United Arab Emirates (UAE)
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Name: The United Arab Emirates Introduction: It is a federation of seven tribally organized Sheikdoms. It was called Pirate Coast as it was dominated by the Pirates until 1820, when Britain signed a treaty with the Sheikhs to eradicate it. These treaties gave Britain control of the external affairs of the Sheikhdoms. Later it came to be known as Trucial States or Trucial Oman, in reference to the nineteenth century truce between Britain and the Arab Sheikhs. This area got its independent in 1971 and six states joined together to form United Arab Emirates these are; Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Fujairah, Umn al – Quwain and Ajman. In 1972 Ras al – Khaimah joined the federation as the seventh state. Each state controls its own internal affairs. Location: Southern part of the Persian Gulf in the Middle East Asia. Borders: It lies in between Oman and Saudi Arabia. Terrain: The Persian Gulf coast is lined with swamps and barren coastal plains and to its east are the mountains. The interior is mostly flat with rolling sand dunes of vast desert wasteland. Climate: Hot, desert and cooler in eastern mountains with less rainfall. Ethnic Group: Mostly Arabs, others are mostly immigrants which form about 85% of the UAE population and include Egyptian, Iranian, Jordanian Filipino and Palestinians. The UAE offers good economic opportunities than anywhere else in the Middle East and South Asia, thus it has become an attractive destination for people from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. In 2006, there were about 1.2 million Indians and 700,000 Pakistanis in the UAE, making them the largest expatriate community in the oil-rich nation. People from over twenty Arab nationalities, including thousands of Palestinians who came as either political refugees or migrant workers also live in the UAE. Religion: This area was converted to Islam in the 7th century and 96% are Muslims (Shi'a 16%), other 4% include Christians and Hindus. Area: 83,600 sq km Coastline: 1,318 km Capital: Abu Dhabi Currency: UAE Dirham (AED) Life Expectancy: 75.69 years Population: 4,444,011 (2007 est) Language: Arabic (official), Persian, English, Hindi, Urdu Literacy: 77.9% (2003 est) Internet TLD: .ae Calling Code: +971 Nationality: Emirati Independence: 2 December 1971 (from UK) Government: Federal Constitutional Monarchy. It is a federation with specified powers delegated to the UAE federal government and other powers reserved to member of the Emirate. Constitution: On 2 December 1971 and was made permanent in 1996. Executive Branch: President is the Chief of the State and Prime minister is the head of the Government. Cabinet consists of the ministers appointed by the president. Legislative Branch: Unicameral Federal National Council (FNC) or Majlis al-Ittihad al-Watani with 40 seats out of which 20 members are appointed by the rulers of the constituent states and 20 members are elected to serve two-year terms. Judiciary Branch: Union Supreme Court is the highest court and the judges are appointed by the President. Military Branch: Army, Navy (includes Marines and Coast Guard), Air and Air Defense Force, paramilitary forces (includes Federal Police Force) Legal System: Federal court system introduced in 1971 and applies to all Emirates except (Dubai) and Ra's al Khaymah, which are not fully integrated into the federal judicial system. All Emirates have secular courts to adjudicate criminal, civil, and commercial matters and Islamic courts to review family and religious disputes. Suffrage: none National Flag: It was adopted in 1971 and has three horizontal bands of Pan Arab colours, green, which symbolizes Fertility on the top then white meaning Neutrality and black symbolizing oil wealth within the country’s borders. It also has a wider vertical band on the hoist side. National Anthem: Ishy Bilady National Holiday: Independence Day - 2 December (1971) Motto:"God, Nation, Royal Family" Coat of Arm: It was adopted in 1973 and is similar to the coat of arm of Arab states, consisting of a golden Hawk with a red disk showing a Sailboat in its interior. This disk is bordered by a chain and the Hawk hols with its claws a red parchment with the inscription of the name of the federation on it. Economy: Before the oil production this area was one of the poorest, now it is one of the richest. UAE has an open economy and government increased spending on job creation and infrastructure expansion. About 305 of the Country’s GDP is directly based on oil and gas output. This dependence may be a long term challenge to UAE economy. In April 2004, the UAE signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) with Washington and in November 2004 agreed to undertake negotiations toward a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US. Then in 2005, country produced about 2.5 million barrels of oil per day, of which Abu Dhabi produced nearly 94%--with Dubai, and Sharjah, producing the rest. GDP Total: $164 billion (2006 est) GDP Per capita: $49,700 (2006 est) GDP Growth Rate: 10.2% (2006 est) Agriculture: Dates, vegetables, watermelons; poultry, eggs, dairy products and fish. Industries: Petroleum and petrochemicals, fishing, aluminum, cement, fertilizers, commercial ship repair, construction materials, some boat building, handicrafts and textiles. Export: Crude oil, natural gas, reexports dried fish and dates. Import: Machinery and transport equipment, chemicals and food. |