United Arab Emirates
Capital: Abu Dhabi · Western Asia
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), also known simply as the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, situated at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula.
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Rolling Sand Dunes Of Abu Dhabi near Liwa
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Jabal ar Rahrah is the highest mountain in the United Arab Emirates. It is entirely located in the territory of the Emirates, 3 km away from Jebel Jais (Oman)
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Did you know?
The present-day United Arab Emirates is located within the historical region of Eastern Arabia, which was oriented to maritime trade and seafaring. The Portuguese arrived in the region around 1500 and set up bases on the territory while waging wars against the Persians. By the 19th century, with pearling becoming a major economic activity, piracy became rampant in the gulf, prompting British intervention. Local sheikhdoms formed a pact with the United Kingdom to create the Trucial States, a British protectorate that was effectively shielded from attempted Saudi and Omani suzerainty.
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Abu Dhabi's skyline in December 2014
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View of the ravine formed by the upper course of the Wadi Madnan, surrounding Jabal Dardur and the village of Dardur. To the left of the photo, with the antennas, is…
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Etymology
The United Arab Emirates is named after the seven emirates that formed a federation: the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the Emirate of Dubai, the Emirate of Ajman, the Emirate of Sharjah, the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, the Emirate of Umm Al Quwain, and the Emirate of Fujairah.
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A traditional dance in the UAE
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One of the many majlis inside the palace. This is a place where the ruler or his representatives met with the commoners
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I took this photograph at the Dubai Museum, in May 2005
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History
Stone tools recovered reveal a settlement of people from Africa some 127,000 years ago and a stone tool used for butchering animals discovered on the Arabian coast suggests an even older habitation from 130,000 years ago. In time, lively trading links developed with civilisations in Mesopotamia, Iran, and the Harappan culture of the Indus Valley. This contact persisted and became wider, probably motivated by the trade in copper from the Hajar Mountains, which commenced around 3,000 BCE. Sumerian sources talk of the Magan civilisation, which has been identified as encompassing the modern UAE and Oman.
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Dubai construction workers having their lunch break. In the background the tallest building in the world - Burj Dubai.
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Dubai Aquarium & Underwater monkey
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Geography
The United Arab Emirates is situated in the Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, between Oman and Saudi Arabia; it is in a strategic location slightly south of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil.
The UAE lies between 22°30' and 26°10' north latitude and between 51° and 56°25′ east longitude. It shares a 530-kilometre (330 mi) border with Saudi Arabia on the west, south, and southeast, and a 450-kilometre (280 mi) border with Oman on the southeast and northeast.
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Acacia tortilis in Sharm-Dabna, Fujeirah emirate, UAE
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Baynunah-class corvette Al Dhafra P-173 at NAVDEX, February 2015
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Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum House at night
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Government and politics
The United Arab Emirates is a federal semi-presidential state under a semi-constitutional monarchy made up of seven hereditary tribal monarchy-styled political units called Sheikhdoms. It is governed by a Federal Supreme Council made up of the ruling Sheikhs of Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah, and Umm Al Quwain. All responsibilities not granted to the federal government are reserved to the individual emirate. A percentage of revenues from each emirate is allocated to the UAE's central budget.
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An organised dune-bashing safari in Dubai.
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Acacia tortilis in Sharm-Dabna, Fujeirah emirate, UAE
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Economy
The United Arab Emirates has developed from a juxtaposition of Bedouin tribes to one of the world's wealthiest states in only about 50 years, boasting one of the highest GDP (PPP) per capita figures in the world. Economic growth has been impressive and steady throughout the history of this young confederation of emirates with brief periods of recessions only, e.g. in the global financial and economic crisis years 2008–09, and a couple of more mixed years starting in 2015 and persisting until 2019. Between 2000 and 2018, average real gross domestic product (GDP) growth was at close to 4%.
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Demographics
According to an estimate by the World Bank, the UAE's population in 2020 was 9,890,400. Immigrants accounted for 88.52% while Emiratis made up the remaining 11.48%. This unique imbalance is due to the country's exceptionally high net migration rate of 21.71, the world's highest. UAE citizenship is very difficult to obtain other than by filiation and only granted under very special circumstances.
The UAE is ethnically diverse.
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Culture
Emirati culture is based on Arabian culture and has been influenced by the cultures of Persia, India, and East Africa. Arabian and Persian inspired architecture is part of the expression of the local Emirati identity. Arabian influence on Emirati culture is noticeably visible in traditional Emirati architecture and folk arts. For example, the distinctive wind tower that tops traditional Emirati buildings, the barjeel, has become an identifying mark of Emirati architecture and is attributed to Arabian influence.
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