4,444,011
note: estimate is based on the results of the 2005 census that included a significantly higher estimate of net inmigration of non-citizens than previous estimates (July 2007 est.)

total: 30.1 years
male: 32 years
female: 24.5 years (2007 est.)

3.997% (2007 est.)

16.09 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

2.16 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

26.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.047 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 2.743 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.849 male(s)/female
total population: 2.19 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

total: 13.52 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 15.77 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 11.15 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

total population: 75.69 years
male: 73.16 years
female: 78.35 years (2007 est.)

2.43 children born/woman (2007 est.)

0.18% (2001 est.)

NA

NA

noun: Emirati(s)
adjective: Emirati

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

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

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

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 77.9%
male: 76.1%
female: 81.7% (2003 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

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

name: Abu Dhabi
geographic coordinates: 24 28 N, 54 22 E
time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

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

2 December 1971 (from UK)

Independence Day, 2 December (1971)

2 December 1971; made permanent in 1996

based on a dual system of Shari'a and civil courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

none

chief of state: President KHALIFA bin Zayid al-Nuhayyan (since 3 November 2004), ruler of Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi) (since 4 November 2004); Vice President and Prime Minister MUHAMMAD bin Rashid al-Maktum (since 5 January 2006)
head of government: Prime Minister and Vice President MUHAMMAD bin Rashid al-Maktum (since 5 January 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers SULTAN bin Zayid al-Nuhayyan (since 20 November 1990) and HAMDAN bin Zayid al-Nuhayyan (since 20 October 2003)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
note: there is also a Federal Supreme Council (FSC) composed of the seven emirate rulers; the FSC is the highest constitutional authority in the UAE; establishes general policies and sanctions federal legislation; meets four times a year; Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi) and Dubayy (Dubai) rulers have effective veto power
elections: president and vice president elected by the FSC for five-year terms (no term limits); election last held 3 November 2004 upon the death of the UAE's Founding Father and first President ZAYID bin Sultan Al Nuhayyan (next to be held in 2009); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president
election results: KHALIFA bin Zayid al-Nuhayyan elected president by a unanimous vote of the FSC; MUHAMMAD bin Rashid al-Maktum unanimously affirmed vice president after the 2006 death of his brother Sheikh Maktum bin Rashid al-Maktum

unicameral Federal National Council (FNC) or Majlis al-Ittihad al-Watani (40 seats; 20 members appointed by the rulers of the constituent states, 20 members elected to serve two-year terms)
elections: elections for one half of the FNC (the other half remains appointed) held in the UAE on 18-20 December 2006; the new electoral college - a body of 6,689 Emiratis (including 1,189 women) appointed by the rulers of the seven emirates - were the only eligible voters and candidates; 456 candidates including 65 women ran for 20 contested FNC seats; one female from the Emirate of Abu Dhabi won a seat
note: reviews legislation but cannot change or veto

Union Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)

none

NA

ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

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

The UAE has an open economy with a high per capita income and a sizable annual trade surplus. Despite largely successful efforts at economic diversification, about 30% of GDP is still directly based on oil and gas output, and the fortunes of the economy fluctuate with the prices of those commodities. Since the discovery of oil in the UAE more than 30 years ago, 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. The government has increased spending on job creation and infrastructure expansion and is opening up its utilities to greater private sector involvement. 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. Higher oil revenue, strong liquidity, and cheap credit in 2005-06 led to a surge in asset prices (shares and real estate) and consumer inflation. Rising prices are increasing the operating costs for businesses in the UAE and degrading the UAE's allure to foreign investors. Dependence on a large expatriate workforce and oil are significant long-term challenges to the UAE's economy.

$129.5 billion (2006 est.)

$109.3 billion (2006 est.)

8.9% (2006 est.)

agriculture: 2%
industry: 62.7%
services: 35.2% (2006 est.)

2.968 million (2006 est.)

agriculture: 7%
industry: 15%
services: 78% (2000 est.)

2.4% (2001)

19.5% (2003)

13.5% (2006 est.)

20.2% of GDP (2006 est.)

16.2% of GDP (2006 est.)

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

petroleum and petrochemicals; fishing, aluminum, cement, fertilizers, commercial ship repair, construction materials, some boat building, handicrafts, textiles

4% (2000)

57.06 billion kWh (2005)

52.62 billion kWh (2005)

0 kWh (2005)

0 kWh (2005)

2.54 million bbl/day (2006 est.)

400,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

2.54 million bbl/day (2004 est.)

137,200 bbl/day (2004)

97.8 billion bbl (1 January 2006)

$35.16 billion (2006 est.)

$142.5 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

crude oil 45%, natural gas, reexports, dried fish, dates

Japan 25.8%, South Korea 9.6%, Thailand 5.9%, India 4.5% (2006)

$86.11 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food

US 11.5%, China 11%, India 9.9%, Germany 6.2%, Japan 5.8%, UK 5.6%, France 4.1%, Italy 4% (2006)

$27.62 billion (2006 est.)

$38.31 billion (2006 est.)

since its founding in 1971, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development has given about $5.2 billion in aid to 56 countries (2004)

Emirati dirham (AED)

Emirati dirhams per US dollar - 3.673 (2006), 3.6725 (2005), 3.6725 (2004), 3.6725 (2003), 3.6725 (2002)
note: officially pegged to the US dollar since February 2002

calendar year

39 (2007)

total: 22
over 3,047 m: 10
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 3 (2007)

total: 17
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 5 (2007)

5 (2007)

condensate 520 km; gas 2,580 km; liquid petroleum gas 300 km; oil 2,950 km; oil/gas/water 5 km; refined products 156 km (2006)

total: 1,088 km
paved: 1,088 km (includes 253 km of expressways) (1999)

total: 60 ships (1000 GRT or over) 617,519 GRT/858,519 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 6, cargo 10, chemical tanker 5, container 6, liquefied gas 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 25, roll on/roll off 5, specialized tanker 1
foreign-owned: 11 (Greece 3, Kuwait 8)
registered in other countries: 281 (Bahamas 20, Belize 4, Cambodia 2, Comoros 5, Cyprus 10, Georgia 1, Gibraltar 2, Hong Kong 1, India 2, Iran 1, Jordan 15, North Korea 4, Liberia 22, Malta 10, Marshall Islands 14, Mexico 1, Mongolia 5, Norway 1, Panama 108, Philippines 1, Saudi Arabia 1, Sierra Leone 7, Singapore 8, Somalia 1, St Kitts and Nevis 22, St Vincent and The Grenadines 12, Turkey 1, unknown 5) (2007)

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

Army, Navy (includes Marines and Coast Guard), Air and Air Defense Force, paramilitary forces (includes Federal Police Force)

18 years of age (est.); no conscription (2001)

3.1% (2005 est.)

boundary agreement was signed and ratified with Oman in 2003 for entire border, including Oman's Musandam Peninsula and Al Madhah enclaves, but contents of the agreement and detailed maps showing the alignment have not been published; Iran and UAE dispute Tunb Islands and Abu Musa Island, which Iran occupies

current situation: the United Arab Emirates is a destination country for men, women, and children trafficked from South and East Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa, and the Middle East for involuntary servitude and for sexual exploitation; an estimated 10,000 women from sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, South and East Asia, Iraq, Iran, and Morocco may be victims of sex trafficking in the UAE; women also migrate from Africa, and South and Southeast Asia to work as domestic servants, but may have their passports confiscated, be denied permission to leave the place of employment in the home, or face sexual or physical abuse by their employers; men from South Asia come to the UAE to work in the construction industry, but may be subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude as they are coerced to pay off recruitment and travel costs, sometimes having their wages denied for months at a time; victims of child camel jockey trafficking may still remain in the UAE, despite a July 2005 law banning the practice; while all identified victims were repatriated at the government's expense to their home countries, questions persist as to the effectiveness of the ban and the true number of victims
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - UAE is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to show increased efforts to combat trafficking in 2005, particularly in its efforts to address the large-scale trafficking of foreign girls and women for commercial sexual exploitation

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