Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan is the President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is the Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai

UAE History

The Birth of the United Arab Emirates Soon after assuming power on 6th August 1966 as the Ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Zayed underscored the importance of union and remarked: ?In harmony, in some sort of federation, we could follow the example of other developing countries?. The significance of unity and the need to work in co-operation with the other emirates was thus ingrained in Sheikh Zayed?s thinking very early in his career. Although he was fully aware that federation was a novel concept in the region, yet he had a firm conviction that it could be implemented on the basis of common ties that bound the different emirates, and the history and heritage that they shared together for centuries. To translate his ideals of union, co-operation and mutual support into practice, Sheikh Zayed began to devote a large part of his emirate?s income from oil to the Trucial States Development Fund long before the inception of the UAE as a federal state.

In 1968 the British Government, under the pressure of adverse economic conditions, announced the termination of all its treaties protecting the Trucial States and its intention to withdraw from the Gulf by the end of 1971. This sudden decision while threatening to create a military and political vacuum in the area, also helped to reduce the obstacles and difficulties that had hindered the earlier attempts at union of the emirates. The very prospect of ending the special relationship that had existed between Britain and the Trucial States for one hundred and fifty years, clearly sounded the signal for some form of association more formal and more binding than was represented by the Trucial States Council. As a result of these new forces set in motion, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Ruler of Abu Dhabi, along with Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, promptly initiated the move towards establishing a federation. This federation was meant to be the nucleus of Arab unity and to protect the potentially oil-rich coast from the ambitions of the more powerful neighboring countries.

The initiative taken by the Rulers of the two leading emirates resulted in a meeting on 18th February 1968, at al Semha on the border between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. This was a historic meeting where Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid agreed to merge their respective emirates in a union and jointly conduct foreign affairs, defense, security and social services and adopt a common immigration policy. Other administrative matters were left to the jurisdiction of the local government of each emirate. This momentous agreement came to be known as the Union Accord and may be considered as the first step towards uniting the Trucial Coast as a whole. In order to further strengthen the federation, Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid also invited the Rulers of the five other Trucial States and Bahrain and Qatar to join in the negotiations for the formation of the union.

From 25th to 27th February 1968, the Rulers of these nine states convened a constitutional conference in Dubai. For over three years the eleven-point agreement, conceived in Dubai, served as the basis for intensive efforts to shape the constitutional and legal framework for this ?Union of Arab Emirates?, comprising these nine member states. There were countless meetings on many levels of authority. The key issues were agreed in the meetings of the Supreme Council of Rulers, formed by the nine Heads of State. There were formal discussions by the Deputy Rulers and by various committees, involving civil servants from these emirates as well as external advisers. In the summer of 1971, it became clear that Iran no longer lay claim to Bahrain and the Ruler of Bahrain, Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifah, declared the island states? independence on 14th August 1971. Qatar followed suit on 1st September 1971.

The authorities in the seven Trucial States next worked on an alternative to the ?Union of Arab Emirates?. Already the Rulers of the six Trucial States viz., Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al Qaiwain and Fujairah, (with Ras al Khaimah still hesitating) had decided to form the United Arab Emirates in a meeting held in Dubai on 18th July 1971. The foundation of an independent, sovereign state was formally proclaimed on 2nd December 1971, and after Ras al Khaimah joined on 10th February 1972, the federation was complete with the inclusion of all the seven former Trucial States. This newly founded federal state became officially known as Dawlat al Imarat al Arabiyya al Muttahida or the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A Provisional Constitution, based on an amended version of the earlier draft constitution of the nine Gulf States, was agreed upon as its formal basis. It defined as its highest objective, the common good of the UAE as a whole. The Provisional Constitution consisting of 152 articles, divided into a Preamble and 10 parts, specified the powers which were to be allocated to the new federal institutions, while all others were to remain the prerogative of the local governments of the individual emirates.The five central authorities outlined in the Constitution are:The Supreme Council constituted by the seven Rulers; it is the highest policy-making body of the state and is vested with the ultimate legislative and executive powers.

The President and Vice President of the federal stateThe Council of Ministers or Cabinet.The Federal National Council (FNC); it is a consultative council comprising forty members drawn from the emirates on the basis of their population with eight deputies each from Abu Dhabi and Dubai, six each from Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah, and four each from Fujairah, Ajman and Umm al Qaiwain.The Judiciary; it is structured into a hierarchy of courts at the apex of which is the Federal Supreme Court.The Ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, was elected by his fellow Rulers as the first President of the UAE, a post to which he has been successively re-elected at five-year intervals. The then Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, was elected as Vice-President, a post which he held until his death in 1990, when his eldest son Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid was elected to succeed him. In a historic meeting on 20th May 1996, the Federal Supreme Council approved a draft amendment that made the country?s Provisional Constitution the permanent Constitution of the UAE, and named Abu Dhabi as the capital of the state.

Glimpse of the country

The United Arab Emirates an Arab country in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula.Islam is the official religion of the UAE, and Arabic is the official language The UAE is a federation of seven emirates each governed by a hereditary emir, who choose one of their members to be the president of the federation. The constituent emirates are Abu-Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al- Quwain. The capital is Abu Dhabi, which is also the state's center of political, industrial, and cultural activities. 

Emirate CapitalPopulation[166]

% of total populatio

n

Area (km²)[166]

Area (mi²)% of total area

Density

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi1,548,655 31.2% 67,340 26,000 86.7% 25

Ajman Ajman 372,923 7.5% 259 100 0.3% 996

Dubai Dubai1,770,533 35.6% 3,885 1,500 5.0% 336

Fujairah Fujairah 137,940 2.9% 1,165 450 1.5% 109

Ras al-KhaimahRas al-Khaimah

171,903 3.4% 1,684 650 2.2% 122

Sharjah Sharjah 895,252 18.0% 2,590 1,000 3.3% 262

Umm al-QuwainUmm al-Qaiwain

69,936 1.4% 777 300 0.9% 88

UAE Abu Dhabi

4,967,142

100% 77,700 30,000 100% 56

Geography of the United Arab Emirates

The UAE lies between 22°30' and 26°10' north latitude and between 51° and 56°25 east longitude. It shares a 530-′kilometer border with Saudi Arabia on the west, south, and southeast, and a 450-kilometer border with Oman on the southeast and northeast. The land border with Qatar in the Khawr al Udayd area is about nineteen kilometers (12 miles) in the northwest; however, it is a source of ongoing dispute.Following Britain's military departure from UAE in 1971, and its establishment as a new state, the UAE laid claim to islands resulting in disputes with Iran that remain unresolved. UAE also disputes claim on other islands against the neighboring state of Qatar.The largest emirate, Abu Dhabi, accounts for 87% of the UAE's total area (67,340 square kilometres (26,000 sq mi)). The smallest emirate, Ajman, encompasses only 259 km2 (100 sq mi)(see figure).

Climate

The climate of the U.A.E is subtropical-arid with hot summers and warm winters. The hottest months are July and August, when average maximum temperatures reach above 45 °C (113 °F) on the coastal plain. In the Al Hajar Mountains, temperatures are considerably lower, a result of increased elevation.[56] Average minimum temperatures in January and February are between 10 and 14 °C (50 and 57 °F).[During the late summer months, a humid southeastern wind known as Sharqi (i.e. "Easterner") makes the coastal region especially unpleasant. The average annual rainfall in the coastal area is less than 120 mm (4.7 in), but in some mountainous areas annual rainfall often reaches 350 mm (13.8 in). Rain in the coastal region falls in short, torrential bursts during the summer months, sometimes resulting in floods in ordinarily dry wadi beds.The region is prone to occasional, violent dust storms, which can severely reduce visibility. The Jebel Jais mountain cluster in Ras al-Khaimah has experienced snow only twice since records began.

UAE has the second largest economy in the Arab world (after Saudi Arabia),[with a gross domestic product (GDP) of $377 billion (AED1.38 trillion) in 2012. Since independence in 1971, UAE's economy has grown by nearly 231 times to AED1.45 trillion in 2013.The non-oil trade has grown to AED1.2 trillion, a growth by around 28 times from 1981 to 2012.In 2011, UAE is ranked as the 14th best nation in the world for doing business based on its economy and regulatory environment, ranked by the Doing Business 2011 Report published by the World Bank Group

Petroleum and natural gas exports play an important role in the economy, especially in Abu Dhabi. More than 85% of the UAE's economy was based on the exports of natural resources in 2009.[1][170] The UAE has tried to reduce its dependency on oil exports by diversifying the economy, particularly in the financial, tourism and construction sectors. While Abu Dhabi remained relatively conservative in its approach, Dubai, which has far smaller oil reserves, was bolder in its diversification policy.

Tourism acts as a growth sector for the entire UAE economy. It is ranked as one of the world's most sustainable sectors, according to theWorld Economic Forum's annual Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report. UAE is ranked as the 28th among 139 countries and first in the Middle East in the World Economic Forum’s “Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013”. Whereas, Dubai here plays a leading role, holding up to 66 per cent share of the UAE’s tourism economy, with Abu Dhabi having 16 per cent and Sharjah 10 per cent. Dubai welcomed 10 million visitors in 2013. Tourist arrivals in the UAE are estimated to grow up to a compound annual growth rate of 5.3 per cent between 2012 and 2022, with hotel supply also expected to increase from the current 96,992 hotel rooms in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, to a total of 125,383 hotel rooms in 2016

UAE launched a successful bid for Expo 2020 with Dubai. The win is unprecedented in to the region. World Expos are a meeting point for the global community to share innovations and make progress on issues such as the global economy, sustainable development and improved quality of life. World Expos can be a catalyst for economic, cultural and social transformation and generates legacies for the host city and nation.

Largest cities or towns of the United Arab Emirates2008 Calculation (some figures up to 2012)

Rank Name Emirate Pop. Rank Name Emirate Pop.

1 Dubai Dubai 2,106,533

11 Al GharbiaAbu Dhabi290,450

2 Abu DhabiAbu Dhabi1,935,23

4

3 Sharjah Sharjah1,332,45

5

4 Al Ain Abu Dhabi580,000

5 Ajman Ajman 403,923

6 Ras Al KhaimahRas al Khaimah230,903

7 Fujairah Fujairah 145,940

8 Um Al QuwainUm Al Quwain72,936

9 Khor FakkanSharjah 53,635

10 Dibba Fujairah 78,200

The life expectancy at birth in the UAE is at 78.5 years.[208] Cardiovascular disease is the principal cause of death in the UAE, constituting 28% of total deaths; other major causes are accidents and injuries, malignancies, and congenital anomalies.[250]

In February 2008, the Ministry of Health unveiled a five-year health strategy for the public health sector in the northern emirates, which fall under its purview and which, unlike Abu Dhabi and Dubai, do not have separate healthcare authorities. The strategy focuses on unifying healthcare policy and improving access to healthcare services at reasonable cost, at the same time reducing dependence on overseas treatment. The ministry plans to add three hospitals to the current 14, and 29 primary healthcare centres to the current 86. Nine were scheduled to open in 2008.

The education system through secondary level is monitored by the Ministry of Education in all emirates except Abu Dhabi, where it falls under the authority of the Abu Dhabi Education Council. It consists of primary schools, middle schools and high schools.[243] The public schools are government-funded and the curriculum is created to match the United Arab Emirates development's goals and values. The medium of instruction in the public school is Arabic with emphasis on English as a second language. There are also many private schoolswhich are internationally accredited. Public schools in the country are free for citizens of the UAE, while the fees for private schools vary.The higher education system is monitored by the Ministry of Higher Education. The ministry also is responsible for admitting students to itsundergraduate institutions.The literacy rate in 2007 was 91% Thousands of nationals are pursuing formal learning at 86 adult education centres spread across the country.