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الإمارات العربية المتحدة Al-Imārāt al-ʿArabiyyah al-Muttaḥidah United Arab Emirates
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: God, Nation, Royal Family
Anthem: Ishy Bilady
Capital (andlargestcity)	Abu Dhabi 22°47′N 54°37′E
Arabic
Government	Federal Constitutional monarchy
- President	Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahayan
- Prime Minister	Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
December 2, 1971
- Total	83,600 km² (116th) 32,278sqmi
- Water (%)	negligible
- 2005 estimate	1 (116th)
- 2005 census	4,104,695 (2005)
- Density	54/km² (143rd) 139/sqmi
2006 estimate
- Total	$0(55th)
- Per capita	$49,700(4th)
0.839(high)(49th)
Dirham (AED)
GMT+4 (UTC+4)
- Summer(DST)	not observed (UTC+4)
.ae
+971

The United Arab Emirates (also the UAE or the Emirates) is a Middle Eastern country situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia on the Persian Gulf, comprising seven emirates: Abu Dhabi, Ajmān, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain. Before 1971, they were known as the Trucial States or Trucial Oman, in reference to a nineteenth-century truce between Britain and several Arab Sheikhs. It borders Oman and Saudi Arabia. The country lacks natural resources, but it is rich in oil and expects recent additional economic diversification to draw more financial and banking firms. The United Arab Emirates became a highly prosperous country after foreign investment began funding the desert-and-coastal nation in the 1970s. The country has a relatively high Human Development Index or HDI for the Asian continent.

Contents [show] 1 Politics 1.1 Human rights 1.2 Migrant workers 2 Administrative divisions 3 Economy 4 Geography 4.1 Exclaves and enclaves 5 Transportation 5.1 Airlines history 5.2 Entry requirements for the United Arab Emirates 6 Technology, Media and telecommunications 6.1 Media 7 Demographics 7.1 Culture and religion 7.2 Sport 7.3 Holidays 8 See also 8.1 Lists 9 References 10 External links 10.1 Government 10.2 General information 10.3 UAE communities and forums 10.4 Non-governmental organisations 10.5 Media 10.6 Sport 10.7 UAE-based newspapers

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[edit] Politics

More information on politics and government of the United Arab Emirates can be found at Politics of the United Arab Emirates, the main article in the Politics and government of the United Arab Emirates series. The Premiership is hereditary to the Al-Maktoum clan of Dubai. The Supreme Council also elects the Council of Ministers, while an appointed forty-member Federal National Council, drawn from all the emirates, reviews proposed laws. There is a federal court system; all emirates except Dubai and Ras al-Khaimah have joined the federal system; all emirates have both secular and Islamic law for civil, criminal, and high courts. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan was the union's president from the nation's founding until his death on 2 November 2004. The Federal Supreme Council elected his son, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahayan, president the next day.

[edit] Human rights

It is a common practice for employers in the UAE to retain employees' passports for the duration of the employment contract to prevent expatriate employees from changing jobs. This is an illegal practice, but it is almost never investigated, let alone punished by the government. Further, there are court rulings that government departments are also holding their employees' passports. On termination of an employment contract, most categories of expatriates used to be automatically banned from obtaining a work permit in the country for six months and a no entry stamp would be stamped on their passports. However, in 2005, this was revoked and it requires a petition on the employers part for this to occur. A number of employers, especially Indian companies, are misusing this law to punish employees who refuse to work off the contract terms. This has created considerable new labour movement in the market since it was implemented. There has also been an increase in labour agitation as a result. The United States Department of State has cited widespread instances of blue collar labor abuse in the general context of the United Arab Emirates. [1] The United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has characterized the United Arab Emirates "as a destination country for men, women, and children trafficked from South and East Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa, and the Middle East for involuntary servitude and for sexual exploitation; an estimated 10,000 women from sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, South and East Asia, Iraq, Iran, and Morocco may be victims of sex trafficking in the UAE ..." [2] The government has been criticized by the human rights agency Human Rights Watch for its inaction in addressing the discrimination against Asian workers in the emirates. Salary structures and treatment based on nationality, sex, age, and race rather than on qualification are common. [3] According to Ansar Burney Trust (ABT), an illegal sex industry thrives in the emirates, especially in Dubai. This complements the tourism and hospitality industry, a major part of Dubai's economy.[4] A 2004 HBO documentary [5] accuses the UAE of illegally using child jockeys in camel racing, where they are also subjected to physical and sexual abuse. Antislavery.org has documented similar allegations.[6] The ABT, which was featured heavily in the HBO documentary, announced that in 2005 the government of the UAE began actively enforcing a ban on child camel jockeys, and that the issue "may finally be resolved". [7] This started with the 2006 camel racing season. A Web site is campaigning to pressure the government of the UAE into signing up to International Labour Organization core conventions on freedom of association (see [8]). Strikes and unions are currently banned in the UAE and many laborers are virtual prisoners, having paid huge agents' fees in order to obtain jobs and visas. Homosexual acts are punished by giving lots of money. The United Arab Emirates is one of seven modern day countries where the punishment for homosexuality is death. [9] Foreigners found to be infected by HIV will be deported without exception.[1]

[edit] Migrant workers

Migrant workers, either unskilled or skilled, comprise a large portion of UAE's workforce. A 2003 Human Rights Watch report estimates up to 90 percent of the country's 1.7 million workers are migrants [10], the highest percentage in the world. These migrants, drawn to wages often more than they could make in their home countries, have helped UAE's endless construction projects proceed rapidly. However, unlike many other countries, these foreign workers (also known as expatriates) do not have a claim to UAE citizenship and thus cannot be naturalized. This is generally only possible through marriage to a UAE or GCC citizen. People from neighboring Arab countries (i.e. Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Oman, Sudan, Syria, Yemen and Saudi Arabia) or Iran across the Persian Gulf despite historical Iranian claims of the region [citation needed], who entered the country illegally during the 1950s and 60s, however, are full UAE citizens because poor border controls existed at that time. [citation needed] Migrant workers in UAE face many challenges. As mentioned above, disparities in salaries and treatment occur for different races and nationalities, with Arabs and people of European descent (primarily are upper-middle class, like contractors, doctors, lawyers, managers, professionals and shipping workers) getting better pay than their Asian counterparts. It's not the case for Japanese in the same class like Europeans, and UAE's large group of wealthy American expatriates, as well a small number of high-income Australians, or non-Arab (Sub Saharan African) counterparts, and North Africans like Moroccans, Algerians, Tunisians and Libyans are better off. Even among Asians, in terms of continental origin, there are disparities. For example, a worker from South Asian countries (i.e. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh), and from across Asia: Turkey, Afghanistan, Iran, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and the Philippines may receive lower pay and worse treatment than one from Japan or South Korea or Singapore. UAE's small community of Israeli expatriates enjoy relative freedom but live quietly, and are not frequent targets of antisemitism than the rest of the Middle East. [citation needed] There are mixed reports on prison conditions; in general, prisons in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai meet international standards. There have been various reports that prisons in remote and rural areas are of lower standards. Al-Wathba prison is a prison complex located outside Abu Dhabi city in close proximity to the Abu Dhabi International Airport. It is one of the main prisons in the UAE and houses inmates waiting execution and deportation and also those who have been handed life sentences. It consists of living quarters, detention center and execution grounds. Executions (a rarity) are carried out by firing squad. The international moral outrage on the UAE's mistreatment of migrant workers might challenge the UAE's newly-found prestige as a developing country, but one that's still behind in human rights and labor unions than the rest of the developing world. [citation needed]

[edit] Administrative divisions

The United Arab Emirates is a federation which consists of seven emirates: Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain. Five emirates have one or more exclaves, in addition to the main territory:

• Ajman: 1 exclave
• Dubai: 1 exclave
• Fujairah: 2 exclaves
• Ras al-Khaimah: 1 exclave
• Sharjah: 4 exclaves

In addition there are two areas under joint control: Oman and Ajman; Fujairah and Sharjah.

[edit] Economy

United Arab Emirates has the fourth highest GDP per capita in the world [11]. Though current GDP per capita contracted by 42% in the 1980s, successful diversification helped register positive growth of 48% in the 1990s. 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 over 100 years. Despite higher oil revenues in 1999, 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. Expatriates from India and Pakistan perform a significant role in the local economy. However, to control illegal immigration into the country, on November 9, 2002, the UAE immigration ministry announced that all Indians visiting the country must have a return ticket.

[edit] Geography

The UAE lies in Southwest Asia, bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, between Oman and Saudi Arabia. It is a flat, barren coastal plain merging into rolling sand dunes of vast desert wasteland; with mountains in the east. Desert land covers over 90% of the country [12]. Its strategic location along southern approaches to the Strait of Hormuz makes it a vital transit point for world crude oil. The border demarcation treaties of 1974 and 1977 between the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia were never made public. Therefore the exact border of the two countries is only known to their governments.

[edit] Exclaves and enclaves

There is an Omani enclave inside UAE territory, known as Wadi Madha. It is located halfway between the Musandam peninsula and the rest of Oman, on the Dubai-Hatta road in the Emirate of Sharjah. It covers approximately 75square kilometres (29sqmi) and the boundary was settled in 1969. The north-east corner of Madha is closest to the Khor Fakkan-Fujairah road, barely 10metres (33ft) away. Within the enclave is a UAE exclave called Nahwa, also belonging to the Emirate of Sharjah. It is about 8kilometres (5mi) on a dirt track west of the town of New Madha. It consists of about forty houses with its own clinic and telephone exchange [13].

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Airlines history

The national airline of Abu Dhabi was formerly Gulf Air, operated jointly with Bahrain and Oman. On September 13, 2005, Abu Dhabi announced that they were withdrawing from Gulf Air to concentrate on Etihad Airways, designated as the new national carrier of the UAE, established in November 2003. In 1985, Dubai established its airline Emirates, which is now one of the fastest growing airlines in the world [14].

[edit] Entry requirements for the United Arab Emirates

Entry requirements vary depending on the country of origin/citizenship. For the following countries listed, no visa is needed in advance of travel: Australia, Andorra, Austria, Brunei, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, GCC (Gulf Corporation Council), Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States of America, and the Vatican. Holders of British overseas passports issued in Hong Kong or China can obtain a visa on arrival at Dubai Airport.

[edit] Technology, Media and telecommunications

Federal Act No. 1 [15] of 1976 establishes the Emirates Telecommunications Corporation as the sole telephone and telecommunications provider in the country, however freezones and modern housing developments are exempt from this and utilise a separate telecommunications company. That company, however, has been ordered to block VoIP in these areas. For the majority of the UAE, Etisalat has a monopoly on business and personal telecommunications services. The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) requires Etisalat to actively censor Internet sites. Material deemed offensive, or "inconsistent with the religious, cultural, political and moral values of the United Arab Emirates", is usually blocked, as well as pornography and gambling sites. For commercial reasons, there is also a total ban on internet telephony or VoIP, with Skype blocked. The TRA has released conflicting statements regarding when (if ever) the ban will be lifted. For political reasons, the entire Israeli internet domain, .il, is also blocked. Pro-Israeli content which does not use the "*.il" domain, however, is accessible (e.g. jpost.com - the website of the Jerusalem Post). The ban on MySpace, YouTube, and Flickr was recently lifted, with a few links on MySpace remaining blocked. Recently, a new Telephone company and Internet Service Provider called "du" [16] has been established. du includes the telecommunications arm of Emaar properties, previously called "Sahm". Sahm as a telecomms operator for Emaar, a commercial and residential real estate developer, was in competition with the state-run Etisalat, and was arbitrarily absorbed into Dubai Holding Company/TECOM/Dubai government prior to the formation of du. As such, du services are only available in Dubai Holding Company/Emaar properties at present. Public services, competitive to Etisalat, should commence at the end of 2006. Number portability will not be immediately available.

[edit] Media

While media is one of the first industries that the emirate of Dubai has sought to develop through a number of micro-cities, there remain major issues concerning freedom of speech throughout the UAE. Dubai Media City has helped to make Dubai the media hub for the region, encompassing both the creation of media, from print through television and new media, and the advertising and marketing industry. A number of international news organizations, including Reuters, Associated Press, Agence France Press, Bloomberg, Dow Jones Newswires, CNN and the BBC, all have a presence in Dubai Media City, and enjoy complete freedom to report on local and regional events. However, local media operate under a number of restrictions, and are strictly forbidden from criticizing the royal family. The leading English-language newspapers in the UAE are:

• Gulf News, the highest circulating broadsheet
• The Emirates Evening Post, the only English afternoon daily
• 7DAYS, the highest circulating tabloid
• Khaleej Times, the second-highest circulating broadsheet
• Emirates Today, a government-owned newspaper

[edit] Demographics

UAE has one of the most diverse populations in the Middle East. Since the mid-1980s, people from all across South Asia have settled in the UAE. In fact, an estimated 85 percent of the population is comprised of non-citizens, one of the world's highest percentages of foreign-born in any nation. [citation needed] The UAE's better living standards and economic opportunities than anywhere else in the Middle East and South Asia have made it an attractive destination for Indians and Pakistanis, along with tens of thousands from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. In 2006, there were approximately 1.2 million Indian nationals and 300,000 Pakistani nationals in the UAE, making them the largest expatriate community in the oil-rich nation.[2] Persons from over twenty Arab nationalities, including thousands of Palestinians who came as either political refugees or migrant workers, live in the UAE. [citation needed]

Emiratis (local Arabs) Other Arabs South Asians Western and East Asian

11% 21% 57% 11%

The most populated city is Dubai, with approximately 1.2 million people. Other major cities include Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Sharjah, and Fujairah. About 88% of the population of the United Arab Emirates is urban.[3] The remaining live in tiny towns scattered throughout the country or many of the desert oilfield camps. There are also residents from other parts of the Middle East, Europe, Post-Soviet states, and North America. The UAE has developed a small number, but very affluent group of expatriates (Americans, Europeans, Japanese and Australians) from developed countries, attracted to a very warm climate, scenic views (beaches, golf courses, man-made islands and lucrative housing tracts in Abu Dhabi and Dubai), the nation's comparably low-cost of living (but in 2006, thousands of real estate properties are valued over millions of dollars) and tax-free incentives for their business or residency in the UAE. They make up under 5 percent of the UAE population, mainly English-speaking as well learned Arabic and are mainly not Muslims, but adhered to the law and customs of their adopted country.

[edit] Culture and religion

Rooted in Islamic culture, the UAE has strong ties with the rest of the Arab and Islamic world. The government is committed to preserving traditional forms of art and culture, primarily through the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation. Nearly all citizens are Muslims, approximately 85 percent of whom are Sunni and the remaining 15 percent are Shi'a. Although no official figures are available, local observers estimate that approximately 55 percent of the foreign population is Muslim, 25 percent is Hindu, 10 percent is Christian, 5 percent is Buddhist, and 5 percent (most of whom reside in Dubai and Abu Dhabi) belong to other religions, including Parsi, Baha'i, and Sikh.[4] Dubai is the only emirate of the UAE with a Hindu Temple and a Sikh Gurudwara. Churches are also present in the country. There are a variety of Asian-influenced schools, restaurants and cultural centers. There also exist a growing number of European centers, schools, and restaurants. The first known manuscript in UAE is Al jawaher wal la'li.

[edit] Sport

New sports are becoming popular alongside traditional camel racing. Examples of these new sports include golf, with two European Tour events in the country (the Dubai Desert Classic and the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship) and the world's richest horse race, the Dubai World Cup, held annually in March [17]. The U.A.E. football team qualified for the World Cup in 1990 - with Egypt it was the third consecutive World Cup with two Arab nations qualifying after Kuwait and Algeria in 1982 and Iraq and Algeria again in 1986. In February 2007 it was announced that Bernie Ecclestone had signed a seven year deal with Abu Dhabi, to host a Formula 1 race there from the 2009 season. The 5.6 km circuit is to be set on Yas Island and it will include street and marina sections. See also: Islam in the United Arab Emirates, Roman Catholicism in the United Arab Emirates, Music of the United Arab Emirates, UAE Public Library and Cultural Center,and Yowla The UAE also recently won the Gulf Cup soccer championship

[edit] Holidays

Date EnglishArabic

1 January	New Year's Day		رأس السنة الميلادية
variable	Day of the Sacrifice	Eid ul-Adha	عيد الأضحى
variable	Islamic New Year	Ra's Al Sana Al Hijria	رأس السنة الهجرية
variable	The Night Journey	Isra'a wa al-Miraj	الإسراء و المعراج
2 December	National Day	Al-Eid Al Watani	العيد الوطني
variable	End of Ramadan	Eid ul-Fitr	عيد الفطر

[edit] See also

Communications Dubai Ports World controversy Emirates Scout Association Foreign relations Women in Arab societies

Gay rights Military Schools Transport European Digital Archive on Soil Maps of the World

[edit] Lists

• List of cities
• List of companies
• List of United Arab Emirates
• Ranked lists of UAE Emirates

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Find more information on United Arab Emirates by searching Wikipedia's sister projects

Dictionary definitions from Wiktionary

Textbooks from Wikibooks

Quotations from Wikiquote

Source texts from Wikisource

Images and media from Commons

News stories from Wikinews

Learning resources from Wikiversity

• United Arab Emirates official site

[edit] Government

• Government of United Arab Emirates official site
• UAE Interact: UAE Ministry Of Information and Culture
• Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi
• Food Control Authority
• Dubai eGovernment Portal
• Ras Al Khaimah eGovernment Portal
• Geographic Information System
• Dubai's Government Supported Real Estate Portal

[edit] General information

• Open Directory Project - United Arab Emirates directory category
• US State Department - United Arab Emirates includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports
• CIA World Factbook - United Arab Emirates directory category
• Dubai FAQs - Information about Dubai and the UAE
• Emirates Live - Emirates Reflective Pictures
• The United Arab Emirates Information Guide - The Emirates Network
• Middle East Public Relations Association (MEPRA)
• Dubai Business Network largest business forum in the UAE
• online Maps online Maps of United Arab Emirates

[edit] UAE communities and forums

• UAE Forums.ORG - A place for all nationalities living in UAE to discuss a variety of subjects and issues.
• UAE Community (includes UAE IT forum)
• Dubai Forums.com
• UAE Forum.net
• RAKpat.comCommunity website for Ras Al Khaimah Ex-Patriates
• Dubai Forum.co.uk

[edit] Non-governmental organisations

• Ansar Burney Trust - working on human rights and human trafficking issues in the Middle East; and against the use of children for slavery for camel racing in the UAE
• MAFIWASTA - working on workers' rights issues

[edit] Media

• dubaicameljockeys.org - Facts about UAE's efforts to end the employment of underage camel jockeys
• Sport of Sheikhs - Emmy and duPont award winning documentary on child slavery in the UAE
• Dubai - pearl of the middle east
• Panoramic views of UAE
• Dubai based Properties, cars, jobs, classifieds, and more

[edit] Sport

• football.ae Portal
• UAE Football Association - The official website of the association
• Abu Dhabi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Club - Official Abu Dhabi Combat Club website

[edit] UAE-based newspapers

• Gulf News
• Khaleej Times
• Emirates Today
• Emirates Evening Post
• Gulf Today
• 7 Days