Coor din ates: 2 4 °N 5 4 °E United Arab Emirates دوﻟﺔ اﻹﻣﺎرات اﻟﻌﺮﺑﯿﺔ :The United Arab Emirates (UAE; Arabic United Arab Emirates ,(Dawlat al-Imārāt al-'Arabīyah al-Muttahị dah اﻟﻤﺘﺤﺪة (Arabic) دوﻟﺔ اﻹﻣﺎرات اﻟﻌرﺑﻳﺔ اﻟﻣﺗﺣدة -al اﻹﻣﺎرات :sometimes simply called the Emirates (Arabic Imārāt), is a federal sovereign absolute monarchy in Dawlat al-Imārāt al-'Arabīyah Western Asia at the southeast end of the Arabian Peninsula al-Muttaḥidah on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman to the east and Saudi Arabia to the south, as well as sharing maritime borders with Qatar to the west and Iran to the north. The country is a federation of seven emirates consisting of Abu Dhabi (which serves as the capital), Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras Flag al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al-Quwain. Each emirate is governed by a ruler; together, they jointly form the Federal Emblem ﻋﻳﺷﻲ ﺑﻼدي :Supreme Council. One of the rulers serves as the President Anthem of the United Arab Emirates.[8] In 2013, the UAE's "Īšiy Bilādī" "Long Live my Nation" population was 9.2 million, of which 1.4 million are Emirati 0:00 MENU citizens and 7 .8 million are expatriates.[9][10][11] Human occupation of the present UAE has been traced back to the emergence of anatomically modern man from Africa some 125,000 BCE through finds at the Faya-1 site in Mleiha, Sharjah. Burial sites dating back to the Neolithic Age and the Bronze Age include the oldest known such inland site at Jebel Buhais. Following decades of maritime conflict, the coastal emirates became known as the Trucial States with the signing of a Perpetual Treaty of Maritime Peace with the British in 1819 (ratified in 1853 and again in 1892), which established the Trucial States as a British Protectorate. This arrangement ended with independence and the establishment of the United Arab Emirates on 2 Location of United Arab Emirates (green) December 197 1, immediately following the British in the Arabian Peninsula (white) withdrawal from its treaty obligations. Six emirates joined the UAE in 197 1, the seventh, Ras al-Khaimah, joined the federation on 10 February 197 2.[12] Islam is the official religion and Arabic is the official language of the UAE. The UAE's oil reserves are the seventh-largest in the world while its natural gas reserves are the world's seventeenth-largest.[13][14] Sheikh Zayed, ruler of Abu Dhabi and the first President of the UAE, oversaw the development of the Emirates and steered oil revenues into healthcare, education and infrastructure.[15] The UAE's economy is the most diversified in the Gulf Cooperation Council, while its most populous city of Dubai is an important global city and an international aviation and maritime trade hub.[16][17] Nevertheless, the country is much less reliant on oil and gas than in previous years and is economically focusing on tourism and business. The UAE government does not levy income tax although there is a system of corporate tax in place and value added tax was established in 2018 at 5%. [18] The UAE's rising international profile has led to it being recognised as a regional and middle power.[19][20] It is a member of the United Nations, the Arab League, the Capital Abu Dhabi Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, OPEC, the Non- 24°28′N Aligned Movement and the Gulf Cooperation Council. 54°22′E Largest city Dubai 25°15′N Contents 55°18′E Official languages Arabic History Antiquity Ethnic groups 27.8% Indian Islam 12% Emirati Ottoman and Portuguese era 10.2% Pakistani British era and discovery of oil 9.5% Bangladeshi Independence 6.1% Filipino Post-Independence period 2.2% Chinese Geography [1] Flora and fauna 15.1% European Climate Religion Islam Politics [2] Foreign relations Demonym Emirati Military Government Federal absolute Political divisions monarchy Law • President Khalifa bin Zayed Human rights Al Nahyan Migrant workers • Prime Minister Mohammed bin Dress code Rashid Al Media Maktoum Economy Legislature Federal National Transport Council Expo 2020 Establishment from the United Culture Kingdom and the Trucial States Cuisine • Ras al-Khaimah 1708 Sports • Sharjah 1727 Football • Abu Dhabi 1761 Cricket • Ajman 1816 Education • Dubai 1833 Demographics • Fujairah 1952 Religion • Independence 2 December 1971 Largest cities • Admitted to the 9 December 1971 Languages United Nations Health • Admission of Ras 10 February 1972 Passport al-Khaimah to the UAE See also Area Notes • Total 83,600 km2 References (32,300 sq mi) Further reading (114th) External links • Water (%) negligible Population • 2016 estimate 9,269,612[3] History (94th) • 2005 census 4,106,427 • Density 99/km2 Antiquity (256.4/sq mi) (110th) The land of the Emirates has been occupied for thousands of GDP (PPP) 2018 estimate years. Stone tools recovered from Jebel Faya in the emirate • Total $716.173 billion[4] of Sharjah reveal a settlement of people from Africa some (32nd) 127 ,000 years ago and a stone tool used for butchering • Per capita $68,662[4] (7th) animals discovered at Jebel Barakah on the Arabian coast GDP (nominal) 2018 estimate suggests an even older habitation from 130,000 years • Total $411.827 billion[4] ago.[21] There is no proof of contact with the outside world (28th) at that stage, although in time lively trading links developed • Per capita $39,483[4] (19th) with civilisations in Mesopotamia, Iran and India's Gini (2008) 36 Harappan culture. This contact persisted and became wide- medium ranging, probably motivated by the trade in copper from HDI (2015) 0.840[5] the Hajar Mountains, which commenced around 3000 very high · 42nd BCE.[22] Sumerian sources talk of the UAE as home to the Currency UAE dirham [23] 'Makkan' or Magan people. (AED) There are six major periods of human settlement with Time zone GST (UTC+4) distinctive behaviours in the pre-Islamic UAE: the Hafit Date format dd/mm/yyyy period from 3200-2600 BCE; the Umm Al Nar culture Drives on the right[6][7] spanned from 2600-2000 BCE, the Wadi Suq people dominated from 2000–1300 BCE. From 1200 BC to the Calling code +971 advent of Islam in Eastern Arabia, through three distinctive ISO 3166 code AE iron ages (Iron age 1, 1200–1000 BC; Iron age 2, 1000– Internet TLD .ae 600 BC and Iron age 3 600–300 BC) and the Mleiha period .اﻣﺎرات (300 BC onward), the area was variously occupied by Archaemenid and other forces and saw the construction of United Arab Emirates portal fortified settlements and extensive husbandry thanks to the development of the falaj irrigation system. In ancient times, Al Hasa (today's Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia) was part of Al Bahreyn and adjoined Greater Oman (today's UAE and Oman). From the second century AD, there was a movement of tribes from Al Bahreyn towards the lower Gulf, together with a migration among the Azdite Qahtani (or Y amani) and Quda'ah tribal groups from south-west Arabia towards central Oman. Sassanid groups were present on the Batinah coast. In 637 , Julfar (in the area of today's Ra's al-Khaimah) was an important port that was used as a staging post for the Islamic invasion of the Sassanian Empire.[24] The area of the Al Ain/Buraimi Oasis was known as Tu'am and was an important trading post for camel routes between the coast and the Arabian interior.[25] The earliest Christian site in the UAE was first discovered in the 1990s, an extensive monastic complex on what is now known as Sir Bani Y as Island and which dates back to the 7 th century. Thought to be Nestorian and built in 600 AD, the church The land comprising the UAE was under the Umayyads: appears to have been abandoned peacefully in 7 50 AD.[26] It Expansion under Muhammad, forms a rare physical link to a legacy of Christianity which is 622–632 thought to have spread across the peninsula from 50 to 350 AD Expansion during the Rashidun following trade routes. Certainly, by the 5th century, Oman had Caliphate, 632–661 a bishop named John – the last bishop of Oman being Etienne, in Expansion during the Umayyad 67 6 AD.[27] Caliphate, 661–750 Islam The spread of Islam to the North Eastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula is thought to have followed directly from a letter sent by the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, to the rulers of Oman in 630 AD, nine years after the hijrah. This led to a group of rulers travelling to Medina, converting to Islam and subsequently driving a successful uprising against the unpopular Sassanids, who dominated the Northern coasts at the time.[28] Following the death of Muhammad, the new Islamic communities south of the Persian Gulf threatened to disintegrate, with insurrections against the Muslim leaders. The Caliph Abu Bakr sent an army from the capital Medina which completed its reconquest of the territory (the Ridda Wars) with the battle of Dibba in which 10,000 lives are thought to have been lost.[29] This assured the integrity of the Caliphate and the unification of the Arabian Peninsula under the newly emerging Rashidun Caliphate. Ottoman and Portuguese era The harsh desert environment led to the emergence of the "versatile tribesman", nomadic groups who subsisted due to a variety of economic activities, including animal husbandry, agriculture and hunting. The seasonal movements of these groups led to not only frequent clashes between groups but also the establishment of seasonal and semi-seasonal settlements and centres. These formed tribal groupings whose names are still carried by modern Emiratis, including the Bani Y as and Al Bu Falah of Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Liwa and the Al Bahrain coast, the Dhawahir, Awamir, Al Ali and Manasir of the interior, the A map of the area in 1914 Sharqiyin of the east coast and the Qawasim to the North.[30] By the 16th century, ports in the Persian Gulf and part of the population that today form the coastal Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, came under the direct influence of the Ottoman Empire.[31][32] At the same time, the Portuguese, English and Dutch colonial forces also appeared in the Persian Gulf region.