United Arab Emirates From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search "UAE" redirects here. For other uses, see UAE (disambiguation). Coordinates: 24°N 54°E / 24°N 54°E United Arab Emirates (Arabic) اﻹﻣﺎرات اﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﺘﺤﺪة al-ʾImārāt al-ʿArabīyyah al-Muttaḥidah Flag Emblem ﻋﻴﺸﻲ ﺑﻼدي :Anthem "Īšiy Bilādī" "Long Live My Nation" Location of United Arab Emirates (green) in the Arabian Peninsula (white) Abu Dhabi Capital 24°28′N 54°22′E / 2 4.467°N 54.367°E Dubai Largest city 25°15′N 55°18′E / 25.250°N 55.300°E Official languages Arabic 11.6% Emirati 59.4% South Asian Ethnic groups (38.2% Indian, 9.4% Pakistani, 9.5% Bangladeshi) (2015)[1] 10.2% Egyptian 6.1% Filipino 12.8% Others Religion Islam Demonym(s) Emirati[1] Federal elective constitutional Government monarchy[2] • President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Mohammed bin Rashid Al • Prime Minister Maktoum • Speaker Amal Al Qubaisi Legislature Federal National Council Establishment from the United Kingdom and the Trucial States • Ras al-Khaimah 1708 • Sharjah 1727 • Abu Dhabi 1761 • Ajman 1816 • Dubai 1833 • Fujairah 1952 • Independence 2 December 1971 • Admitted to the 9 December 1971 United Nations • Admission of Ras 10 February 1972 al-Khaimah to the UAE Area 2 • Total 83,600 km (32,300 sq mi) (114th) • Water (%) negligible Population • 2018 estimate 9,599,353[3] (92nd) • 2005 census 4,106,427 • Density 99/km2 (256.4/sq mi) (110th) GDP (PPP) 2018 estimate • Total $732.861 billion[4] (32nd) • Per capita $70,262[4] (7th) GDP (nominal) 2018 estimate • Total $432.612 billion[4] (28th) • Per capita $41,476[4] (19th) 36 Gini (2008) medium [5] HDI (2018) 0.866 very high · 35th Currency UAE dirham (AED) Time zone UTC+4 (GST) Date format dd/mm/yyyy Driving side right[6][7] Calling code +971 ISO 3166 code AE .ae Internet TLD .اﻣﺎرات United Arab Emirates portal -al-ʾImārāt al-ʿArabīyyah al اﻹﻣﺎرات اﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﺘﺤﺪة :The United Arab Emirates (UAE; Arabic al-ʾImārāt), is a country in اﻹﻣﺎرات :Muttaḥidah), sometimes simply called the Emirates (Arabic Western Asia at the southeast end of the Arabian Peninsula on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman to the east and Saudi Arabia to the south and west, as well as sharing maritime borders with Qatar to the west and Iran to the north. The sovereign constitutional monarchy is a federation of seven emirates consisting of Abu Dhabi (which serves as the capital), Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain. Their boundaries are complex, with numerous enclaves within the various emirates.[8] Each emirate is governed by a ruler; together, they jointly form the Federal Supreme Council. One of the rulers serves as the President of the United Arab Emirates.[9] In 2013, the UAE's population was 9.2 million, of which 1.4 million are Emirati citizens and 7.8 million are expatriates.[10][11][12] Human occupation of the present UAE has been traced back to the emergence of anatomically modern humans 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. Known as Magan to the Sumerians, the area was home to a prosperous Bronze Age trading culture during the Umm Al Nar period, which traded between the Indus Valley, Bahrain and Mesopotamia as well as Iran, Bactria and the Levant. The ensuing Wadi Suq period and three Iron Ages saw the emergence of nomadism as well as the development of water management and irrigation systems supporting human settlement in both the coast and interior. The Islamic age of the UAE dates back to the expulsion of the Sasanians and the subsequent Battle of Dibba. The UAE's long history of trade led to the emergence of Julfar, in the present-day emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, as a major regional trading and maritime hub in the area. The maritime dominance of the Persian Gulf by Emirati traders led to conflicts with European powers, including the Portuguese and British. 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 December 1971, immediately following the British withdrawal from its treaty obligations. Six emirates joined the UAE in 1971, the seventh, Ras Al Khaimah, joined the federation on 10 February 1972.[13] 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.[14][15] 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.[16] 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 international aviation and maritime trade hub.[17][18] Consequently, 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%.[19] The UAE's rising international profile has led to it being recognised as a regional and a middle power.[20] [21] It is a member of the United Nations, the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, OPEC, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Gulf Cooperation Council. Contents 1 History 1.1 Antiquity 1.2 Islam 1.3 Ottoman and Portuguese era 1.4 British era and discovery of oil 1.5 Independence 1.6 Post-Independence period 2 Geography 2.1 Flora and fauna 2.2 Climate 3 Politics 3.1 Foreign relations 3.2 Military 3.3 Political divisions 4 Law 4.1 Human rights 4.2 Migrant workers 4.3 Dress code 5 Media 6 Economy 6.1 Business and finance 6.2 Oil and gas 6.3 Tourism 7 Transport 8 Telecommunications 9 Culture 9.1 Cuisine 10 Sports 10.1 Football 10.2 Cricket 11 Education 12 Demographics 12.1 Religion 12.2 Largest cities 12.3 Languages 13 Health 14 See also 15 References 16 Further reading 17 External links History Main article: History of the United Arab Emirates An 1892 map of Arabia denoting the Pirate Coast.[22] Antiquity A pot discovered in the Iron Age building of Bidaa Bint Saud, Al Ain on display at the Al Ain National Museum. It is thought to be an incense burner. The land of the Emirates has been occupied for thousands of years. Stone tools recovered from Jebel Faya in the emirate of Sharjah reveal a settlement of people from Africa some 127,000 years ago and a stone tool used for butchering animals discovered at Jebel Barakah on the Arabian coast suggests an even older habitation from 130,000 years ago.[23] There is no proof of contact with the outside world at that stage, although in time lively trading links developed with civilisations in Mesopotamia, Iran and the Harappan culture of the Indus Valley. This contact persisted and became wide-ranging, probably motivated by the trade in copper from the Hajar Mountains, which commenced around 3,000 BCE.[24] Sumerian sources talk of the UAE as home to the 'Makkan' or Magan people.[25] There are six major periods of human settlement with distinctive behaviours in the UAE before Islam, which include the Hafit period from 3,200-2,600 BCE; the Umm Al Nar culture spanned from 2,600- 2,000 BCE, the Wadi Suq people dominated from 2,000–1,300 BCE. From 1,200 BC to the advent of Islam in Eastern Arabia, through three distinctive Iron Ages (Iron Age 1, 1,200–1,000 BC; Iron Age 2, 1,000–600 BC and Iron Age 3 600–300 BC) and the Mleiha period (300 BC onward), the area was variously occupied by Achaemenid and other forces and saw the construction of 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 Yamani) and Quda'ah tribal groups from south-west Arabia towards central Oman. 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 Sasanids, who dominated the Northern coasts at the time.[26] 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.[27] This assured the integrity of the Caliphate and the unification of the Arabian Peninsula under the newly emerging Rashidun Caliphate.