United Arab Emirates (2001) | Arctic Ocean (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 7 emirates (imarat, singular - imarah); Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi), 'Ajman, Al Fujayrah, Ash Shariqah (Sharjah), Dubayy (Dubai), Ra's al Khaymah, Umm al Qaywayn | - |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
28.86% (male 354,298; female 340,498) 15-64 years: 68.74% (male 1,047,839; female 607,020) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 40,626; female 17,179) (2001 est.) |
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Agriculture - products | dates, vegetables, watermelons; poultry, eggs, dairy products; fish | - |
Airports | 40 (2000 est.) | - |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
22 over 3,047 m: 8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
18 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
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Area | total:
82,880 sq km land: 82,880 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 14.056 million sq km
note: includes Baffin Bay, Barents Sea, Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Sea, East Siberian Sea, Greenland Sea, Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, Northwest Passage, and other tributary water bodies |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maine | slightly less than 1.5 times the size of the US |
Background | 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 Zaby, 'Ajman, Al Fujayrah, Ash Shariqah, Dubayy, and Umm al Qaywayn - merged to form the UAE. They were joined in 1972 by Ra's al Khaymah. The UAE's per capita GDP is not far below those of the leading West European nations. Its generosity with oil revenues and its moderate foreign policy stance have allowed it to play a vital role in the affairs of the region. | The Arctic Ocean is the smallest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and the recently delimited Southern Ocean). The Northwest Passage (US and Canada) and Northern Sea Route (Norway and Russia) are two important seasonal waterways. A sparse network of air, ocean, river, and land routes circumscribes the Arctic Ocean. |
Birth rate | 18.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | - |
Budget | revenues:
$6.5 billion expenditures: $7.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
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Capital | Abu Dhabi | - |
Climate | desert; cooler in eastern mountains | polar climate characterized by persistent cold and relatively narrow annual temperature ranges; winters characterized by continuous darkness, cold and stable weather conditions, and clear skies; summers characterized by continuous daylight, damp and foggy weather, and weak cyclones with rain or snow |
Coastline | 1,318 km | 45,389 km |
Constitution | 2 December 1971 (made permanent in 1996) | - |
Country name | conventional long form:
United Arab Emirates conventional short form: none local long form: Al Imarat al Arabiyah al Muttahidah local short form: none former: Trucial Oman, Trucial States abbreviation: UAE |
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Currency | Emirati dirham (AED) | - |
Death rate | 3.79 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | - |
Debt - external | $12.6 billion (2000 est.) | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Theodore H. KATTOUF embassy: Al-Sudan Street, Abu Dhabi mailing address: P. O. Box 4009, Abu Dhabi; American Embassy Abu Dhabi, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-6010 (pouch); note - work week is Saturday through Wednesday telephone: [971] (2) 4436691 FAX: [971] (2) 4435441 consulate(s) general: Dubai |
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Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Asri Said Ahmad al-DHAHIRI chancery: Suite 700, 1255 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 955-7999 |
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Disputes - international | location and status of boundary with Saudi Arabia is not final, de facto boundary reflects 1974 agreement; boundary with Oman has not been bilaterally defined; northern section in the Musandam Peninsula is an administrative boundary; claims two islands in the Persian Gulf occupied by Iran: Lesser Tunb (called Tunb as Sughra in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Kuchek in Persian by Iran) and Greater Tunb (called Tunb al Kubra in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Bozorg in Persian by Iran); claims island in the Persian Gulf jointly administered with Iran (called Abu Musa in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Abu Musa in Persian by Iran) - over which Iran has taken steps to exert unilateral control since 1992, including access restrictions and a military build-up on the island; the UAE has garnered significant diplomatic support in the region in protesting these Iranian actions | some maritime disputes (see littoral states); Russia is the first state to submit data to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf to extend its continental shelf by claiming two undersea ridges in the Arctic Ocean |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | - |
Economy - overview | The UAE has an open economy with a high per capita income and a sizable annual trade surplus. Its wealth is based on oil and gas output (about 33% of GDP), and the fortunes of the economy fluctuate with the prices of those commodities. Since 1973, the UAE has undergone a profound transformation from an impoverished region of small desert principalities to a modern state with a high standard of living. At present levels of production, oil and gas reserves should last for more than 100 years. Despite higher oil revenues in 1999-2000, the government has not drawn back from the economic reforms implemented during the 1998 oil price depression. The government has increased spending on job creation and infrastructure expansion and is opening up its utilities to greater private-sector involvement. | Economic activity is limited to the exploitation of natural resources, including petroleum, natural gas, fish, and seals. |
Electricity - consumption | 34.131 billion kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - production | 36.7 billion kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Persian Gulf 0 m highest point: Jabal Yibir 1,527 m |
lowest point: Fram Basin -4,665 m
highest point: sea level 0 m |
Environment - current issues | lack of natural freshwater resources being overcome by desalination plants; desertification; beach pollution from oil spills | endangered marine species include walruses and whales; fragile ecosystem slow to change and slow to recover from disruptions or damage; thinning polar icepack |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
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Ethnic groups | Emirati 19%, other Arab and Iranian 23%, South Asian 50%, other expatriates (includes Westerners and East Asians) 8% (1982)
note: less than 20% are UAE citizens (1982) |
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Exchange rates | Emirati dirhams per US dollar - central bank mid-point rate: 3.6725 (since 1998); 3.6711 (1997), 3.6710 (1995-96) | - |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President ZAYID bin Sultan Al Nuhayyan (since 2 December 1971), ruler of Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi) (since 6 August 1966) and Vice President MAKTUM bin Rashid al-Maktum (since 8 October 1990), ruler of Dubayy (Dubai) head of government: Prime Minister MAKTUM bin Rashid al-Maktum (since 8 October 1990), ruler of Dubayy (Dubai); Deputy Prime Minister SULTAN bin Zayid Al Nuhayyan (since 20 November 1990) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president note: there is also a Federal Supreme Council (FSC) which is composed of the seven emirate rulers; the council is the highest constitutional authority in the UAE; establishes general policies and sanctions federal legislation, Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi) and Dubayy (Dubai) rulers have effective veto power; meets four times a year elections: president and vice president elected by the FSC (a group of seven electors) for five-year terms; election last held NA October 1996 (next to be held NA October 2001); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president election results: ZAYID bin Sultan Al Nuhayyan reelected president; percent of FSC vote - NA, but believed to be unanimous; MAKTUM bin Rashid al-Maktum elected vice president; percent of FSC vote - NA%, but believed to be unanimous |
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Exports | $46 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | - |
Exports - commodities | crude oil 45%, natural gas, reexports, dried fish, dates | - |
Exports - partners | Japan 30%, India 7%, Singapore 6%, South Korea 4%, Oman, Iran (1999) | - |
Fiscal year | calendar year | - |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and black with a thicker vertical red band on the hoist side | - |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $54 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
3% industry: 52% services: 45% (1996 est.) |
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GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $22,800 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | - |
Geographic coordinates | 24 00 N, 54 00 E | 90 00 N, 0 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location along southern approaches to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil | major chokepoint is the southern Chukchi Sea (northern access to the Pacific Ocean via the Bering Strait); strategic location between North America and Russia; shortest marine link between the extremes of eastern and western Russia; floating research stations operated by the US and Russia; maximum snow cover in March or April about 20 to 50 centimeters over the frozen ocean; snow cover lasts about 10 months |
Heliports | 2 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
4,835 km paved: 4,835 km unpaved: 0 km (1998 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
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Illicit drugs | growing role as heroin transshipment and money-laundering center due to its proximity to southwest Asian producing countries and the bustling free trade zone in Dubai | - |
Imports | $34 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | - |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food | - |
Imports - partners | Japan 9%, US 8%, UK 8%, Italy 6%, Germany, South Korea (1999) | - |
Independence | 2 December 1971 (from UK) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | 4% (2000) | - |
Industries | petroleum, fishing, petrochemicals, construction materials, some boat building, handicrafts, pearling | - |
Infant mortality rate | 16.68 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | - |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.5% (2000 est.) | - |
International organization participation | ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | - |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 50 sq km (1993 est.) | - |
Judicial branch | Union Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) | - |
Labor force | 1.4 million (1998 est.)
note: 75% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (July 1998 est.) |
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Labor force - by occupation | services 60%, industry 32%, agriculture 8% (1996 est.) | - |
Land boundaries | total:
867 km border countries: Oman 410 km, Saudi Arabia 457 km |
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Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 2% forests and woodland: 0% other: 98% (1993 est.) |
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Languages | Arabic (official), Persian, English, Hindi, Urdu | - |
Legal system | federal court system introduced in 1971; all emirates except Dubayy (Dubai) and Ra's al Khaymah have joined the federal system; all emirates have secular and Islamic law for civil, criminal, and high courts | - |
Legislative branch | unicameral Federal National Council or Majlis al-Ittihad al-Watani (40 seats; members appointed by the rulers of the constituent states to serve two-year terms)
elections: none note: reviews legislation, but cannot change or veto |
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Life expectancy at birth | total population:
74.29 years male: 71.84 years female: 76.86 years (2001 est.) |
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Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 79.2% male: 78.9% female: 79.8% (1995 est.) |
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Location | Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, between Oman and Saudi Arabia | body of water between Europe, Asia, and North America, mostly north of the Arctic Circle |
Map references | Middle East | Arctic Region |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
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Merchant marine | total:
70 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,094,256 GRT/1,421,333 DWT ships by type: cargo 16, chemical tanker 3, container 17, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 24, roll on/roll off 6, specialized tanker 1 (2000 est.) |
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Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense, paramilitary (includes Federal Police Force) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.6 billion (FY00) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.1% (FY00) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
778,842 note: includes non-nationals (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
420,484 (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
25,482 (2001 est.) |
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National holiday | Independence Day, 2 December (1971) | - |
Nationality | noun:
Emirati(s) adjective: Emirati |
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Natural hazards | frequent sand and dust storms | ice islands occasionally break away from northern Ellesmere Island; icebergs calved from glaciers in western Greenland and extreme northeastern Canada; permafrost in islands; virtually ice locked from October to June; ships subject to superstructure icing from October to May |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas | sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and whales) |
Net migration rate | 1.61 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | - |
Pipelines | crude oil 830 km; natural gas, including natural gas liquids, 870 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | none | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | - |
Population | 2,407,460
note: includes 1,576,472 non-nationals (July 2001 est.) |
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Population below poverty line | NA% | - |
Population growth rate | 1.59% (2001 est.) | - |
Ports and harbors | 'Ajman, Al Fujayrah, Das Island, Khawr Fakkan, Mina' Jabal 'Ali, Mina' Khalid, Mina' Rashid, Mina' Saqr, Mina' Zayid, Umm al Qaywayn | Churchill (Canada), Murmansk (Russia), Prudhoe Bay (US) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 13, FM 7, shortwave 2 (1998) | - |
Radios | 820,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Muslim 96% (Shi'a 16%), Christian, Hindu, and other 4% | - |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.73 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 2.36 male(s)/female total population: 1.5 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
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Suffrage | none | - |
Telephone system | general assessment:
modern system consisting of microwave radio relay and coaxial cable; key centers are Abu Dhabi and Dubai domestic: microwave radio relay and coaxial cable international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; submarine cables to Qatar, Bahrain, India, and Pakistan; tropospheric scatter to Bahrain; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia |
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Telephones - main lines in use | 915,223 (1998) | - |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1 million (1999) | - |
Television broadcast stations | 15 (1997) | - |
Terrain | flat, barren coastal plain merging into rolling sand dunes of vast desert wasteland; mountains in east | central surface covered by a perennial drifting polar icepack that averages about 3 meters in thickness, although pressure ridges may be three times that size; clockwise drift pattern in the Beaufort Gyral Stream, but nearly straight-line movement from the New Siberian Islands (Russia) to Denmark Strait (between Greenland and Iceland); the icepack is surrounded by open seas during the summer, but more than doubles in size during the winter and extends to the encircling landmasses; the ocean floor is about 50% continental shelf (highest percentage of any ocean) with the remainder a central basin interrupted by three submarine ridges (Alpha Cordillera, Nansen Cordillera, and Lomonosov Ridge) |
Total fertility rate | 3.23 children born/woman (2001 est.) | - |
Transportation - note | - | sparse network of air, ocean, river, and land routes; the Northwest Passage (North America) and Northern Sea Route (Eurasia) are important seasonal waterways |
Unemployment rate | NA% | - |
Waterways | none | - |