The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is located on a flat coastal plain of the Arabian Peninsula with Qatar bordering on the northwest, Saudi
Arabia on the south and west, and Oman on the north and east. UAE is a federation of seven small emirates (states); Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain, Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah. The capital and the largest city of the federation, Abu Dhabi, is located in the emirate of the same name.
Total area of UAE is 83,600 square kilometers (32,275 square miles) which is about the size of Maine and approximately 80 percent of the UAE's area is in Abu Dhabi.
The population of UAE was estimated at 4.444.011 in 2007 with an annual growth of 4.0 percent.
Nearly 96 percent of Emiratis are Muslim. South Asians, mainly Indians and Pakistanis, consist of 50 percent of the population. The next three largest expatriate ethnic groups are Iranians, Arabs from other parts of the Middle East, and Westerners.
The official language is Arabic.
In 1971 when Great Britain withdrew from the region, six of the emirates formed a fully independent federation and the seventh, Ras al Khaymah, joined the UAE in 1972. The emirs still rule their own emirates, but together they are members of the Supreme Council. The 7-member Supreme Council of Rulers elects president and vice president.
Its monetary unit is Emirati dirham.
Web Sites
- Government Web Site
- CIA: The World Factbook
- U.S. Department of State
- Library of Congress Country Studies
Catalog
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