United Arab Emirates

Airports

total: 39 usable: 36 with permanent-surface runways: 22 with runways over 3,659 m: 6 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 6 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 6

Highways

total: 2,000 km paved: 1,800 km unpaved: gravel, graded earth 200 km

Merchant marine

57 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 909,041 GRT/1,512,741 DWT, bulk 1, cargo 18, chemical tanker 2, container 9, liquified gas 1, oil tanker 22, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 3

Pipelines

crude oil 830 km; natural gas, including natural gas liquids, 870 km

Ports

Al Fujayrah, Khawr Fakkan, Mina' Jabal 'Ali, Mina' Khalid, Mina' Rashid, Mina' Saqr, Mina' Zayid

Telecommunications

modern system consisting of microwave and coaxial cable; key centers are Abu Dhabi and Dubayy; 386,600 telephones; satellite ground stations - 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 2 Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 1 ARABSAT; submarine cables to Qatar, Bahrain, India, and Pakistan; tropospheric scatter to Bahrain; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; broadcast stations - 8 AM, 3 FM, 12 TV

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force, Federal Police Force

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $1.47 billion, 5.3% of GDP (1989 est.)

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 1,040,828; fit for military service 567,766; reach military age (18) annually 17,303 (1994 est.)

Agriculture

accounts for 2% of GDP and 5% of labor force; cash crop - dates; food products - vegetables, watermelons, poultry, eggs, dairy, fish; only 25% self-sufficient in food

Budget

revenues: $4.3 billion expenditures: $4.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1993 est)

Currency

1 Emirian dirham (Dh) = 100 fils

Economic aid

donor: pledged in bilateral aid to less developed countries (1979-89) $9.1 billion

Electricity

capacity: 6,090,000 kW production: 17.85 billion kWh consumption per capita: 6,718 kWh (1992)

Exchange rates

Emirian dirhams (Dh) per US$1 - 3.6710 (fixed rate)

Exports

$22.6 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: crude oil 66%, natural gas, re-exports, dried fish, dates partners: Japan 39%, Singapore 5%, Korea 4%, Iran 4%, India 4% (1991)

External debt

$11 billion (1993 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Illicit drugs

growing role as heroin transshipment and money-laundering center

Imports

$18 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, food partners: Japan 14%, UK 9%, US 8%, Germany 6% (1992)

Industrial production

growth rate 1.7% (1992 est.); accounts for 50% of GDP, including petroleum

Industries

petroleum, fishing, petrochemicals, construction materials, some boat building, handicrafts, pearling

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

3.5% (1992 est.)

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $63.8 billion (1993 est.)

National product per capita

$24,000 (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate

1% (1993 est.)

Overview

The UAE has an open economy with one of the world's highest incomes per capita and with a sizable annual trade surplus. Its wealth is based on oil and gas output (about 40% 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, crude oil reserves should last for over 100 years. Although much stronger economically than most Gulf states, the UAE faces similar problems with weak international oil prices and the pressures for cuts in OPEC oil production quotas. The UAE government is encouraging increased privatization within the economy.

Unemployment rate

NEGL% (1988)

Area

total area: 75,581 sq km land area: 75,581 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Maine

Climate

desert; cooler in eastern mountains

Coastline

1,318 km

Environment

current issues: lack of natural freshwater resources being overcome by desalination plants; desertification; beach pollution from oil spills natural hazards: frequent dust and sand storms international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Law of the Sea

International disputes

location and status of boundary with Saudi Arabia is not final; no defined boundary with most of Oman, but Administrative Line in far north; claims two islands in the Persian Gulf occupied by Iran (Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Bozorg or Greater Tunb, and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Kuchek or Lesser Tunb); claims island in the Persian Gulf jointly administered with Iran (Jazireh-ye Abu Musa or Abu Musa); in 1992, the dispute over Abu Musa and the Tunb islands became more acute when Iran unilaterally tried to control the entry of third country nationals into the UAE portion of Abu Musa island, Tehran subsequently backed off in the face of significant diplomatic support for the UAE in the region

Irrigated land

50 sq km (1989 est.)

Land boundaries

total 867 km, Oman 410 km, Saudi Arabia 457 km

Land use

arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 2% forest and woodland: 0% other: 98%

Location

Middle East, along the Persian Gulf, between Oman and Saudi Arabia

Map references

Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

continental shelf: defined by bilateral boundaries or equidistant line exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 3 nm assumed for most of country; 12 nm for Ash Shariqah (Sharjah)

Natural resources

petroleum, natural gas

Note

strategic location along southern approaches to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil

Terrain

flat, barren coastal plain merging into rolling sand dunes of vast desert wasteland; mountains in east

Abbreviation

UAE

Administrative divisions

7 emirates (imarat, singular - imarah); Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi), 'Ajman, Al Fujayrah, Ash Shariqah (Sharjah), Dubayy, Ra's al Khaymah, Umm al Qaywayn

Capital

Abu Dhabi

Constitution

2 December 1971 (provisional)

Digraph

TC

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Muhammad bin Husayn al-SHAALI chancery: Suite 600, 3000 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: (202) 338-6500

Executive branch

chief of state: President ZAYID bin Sultan Al Nuhayyan, (since 2 December 1971), ruler of Abu Dhabi; Vice President Shaykh Maktum bin Rashid al-MAKTUM (since 8 October 1990), ruler of Dubayy head of government: Prime Minister Shaykh MAKTUM bin Rashid al-Maktum (since 8 October 1990), ruler of Dubayy; Deputy Prime Minister Sultan bin Zayid Al NUHAYYAN (since 20 November 1990)

FAX

[971] (2) 318441 consulate(s) general: Dubayy (Dubai)

Flag

three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and black with a thicker vertical red band on the hoist side

Independence

2 December 1971 (from UK)

Judicial branch

Union Supreme Court

Legal system

secular codes are being introduced by the UAE Government and in several member emirates; Islamic law remains influential

Legislative branch

unicameral Federal National Council (Majlis Watani Itihad); no elections

Member of

ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GATT, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOSOM, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Names

conventional long form: United Arab Emirates conventional short form: none local long form: Al Imarata al Arabiyah al Muttahidah local short form: none former: Trucial States

National holiday

National Day, 2 December (1971)

Other political or pressure groups

NA

Political parties and leaders

none

Suffrage

none

Supreme Council of Rulers

composed of the seven emirate rulers, the council is the highest constitutional authority in the UAE; establishes general policies and sanctions federal legislation, Abu Dhabi and Dubayy rulers have veto power; council meets four times a year cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president

Type

federation with specified powers delegated to the UAE central government and other powers reserved to member emirates

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador William A. RUGH embassy: Al-Sudan Street, Abu Dhabi mailing address: P. O. Box 4009, Abu Dhabi telephone: [971] (2) 336691

Birth rate

27.68 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate

3.05 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Ethnic divisions

Emirian 19%, other Arab 23%, South Asian 50%, other expatriates (includes Westerners and East Asians) 8% (1982) note: less than 20% are UAE citizens (1982)

Infant mortality rate

21.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Labor force

580,000 (1986 est.) by occupation: industry and commerce 85%, agriculture 5%, services 5%, government 5% note: 80% of labor force is foreign (est.)

Languages

Arabic (official), Persian, English, Hindi, Urdu

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 72.26 years male: 70.16 years female: 74.46 years (1994 est.)

Literacy

age 10 and over but definition of literacy not available (1980) total population: 68% male: 70% female: 63%

Nationality

noun: Emirian(s) adjective: Emirian

Net migration rate

23.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Population

2,791,141 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate

4.79% (1994 est.)

Religions

Muslim 96% (Shi'a 16%), Christian, Hindu, and other 4%

Total fertility rate

4.6 children born/woman (1994 est.)