with Oman also remains officially unsettled, but the two governments agreed to delineate the border in May 1999. In the
early 1960s Dubai was ahead of all the other states even though oil was not yet discovered in it's territories. Abu Dhabi was
behind until His Highness Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan became ruler of
Abu Dhabi in 1967.
The British had started earlier a development office that helped in some small developments in the Emirates. The shaiks of the
Emirates decided then to form a council to coordinate matters between them and took over the development office. They formed the
Trucial States Council, [2] and appointed
Adi Bitar; Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al
Maktoum's Legal Advisor as Secretary General and Legal Advisor to the Council. The Council was terminated once the
United Arab Emirates was formed
In 1968, the UK announced its decision, reaffirmed in March 1971 , to end the treaty relationships with the seven Trucial
Sheikhdoms which had been, together with Bahrain and Qatar, under
British protection. The nine attempted to form a union of Arab Emirates, but by mid-1971 they were unable to agree on terms of
union, even though the termination date of the British treaty relationship was the end of 1971.
Bahrain became independent in August and Qatar in September 1971. When the British-Trucial Shaikhdoms treaty expired on
December 1, 1971, they became fully independent.
The Rulers of Abu Dhabi and Dubai decided to form a union between their two Emirates independently, prepare a constitution,
then call the Rulers of the other five emirates to a meeting and offer them to join. It was also agreed between both of them that
Adi Bitar write the constitution and have it ready by 2 December 1971.
On December 2, 1971, at the Dubai Guesthouse Palace four
other Emirates agreed to join and enter into a union of six Emirates called the United Arab Emirates. Ras al-Khaimah joined
later, in early 1972.
The UAE sent forces to liberate Kuwait during the 1990–91 Gulf War.
On November 2, 2004, the UAE’s first and only president, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, died. His eldest son Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan succeeded him as Ruler of Abu
Dhabi. In accordance with the Constitution, the UAE’s Supreme Council of Rulers elected Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan as UAE
Federal President. Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan succeeded Khalifa as Crown
Prince of Abu Dhabi.
Administrative divisions
-
- See also: Ranked lists of UAE
Emirates, List of cities in the United Arab
Emirates, and Category:Towns and villages in the United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates is a federation which consists of seven emirates: Abu Dhabi, Ajman,
Dubai, Fujairah, Ras
al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain, largest of
which is the emirate of Abu Dhabi which contains the nation's capital city Abu Dhabi.
Five emirates have one or more exclaves, in addition to the main territory:
- Ajman: 1 exclave
- Dubai: 1 exclave
- Fujairah: 2 exclaves
- Ras al-Khaimah: 1 exclave
- Sharjah: 3 exclaves
In addition there are two areas under joint control. One is jointly controlled by Oman and Ajman, the other by Fujairah and
Sharjah.
Exclaves and enclaves
There is an Omani enclave surrounded by UAE territory, known as Wadi Madha. It is located halfway between the Musandam peninsula and the rest of
Oman, on the Dubai-Hatta road in the Emirate
of Sharjah. It covers approximately 75 square kilometres (29 sq mi) and the boundary was settled in 1969. The north-east corner of Madha is closest to the
Khor Fakkan-Fujairah road, barely 10 metres
(33 ft) away. Within the enclave is a UAE exclave called Nahwa, also belonging to the Emirate of Sharjah. It is about 8 kilometres (5 mi) on a dirt track west of the town of New Madha. It consists of about forty houses with its own clinic and
telephone exchange.
Politics
UAE Infantry Fighting Vehicle offloading
-
- See also: foreign
relations of the United Arab Emirates and military of the
United Arab Emirates
The Presidency and Premiership of the United Arab Emirates is hereditary to the Al Nahyan clan of Abu Dhabi and the Al Maktoum
clan of Dubai respectively. The Supreme Council, consisting of the rulers of the seven emirates, also elects the Council of
Ministers, while an appointed forty-member Federal National Council, drawn from all the emirates, reviews proposed laws. There is
a federal court system; all emirates except Dubai and Ras al-Khaimah have joined the federal system; all emirates have both
secular and Islamic law for civil, criminal, and high courts. Sheikh Zayed bin
Sultan Al Nahyan was the union's president from the nation's founding until his death on 2
November 2004. The Federal Supreme Council elected his son, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahayan, president the next day.
Demographics
-
The UAE population has an unnatural sex distribution consisting of more than twice the number of males than females. The 15-65
age group has a male(s)/female sex ratio of 2.743. UAE's gender
imbalance is the highest among any nation in the world followed by Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, and Saudi Arabia - all of
which together comprise the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).[3] The GCC states are also what most South and Southeast Asians refer to as the Gulf especially in context of emigration.[4]
UAE has one of the most diverse populations in the Middle East.[5] Since the mid-1980s, people from all across
South Asia have settled in the UAE. In fact, an estimated 85 percent of the population is
comprised of non-citizens, one of the world's highest percentages of foreign-born in any nation[citation needed]. The high living standards and
economic opportunities in the UAE are better than almost anywhere else in the Middle East and South Asia. This makes the nation
an attractive destination for Indians and Pakistanis, along
with tens of thousands from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. In
2006, there were approximately 1.2 million Indian nationals and 700,000 Pakistani nationals in the UAE, making them the largest expatriate community in the oil-rich
nation.[6] Persons from over twenty Arab nationalities,
including thousands of Palestinians who came as either political refugees or migrant
workers, also live in the UAE.[citation needed]
- Emiratis (local Arabs)
- Other Arabs
- South Asians
- Western and East Asian
|
|
11%
21%
57%
11%
|
|
An Emirati woman at a
Dubai shopping mall
The most populated city is Dubai, with approximately 1.5 million people. Other major cities
include Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Sharjah, and Fujairah. About 88% of the population of the United Arab Emirates is urban.[7] The remaining inhabitants live in tiny towns scattered
throughout the country or in one of the many desert oilfield camps in the nation.
There are also residents from other parts of the Middle East, Baluchistan, Africa, Europe,
Post-Soviet states, and North America. The UAE
has attracted a small number of very affluent expatriates (Americans, British, Canadians,
Japanese and Australians) from developed countries who are attracted to a very warm climate, scenic views (beaches, golf courses,
man-made islands and lucrative housing tracts in Abu Dhabi and Dubai), the nation's comparably low-cost of living (but in
2006, thousands of real estate properties are valued over millions of dollars) and tax-free
incentives for their business or residency in the UAE. They make up under 5 percent of the UAE population, with these residents
mainly English-speaking and non-Muslim, though these expatriates adhere to the law and customs of their adopted country.
Culture and religion
- See also: Islam in the United Arab
Emirates, Roman Catholicism in the United Arab
Emirates, Music of the United Arab Emirates, Cinema of the United Arab Emirates, UAE Public Library and Cultural Center, and Yowla
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in
Abu Dhabi under construction
Rooted in Islamic culture, the UAE has strong ties with the rest of the
Arab and Islamic world. The government is committed to
preserving traditional forms of art and culture, primarily through the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation. The first known
manuscript produced in the UAE was Al jawaher wal
la'li, a text which discusses the emirates of the nation.[citation needed]
Nearly all citizens are Muslims, approximately 85 percent of whom are Sunni and the
remaining 15 percent are Shi'a. Although no official figures are available, local observers
estimate that approximately 55 percent of the foreign population is Muslim, 25 percent is Hindu,
10 percent is Christian, 5 percent is Buddhist, and 5
percent (most of whom reside in Dubai and Abu Dhabi) belong to other religions, including Parsi,
Baha'i, and Sikh.[8]
Dubai is the only emirate of the UAE with both a Hindu Temple and a Sikh Gurdwara. Christian churches are also present in the country. There are a
variety of Asian-influenced schools, restaurants and cultural centers. Finally, there also exist a growing number of European
centers, schools, and restaurants.[citation needed]
Economy
-
The United Arab Emirates has a highly industrialized economy that makes the country one of the most developed in the world,
based on various socioeconomic indicators such as GDP per capita, energy
consumption per capita, and the Human Development Index.
At $168 billion in 2006, the GDP of the UAE ranks second in the
CCASG (after Saudi
Arabia), third in the Middle East — North Africa (MENA) region (after Saudi Arabia and
Iran), and 38th in the world (ahead of Malaysia).[9]
There are various deviating estimates regarding the actual growth rate of the nation’s GDP, however all available statistics
indicate that the UAE currently has one of the fastest growing economies in the world. According to a recent report by the
Ministry of Finance and Industry, real GDP rose by 35 per cent in 2006 to $175 billion, compared with $130 billion in 2005. These
figures would suggest that the UAE had the fastest growing real GDP in the world, between 2005
and 2006.[10]
Although the United Arab Emirates is be