United Arab Emirates

mean elevation:

149 m

elevation extremes:

0 m lowest point: Persian Gulf; 1527 highest point: Jabal Yibir

agricultural land:

4.6% (2011 est.)

arable land:

0.5% (2011 est.) / permanent crops: 0.5% (2011 est.) / permanent pasture: 3.6% (2011 est.)

forest:

3.8% (2011 est.)

other:

91.6% (2011 est.)

• population is heavily concentrated to the northeast on the Musandam Peninsula;
• the three largest emirates - Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah - are home to nearly 85% of the population

• air pollution;
• rapid population growth and high energy demand contribute to water scarcity;
• lack of natural freshwater resources compensated by desalination plants;
• land degradation and desertification;
• waste generation, beach pollution from oil spills

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection

signed, but not ratified:

Law of the Sea

noun:

Emirati(s)

adjective:

Emirati

0-14 years:

14.39% (male 724,904 /female 671,524)

15-24 years:

7.64% (male 408,376 /female 332,986)

25-54 years:

70.45% (male 5,297,201 /female 1,537,300)

55-64 years:

6.05% (male 499,579 /female 87,037)

65 years and over:

1.47% (male 106,739 /female 35,669) (2018 est.)

total dependency ratio:

17.4 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio:

16.2 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio:

1.2 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio:

83.4 (2015 est.)

• population is heavily concentrated to the northeast on the Musandam Peninsula;
• the three largest emirates - Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah - are home to nearly 85% of the population

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

15-24 years:

1.47 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

25-54 years:

3.2 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

55-64 years:

2.93 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

65 years and over:

1.69 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

total population:

2.18 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

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

etymology:

• self-descriptive country name;
• the name "Arabia" can be traced back many centuries B.C., the ancient Egyptians referred to the region as "Ar Rabi";
• "emirates" derives from "amir" the Arabic word for "commander," "lord," or "prince"

name:

Abu Dhabi

geographic coordinates:

24 28 N, 54 22 E

time difference:

UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

history:

previous 1971 (provisional); latest drafted in 1979, became permanent May 1996 (2016)

amendments:

• proposed by the Supreme Council and submitted to the Federal National Council;
• passage requires at least a two-thirds majority vote of Federal National Council members present, and approval by the Supreme Council president;
• amended 2009 (2016)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

the father must be a citizen of the United Arab Emirates; if the father is unknown, the mother must be a citizen

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

30 years

highest courts:

Federal Supreme Court (consists of the court president and 4 judges; jurisdiction limited to federal cases)

judge selection and term of office:

• judges appointed by the federal president following approval by the Federal Supreme Council, the highest executive and legislative authority consisting of the 7 emirate rulers;
• judges serve until retirement age or the expiry of their appointment terms

subordinate courts:

• Federal Court of Cassation (determines the constitutionality of laws promulgated at the federal and emirate level; federal level courts of first instance and appeals courts);
• the emirates of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Ra's al Khaymah have parallel court systems;
• the other 4 emirates have incorporated their courts into the federal system;
• note - the Abu Dhabi Global Market Courts and the Dubai International Financial Center Courts, the country’s two largest financial free zones, both adjudicate civil and commercial disputes.

description:

unicameral Federal National Council (FNC) or Majlis al-Ittihad al-Watani (40 seats; 20 members indirectly elected by an electoral college whose members are selected by each emirate ruler proportional to its FNC membership, and 20 members appointed by the rulers of the 7 constituent states; members serve 4-year terms)

elections:

• last held on 3 October 2015 (next to be held in 2019);
• note - the electoral college was expanded from 129,274 electors in the December 2011 election to 224,279 in the October 2015 election;
• 347 candidates including 78 women ran for 20 contested seats in the 40-member FNC

election results:

• 19 men and 1 woman were elected;
• seats by emirate - Abu Dhabi 4, Dubai 4, Sharjah 3, Ras al-Khaimah 3, Ajman 2, Fujairah 2, Umm al-Quwain 2;
• note - only 1 woman (from Ras Al Khaimah) won an FNC seat

chief of mission:

Ambassador Yusif bin Mani bin Said al-UTAYBA (since 28 July 2008)

chancery:

3522 International Court NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 243-2400

FAX:

[1] (202) 243-2432

consulate(s) general:

Boston, Los Angeles, New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vanant); Charge d'Affaires Steven C. BONDY (since 22 March 2018)

embassy:

Embassies District, Plot 38 Sector W59-02, Street No. 4, Abu Dhabi

mailing address:

P. O. Box 4009, Abu Dhabi

telephone:

[971] (2) 414-2200

FAX:

[971] (2) 414-2603

consulate(s) general:

Dubai

• three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and black with a wider vertical red band on the hoist side;
• the flag incorporates all four Pan-Arab colors, which in this case represent fertility (green), neutrality (white), petroleum resources (black), and unity (red);
• red was the traditional color incorporated into all flags of the emirates before their unification

name:

"Nashid al-watani al-imarati" (National Anthem of the UAE)

lyrics/music:

AREF Al Sheikh Abdullah Al Hassan/Mohamad Abdel WAHAB

note: music adopted 1971, lyrics adopted 1996; Mohamad Abdel WAHAB also composed the music for the anthem of Tunisia

• dates, vegetables, watermelons;
• poultry, eggs, dairy products;
• fish

agriculture:

7%

industry:

15%

services:

78% (2000 est.)

lowest 10%:

NA

highest 10%:

NA

general assessment:

• modern fiber-optic integrated services;
• digital network with rapidly growing use of mobile-cellular telephones;
• key centers are Abu Dhabi and Dubai (2016)

domestic:

microwave radio relay, fiber-optic and coaxial cable (2016)

international:

• country code - 971;
• linked to the international submarine cable FLAG (Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe);
• landing point for both the SEA-ME-WE-3 and SEA-ME-WE-4 submarine cable networks;
• satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian) (2016)

• except for the many organizations now operating in media free zones in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, most TV and radio stations remain government-owned;
• widespread use of satellite dishes provides access to pan-Arab and other international broadcasts;
• restrictions since June 2017 on some satellite channels and websites originating from or otherwise linked to Qatar (2018)

number of registered air carriers:

12 (2015)

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 498 (2015)

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

84,738,479 (2015)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

16.647 billion mt-km (2015)

total:

4,080 km (2008)

paved:

4,080 km (includes 253 km of expressways) (2008)

total:

618 (2017)

by type:

general cargo 97, oil tanker 26, other 495 (2017)

major seaport(s):

Al Fujayrah, Mina' Jabal 'Ali (Dubai), Khor Fakkan (Khawr Fakkan) (Sharjah), Mubarraz Island (Abu Dhabi), Mina' Rashid (Dubai), Mina' Saqr (Ra's al Khaymah)

container port(s) (TEUs):

Mubarraz Island (Abu Dhabi) (1,550,000), Dubai Port (14,772,000), Khor Fakkan (Khawr Fakkan) (Sharjah) (4,330,200) (2016)

LNG terminal(s) (export):

Das Island

• 18-30 years of age for compulsory military service for men, optional service for women;
• 17 years of age for male volunteers with parental approval;
• 2-year general obligation, 12 months for secondary school graduates;
• women may train for 9 months regardless of education (2016)

• the UAE is a drug transshipment point for traffickers given its proximity to Southwest Asian drug-producing countries;
• the UAE's position as a major financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering;
• anti-money-laundering controls improving, but informal banking remains unregulated