The UAE is a constitutional federation of seven emirates. Abu Dhabi city is the capital of the UAE. Arabic is the official language of the UAE. Islam is the official religion in the UAE. The UAE is 4 hours ahead of GMT. The Arab Emirati Dirham (AED) is pegged to the US dollar (USD). 1 USD = AED 3.6725. The UAE passport holds the 1st position globally.
Abu Dhabi city is the capital of the UAE Federation.
The late H. H. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan was the first President of the UAE and is known as the Father of the Nation. He served this position since the formation of the UAE on 2 December 1971 until he passed away in 2004.
The Late H. H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan was the second President of the UAE. He took this position in 2004 until he passed away on 13 May 2022.
H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is the current President of the UAE. He took this position on 14 May 2022. He is also the Ruler of Abu Dhabi.
The UAE is a constitutional federation of seven emirates. The Constitution of the UAE provides for five federal authorities. They are:
The UAE follows a moderate foreign policy that reinforces balanced relationships with the international community. It adheres to the principles of peaceful co-existence, mutual respect and non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries. It pursues peaceful resolution of disputes through dialogue together with the support of international institutions, such as the United Nations. The UAE is a leading player in the global campaign against human trafficking, terrorism and in maintaining human rights.
Through foreign aid, the UAE supports developmental, humanitarian and charitable programmes in a number of developing countries. As per the new ‘Grant Equivalent’ methodology of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee (OECD-DAC), the foreign assistance was valued at AED 6.81 billion (USD 1.85 billion) in Official Development Assistance, accounting for 0.52 percent of the UAE’s Gross National Income in 2020.
With this, the UAE continued to maintain its position of being among the world’s top 20 donors of the Official Development Assistance as a proportion of Gross National Income (ODA/GNI), for the ninth year in a row. Read the UAE’s annual foreign aid reports.
Arabic is the official language of the UAE. In the courts, the other five official languages are Chinese, English, French, Hindi and Russian. All road and traffic signs, and signs on commercial outlets are in Arabic and English. Some of the other widely spoken languages include Bengali, Farsi, Malayalam, Turkish and Urdu.
Islam is the official religion in the UAE. Expatriate residents practice their respective religions by virtue of the UAE’s policy of tolerance and co-existence, and religious inclusion.
The UAE is located in Asia. It is situated in the southeastern region of the Asian continent, and in the eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula. It overlooks the Arabian Gulf on the north and northwest, borders the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the west and south and the Sultanate of Oman to the southeast.
The UAE area is approximately 71,023.6sq km of land, including some islands in the Arab Gulf, in addition to 27,624.9sq km of territorial water. Abu Dhabi accounts for 84 per cent of the country's total landmass.
The UAE is situated at:
51° 35’ - 57°10’ east
Longitude
22°35’ - 26°25’ north
Latitude
The UAE is 4 hours ahead of GMT.
The UAE maintains a desert climate. It is warm and sunny in the winter and during the summer, it is hot and humid. It is generally cooler in the eastern mountains.
The Arab Emirati Dirham is the official currency of the UAE. It is called Dirhams and is abbreviated officially as AED. Unofficial abbreviations include Dh and Dhs. The dirham is divided into 100 fils.
Coins are in the following denomination: AED 1, 50 fils and 25 fils.
Notes or bills are in the denomination of AED 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1,000.
(Source: Extraordinary Abu Dhabi, PDF, 1 MB)
Since February 2002, the Arab Emirati Dirham (AED) is pegged to the US dollar (USD).
1 USD = AED 3.6725.The flag comprises three equal horizontal lines with green at the top, white in the middle and black at the base. There is also a wider vertical red ribbon in the direction of the flagpole.
Green represents hope, joy, optimism and love. It can also symbolise the country's prosperity.
White represents peace and honesty. White is the purest colour, and is interpreted by some to symbolise cleanliness.
Black stands for the defeat of enemies and also strength of mind.
Red represents hardiness, bravery, strength and courage. The vertical red band can also be interpreted as binding all the other meanings together in unity.
The UAE's new coat of arms displays the UAE flag surrounded by seven stars, representing the seven emirates. The falcon is also shown holding a parchment in its talons which reads 'United Arab Emirates' in Arabic.
In 2020, the UAE adopted the ‘7 Lines’ design as its logo for the next 50 years. The logo represents the seven emirates and the seven founding fathers, and complements the slogan ‘Make it Happen’. This logo is to represent the UAE in all its initiatives and events, and to convey its story to the world.
The UAE's national anthem, Ishy Bilady was originally conceived as an instrumental in 1971. In 1986, Dr. Aref Al Sheikh was given the task to write the words to the UAE's national anthem, and the Cabinet approved the lyrics.
Read the translation of the UAE's National Anthem
Find embassies of the UAE across the world.
Embassies and consulates are usually open from Monday to Friday (the UAE work-week) and are closed on Saturdays, Sundays, all UAE public holidays, and on the public holiday of the embassy's home country.
Opening times vary depending on each embassy and the purpose of visit. Find embassies and consulates in the UAE.
All UAE citizens in the seven emirates carry the unified nationality of the UAE, which is recognised internationally. The demonym is Emirati.
According to Arton Capital's Passport Index, the UAE passport holds the 1st position globally. A UAE-passport holder can travel to 179 countries; 132 destinations offer visa-free travel and 47 offered eVisa or visa on arrival at the airport.
According to Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre, the UAE's total population (nationals and expatriate residents) was 9,282,410 in 2020, as compared to 9,503,738 in 2019. Males outnumber females.
There were 6,468,460 males in 2020, as compared to 6,302,724 in 2019.
There were 2,813,950 females in 2020, as compared to 3,201,014 in 2019.
There are more than 200 nationalities living and working in the UAE. The expatriate community outnumbers the population of UAE nationals.
Indians form the largest foreign community in the UAE, followed by Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, other Asians, Europeans and Africans.
According to UNESCO, the literacy rate among the population aged 15 to 24 years is 98.2 per cent and among the population aged 65 years and older is 87.1.
According to Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre, here are the figures for births in 2019:
Total births: 94,697
Males: 48,857 Females: 45,840
According to Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre, here are the figures for deaths in 2019:
Total deaths: 9,006
Males: 6,320
Females: 2,683
According to Human Development Report, issued by the UNDP in 2020, life expectancy at birth is 78 years.
Prior to the construction of 'Dubai Palms' and other schemes, the coastline of the UAE was approximately 1,318 kilometres. Land reclamation projects are extending this figure.
The country's lowest point is at sea level and its highest point is Jebel Jais at 1,934 metres.
In 2022, the UAE’s GDP at constant prices was AED 1.62 trillion, while at current prices, it was AED 1.86 trillion.
The value of the UAE’s non-oil foreign trade in 2022 amounted to nearly AED 2.233 trillion, reflecting a 17 per cent growth compared to the value of trade in 2021. The breakup is as follows:
Imports: AED 1.252 trillion
Non-oil exports: AED 366 billion
Re-exports: AED 614.6 billion.
1 January to 31 December
The federal budget for the year 2024 is AED 64.060 billion, 1.6 per cent more than the budget for the year 2023 (AED 63.066 billion). It is allocated as follows:
The UAE's inflation rate was 2.5 per cent in 2021.
The UAE's consumer price index at the end of 2021 reached 108.62.
The UAE does not levy income tax on individuals. However, it levies 5 per cent value added Tax on the purchase of goods and services, levied at each stage of the supply chain and ultimately borne by the end consumer. The UAE also levies excise tax on specific goods that are harmful to health, and corporate tax on the net income or profit of corporations and other entities from their business.
The UAE has proven crude oil reserves of 107,000 million barrels and proven natural gas reserves of 7,726 billion cubic metres.
Source: Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Annual Statistical Bulletin 2021)
In 2020, the total installed capacity of electricity generation plants was 34,901 megawatts (MW), using diesel engine, gas turbine, steam turbine, combined cycle turbine, solar energy turbine, nuclear energy and clean coal.
Source: Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre (Electricity report for 2020)
In 2020, the installed capacity of water production plants was 7.23 million cubic metres per day.
1,952.7 million cubic metres desalinated water was produced from sea water and 27.9 million cubic metres water was produced from ground water.
Source: Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre (Desalinated Produced Water report for 2020)
In 2020, the installed capacity of renewable energy plants in the UAE was 2,300.8. MW. Sources included solar photovoltaic, concentrated solar power and landfill gas.
Source: Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre (Renewable energy report for 2020)
The Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant consists of four nuclear units each with the capacity to produce up to 1,400 megawatts (MW) of electricity.
Government and semi-government offices operate from Monday to Friday. However, Sharjah government entities operate from Monday to Thursday.
Most private companies are closed only on Sundays, while others are closed on both, Saturdays and Sundays.
The UAE’s National Day is on 2 December. As a result, 2 and 3 December are observed as public holidays. It marks the formation of the UAE in 1971.
Other public holidays are:
The dialing codes for the emirates/cities are:
According to Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), there were 1,929,791 fixed lines with an average of 20.8 lines per 100 inhabitants as of September 2023.
According to TDRA, there were 20,445,447 active mobile subscriptions with an average of 220.1 mobile subscriptions per 100 inhabitants as of September 2023.
The top-level domain is .ae.
According to TDRA, there were 3,742,119 broadband internet subscribers with an average of 40 broadband internet subscriptions per 100 inhabitants as of September 2023.
Emirates News Agency (WAM) is the official UAE news agency of the UAE Government. It publishes news in multiple languages.
Motorists drive on the right hand side of the road.
The emirate of Dubai levies a toll (salik) of AED 4 when vehicles pass through the toll gates.
In Abu Dhabi, a toll of AED 4 is levied on every vehicle passing the toll gate during peak hours from 7 to 9 am and from 5 to 7 pm from Monday to Saturday.
The UAE has several seaports. Some of the major ports are:
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