General Information about UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven emirates situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula on the Gulf, bordering Saudi Arabia and Oman. The seven emirates are (alphabetically) Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al-Quwain.
Brief History
Directly before the oil boom of the 1970s, the UAE was a group of underdeveloped, separate states known as the Trucial States – a British Protectorate with mainstays of subsistence farming, meagre trade, pearling and fishing. Long before the advent of the British in the region, however, the UAE’s coastline on the Arabian Gulf had given birth to a seafaring culture whose towns – visited by merchants from all over – served as transhipment ports for goods from Africa and Asia and connection points between inland caravan routes and various sea trading routes. They also relied heavily on the profits of the pearl trade, until Japanese cultured pearls were introduced into the market in the 1930s. Fortunately, oil exploration began around the same time, introducing a new and extremely lucrative source of income to the region.
Since the formation of the federation in 1971, headed by His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (the late Ruler of Abu Dhabi and President of the UAE), the economy and daily life in the emirates have changed beyond recognition, under the visionary direction of the federal and local governments, which used oil revenues to develop the country’s infrastructure, diversify its economy and enhance its international standing, transforming it into the modern trading and business hub it is today.
The UAE’s demographics have changed dramatically since its formation. In 1968, a census of the independent Trucial States recorded the population of the seven emirates at around 179,100, and the Emirate of Dubai had the largest population, of 59,000 persons. Though it was not broken down according to country of origin, it is assumed that the majority of those counted in this census were citizens of one Trucial State or another. Shortly after that, the country witnessed a period of massive growth, particularly in Abu Dhabi, which holds the lion’s share of the nation’s oil reserves. Less than four decades later, in 2005, the official census put the population of the UAE at 4,104,695, of which only 20.1 per cent of the actual population was emirati. The population had grown by nearly 2,200 per cent, and Abu Dhabi had become the most populous emirate. But Dubai’s world famous development projects, aimed at making it a centre for international business and tourism, were already well underway – by 2008, population estimates from the UAE Ministry of the Economy put it in the lead once again.
Recent projections, released by the Ministry of the Economy in April 2009, estimated that the population will reach just over five million by mid 2009, with Dubai remaining the most populous emirate for the second year in a row. Recent studies, however, using visa registration and employment data, estimate that the current population (in 2009) is actually closer to six million. This is mainly due to a sharp increase in the expatriate population within the past few years, which has also contributed to the UAE having the highest gender imbalance in the world, with more than two men for every one woman on the national level. The next official census, which is scheduled for April, 2010, should give a clearer picture of the nation’s demographics.
Related Links
www.government.ae
www.uaeinteract.com
