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| Turkey | Plants and Animal | Back to Top |
wild boar, which are seldom hunted or killed by Muslims (the great majority of the population), remain extensive in the forests. Wolf, fox, wildcat, hyena, jackal, deer, bear, marten, and mountain goat inhabit more remote areas. The camel, water buffalo, and Angora goat have been domesticated. In addition to numerous local species of birds, including the wild goose, partridge, and quail, migrations of birds of prey—lesser spotted eagles, buzzards, hawks, kestrels, and falcons—pass down the Bosporus. Trout are extensive in the mountain streams, and bonito, mackerel, and bluefish are plentiful in the Turkish Straits. Anchovies are caught in the black Sea.
| United Arab Emirates ( UAE ) | Communications | Back to Top |
modern system consisting of microwave radio relay and coaxial cable; key centers are Abu Dhabi and Dubai
domestic: microwave radio relay and coaxial cable
international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; submarine cables to Qatar, Bahrain, India, and Pakistan; tropospheric scatter to Bahrain; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia
| United Arab Emirates ( UAE ) | Culture | Back to Top |
Most of the citizens of the UAE are Sunni Muslims who adhere to the Maliki legal tradition. Some Sunnis of the Wahhabi sect (followers of a strict interpretation of the Hanbali legal school) live in the Al Buraymi Oasis, and some who follow the Shafii legal school live along the Al Batinah coast. The foreign population includes Sunni and Shia Muslims, Hindus, and Christians.
Although varying from amirate to amirate, the degree of religious freedom afforded non-Muslims is greater in the UAE than in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. For example, non-Muslims are permitted to worship but not to proselytize. There are several large Christian churches and schools in the UAE, primarily in Dubayy and Abu Dhabi.
change is apparent in the nation's cultural life. Changes in attitudes toward marriage and employment of women are discernible. Some women are now given more opportunity for choice in a marriage partner, and education and some types of professional work have become more available to women. New forms of entertainment, ranging from football (soccer) matches to videotape recorders, have affected taste and behaviour.
| United Arab Emirates ( UAE ) | Defence | Back to Top |
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense, paramilitary (includes Federal Police Force)
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 778,842
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 420,484 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 25,482 (2001 est.)
| United Arab Emirates ( UAE ) | International Disputes | Back to Top |
location and status of boundary with Saudi Arabia is not final, de facto boundary reflects 1974 agreement; boundary with Oman has not been bilaterally defined; northern section in the Musandam Peninsula is an administrative boundary; claims two islands in the Persian Gulf occupied by Iran: Lesser Tunb (called Tunb as Sughra in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Kuchek in Persian by Iran) and Greater Tunb (called Tunb al Kubra in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Bozorg in Persian by Iran); claims island in the Persian Gulf jointly administered with Iran (called Abu Musa in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Abu Musa in Persian by Iran) - over which Iran has taken steps to exert unilateral control since 1992, including access restrictions and a military build-up on the island; the UAE has garnered remarkable diplomatic support in the region in protesting these Iranian actions.
| United Arab Emirates ( UAE ) | Economy | Back to Top |
1960s the UAE has progressed from a largely subsistence economy to a developed one that provides one of the world’s highest standards of living. The main engine for the extraordinary growth and development of the economy has been the oil sector, although non-oil trade has played a remarkable role and all the emirates have begun to diversify their economies. The 1998 gross domestic product (GDP) was $47.2 billion. The total workforce of the UAE was around at 1,393,425 in 1999, with 65 % working in services. A unique feature of the UAE’s economy is its dependence on foreign labor. More than 90 % of the workforce is made up of expatriates.
Oil was first determined in Abu Dhabi in 1958. The government of Abu Dhabi owns a controlling interest in all oil-producing companies in the emirate. The largest concessions are held by Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company (ADMA-OPCO), which is partially owned by British, French, and Japanese interests. One of the main offshore fields is located in Umm ash-Sha'if. Al-Bunduq offshore field is shared with neighbouring Qatar but is operated by ADMA-OPCO. A Japanese consortium operates an offshore rig at Al-Mubarraz, and other offshore concessions are held by American companies. Onshore oil concessions are held by the Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations (ADCO), which is partially owned by American, French, Japanese, and British interests. Other concessions also are held by Japanese companies.
The UAE has an open economy with a high per capita income and a sizable annual trade surplus. Its wealth is based on oil and gas output (about 33% 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 destroyed region of small desert principalities to a modern state with a high standard of living. At present levels of production, oil and gas reserves should last for more than 100 years. contempt higher oil revenues in 1999-2000, the government has not drawn back from the economic reforms implemented during the 1998 oil price depression. The government has increased spending on job creation and infrastructure development and is opening up its utilities to greater private-sector involvement.
| United Arab Emirates ( UAE ) | Education | Back to Top |
In the early 1900s, three major schools were accomplished by pearl merchants in Dubayy, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah. The schools were staffed by foreign teachers who taught reading, writing, and Islamic studies. The economic crises of the 1920s and 1930s forced some of these and other schools to close, but some reopened when the economy improved.
In the early 1990s, United Arab Emirates University was being expanded, at an around outlay of Dh3 to Dh5 billion, to accommodate up to 16,000 students by the year 2000. The existing campus will become a technical college after the development is completed. The Women's Federation of the UAE provides adult literacy classes. There were 26 adult education centers in 1992. The United Nations around the UAE's literacy rate in 1988-89 as 53.5% overall, 58.4% for males and 38.1% for females. The government also operates several vocational training centers, which in the 1987-88 academic year had 2,614 students.
Primary and secondary education is free to UAE nationals and primary education is compulsory between the ages of 6 and 12. Most teachers, at all levels, are from other Arab countries. In 2001 adult literacy rates were around to be 91 %. This represents a dramatic increase since the introduction of universal public education under the UAE’s 1971 constitution.
| United Arab Emirates ( UAE ) | Government | Back to Top |
Government: Federation of seven amirates, as defined in 1971 provisional constitution. Powers separated between federal and amirate governments. Head of state is UAE president, Shaykh Zayid ibn Sultan Al Nuhayyan, chosen by Supreme Council of the Union composed of rulers of seven amirates. Federal National Council has consultative function.
Politics: No political parties. Amirs and their families, particularly those of Abu Dhabi and Dubayy, most valuable political actors; technocrats and commercial interests play lesser role.
Foreign Relations: Member of United Nations, League of Arab States, Organization of the Islamic Conference, Gulf Cooperation Council, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, and Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries.
| United Arab Emirates ( UAE ) | History | Back to Top |
According to archaeologists, warfare was a common activity 5,000 years ago among the peoples of the area of the Middle East that in modern times became Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the smaller gulf states. Intermittent hostilities, often based on rivalries between the Persians of the eastern coast of the gulf and the Arabs of the western coast, have occurred ever since. Sargon, Hammurabi, Nebuchadnezzar II, and Alexander the Great were among the best known kings who led warring armies in the 2,500 years before the birth of Christ. During the centuries of Greek and Roman domination, the gulf region was of limited interest to the major powers, but the area's importance as a strategic and trading center rose with the emergence of Islam in the seventh century A.D. The caliphate's military strength was concentrated at Hormuz. Strategically sited at the mouth of the gulf, its authority extended over ports and islands of the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf.
The strategic importance of the Persian Gulf became increasingly apparent as the oil industry developed in the twentieth century. Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran all claimed some of the territory of the gulf states during the years between World War I and World War II, but Britain's firm resistance to these claims enabled the amirates to maintain their territorial integrity without resort to arms. Except for a small force of the British Indian Navy to ensure observance of the treaty conditions and maintain maritime peace in the gulf, Britain abstained from direct military involvement. As the wealth of the gulf's oil resources became clear, the size of the British military establishment expanded. By the end of the 1960s, Britain had about 9,000 men in Oman, Sharjah,and Bahrain, where British military headquarters was located. The Trucial Oman Scouts, a mobile force of mixed nationality that Britain supported and British officers commanded, became a symbol of public order in the UAE until Britain's withdrawal from the Persian Gulf in 1971.
| United Arab Emirates ( UAE ) | Introduction | Back to Top |
United Arab Emirates (UAE), federation of seven independent states lying along the east-central coast of the Arabian Peninsula, formerly called the Trucial States (from the Perpetual Maritime Truce signed with Great Britain in 1853), and constituting, with Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar, the Persian Gulf States. The states making up the UAE are: Abu Dhabi, 'Ajmân, Dubai, Al Fujayrah, Ra's al Khaymah, Sharjah (or Ash Shâriqah), and Umm al-Qaiwain. The states, occupying a vaguely defined area formerly known as the Pirate Coast, as well as 80 km (50 mi) of coast on the Gulf of Oman, are bordered on the north by Qatar and the Persian Gulf, on the east by the Gulf of Oman, and on the south and west by Saudi Arabia. The area of the UAE is 77,700 sq km (30,000 sq mi).
Official Name- United Arab Emirates| United Arab Emirates ( UAE ) | Land | Back to Top |
N/A
| United Arab Emirates ( UAE ) | Languages | Back to Top |
Arabic is the official language of the UAE. English is also widely spoken, as are Hindi, Urdu, and Persian. Islam is the official religion of the nation and all Emiris and a majority of the expatriates are Muslims. The constitution guarantees religious freedom and there are some Christian churches in the UAE.
| United Arab Emirates ( UAE ) | Legal | Back to Top |
Legal system: federal court system introduced in 1971; all emirates except Dubayy (Dubai) and Ra's al Khaymah have joined the federal system; all emirates have secular and Islamic law for civil, criminal, and high courts vote: none administrator branch: chief of state: President ZAYID bin Sultan Al Nuhayyan (since 2 December 1971), ruler of Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi) (since 6 August 1966) and Vice President MAKTUM bin Rashid al-Maktum (since 8 October 1990), ruler of Dubayy (Dubai) head of government: Prime Minister MAKTUM bin Rashid al-Maktum (since 8 October 1990), ruler of Dubayy (Dubai); Deputy Prime Minister SULTAN bin Zayid Al Nuhayyan (since 20 November 1990) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president note: there is also a Federal Supreme Council (FSC) which is composed of the seven emirate rulers; the council is the highest constitutional authority in the UAE; establishes general policies and sanctions federal legislation, Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi) and Dubayy (Dubai) rulers have effective veto power; meets four times a year elections: president and vice president elected by the FSC (a group of seven electors) for five-year terms; election last held NA October 1996 (next to be held NA October 2001); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president election results: ZAYID bin Sultan Al Nuhayyan reelected president; % of FSC vote - NA, but believed to be unanimous; MAKTUM bin Rashid al-Maktum elected vice president; % of FSC vote - NA%, but believed to be unanimous Legislative branch: unicameral Federal National Council or Majlis al-Ittihad al-Watani (40 seats; members appointed by the rulers of the constituent states to serve two-year terms) elections: none note: reviews legislation, but cannot change or veto Judicial branch: Union Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)
| United Arab Emirates ( UAE ) | Life | Back to Top |
The role of women in UAE society has gradually expanded since the find of oil. Before 1960 there were few opportunities for them outside the realm of home and family. The president, Shaykh Zayid ibn Sultan Al Nuhayyan, has acknowledged the validity of women participating in the work force as well as in the home. The president's wife, Shaykha Fatima, heads the Women's Federation and promotes training, education, and the advancement of the status of women. In the early 1990s, there were five women's societies promoting various issues of importance to women, including literacy and health.
Women constituted 6.2 % of the work force in 1988. A study by the Administrative Development Institute found that a majority of female workers who are UAE citizens work under the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health. In 1988 they accounted for 82 % of UAE national employees in these ministries. Since the late 1980s, women graduates have outnumbered men by a ratio of two to one at United Arab Emirates University.
| United Arab Emirates ( UAE ) | organization | Back to Top |
ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO
| United Arab Emirates ( UAE ) | People | Back to Top |
A harsh environment and marginal economic conditions kept the population of the region low and economically depressed until the exploitation of oil. According to estimates, between 1900 and 1960 there were 80,000 to 95,000 inhabitants in the amirates, mostly in small coastal settlements. Although the population of the amirates likely did not increase a great deal during this time, there were considerable shifts within the territories, caused by changes in economic and political conditions. Whereas Sharjah was dominant in the 19th century, by 1939 Dubayy was the most populous amirate, with an around population of 20,000, one-quarter of whom were foreigners. The largest minorities were Iranians and Indians in Dubayy and in other amirates. Abu Dhabi's onshore oil exports began in 1963, bringing wealth and a demand for foreign labor. The 1968 census, conducted under the British, was the area's first; it enumerated 180,226 inhabitants. Ever greater demands for labor and expertise fueled a population boom throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, but population growth has slowed since 1985.
The UAE had an around population of 2,407,460 in 2001, with a density of 29 persons per sq km. Some 85 % of the nation’s population is urban. The population of the United Arab Emirates is concentrated primarily in cities along both coasts,although the interior oasis settlement of Al-'Ayn has grown into a major population centre as well. Several emirates have enclaves within other emirates. Less than one-fifth of the emirates'residents are citizens. The remainder are mostly male foreign workers and their dependents, with South Asians, mainly Indians and Pakistanis, constituting nearly half of the population. Arabs from countries other than the United Arab Emirates, notably Egypt, account for more than one-tenth and Iranians nearly one-fifth of the population. Southeast Asians, including many Filipinos, have immigrated in increasing numbers to work in various capacities.
| United Arab Emirates ( UAE ) | Politics | Back to Top |
None
| United Arab Emirates ( UAE ) | Provinces | Back to Top |
7 emirates (imarat, singular - imarah); Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi), 'Ajman, Al Fujayrah, Ash Shariqah (Sharjah), Dubayy (Dubai), Ra's al Khaymah, Umm al Qaywayn
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| United Arab Emirates ( UAE ) | Time | Back to Top |
| United Arab Emirates ( UAE ) | Currency and General Information | Back to Top |
| United Arab Emirates Dirhams | United States Dollars |
| 1.00 AED | 0.272280 USD |
| 3.67269 AED | 1 USD |
| Countries Currency Unit | USD/Unit | Units/USD | |
| DZD | Algeria Dinars | 0.0129554 | 77.1877 |
| USD | United States Dollars | 1.00000 | 1.00000 |
| ARS | Argentina Pesos | 0.341293 | 2.93004 |
| AUD | Australia Dollars | 0.533413 | 1.87472 |
| ATS | Austria Schillings ** | 0.0632609 | 15.8076 |
| BSD | Bahamas Dollars | 1.00000 | 1.00000 |
| BBD | Barbados Dollars | 0.502513 | 1.99000 |
| BEF | Belgium Francs ** | 0.0215788 | 46.3417 |
| BMD | Bermuda Dollars | 1.00000 | 1.00000 |
| BRL | Brazil Reals | 0.430318 | 2.32386 |
| GBP | United Kingdom Pounds | 1.42399 | 0.702251 |
| BGL | Bulgaria Leva | 0.447293 | 2.23567 |
| CAD | Canada Dollars | 0.627606 | 1.59336 |
| CLP | Chile Pesos | 0.00152392 | 656.202 |
| CNY | China Yuan Renminbi | 0.120813 | 8.27726 |
| CYP | Cyprus Pounds | 1.49883 | 0.667186 |
| CZK | Czech Republic Koruny | 0.0281883 | 35.4758 |
| DKK | Denmark Kroner | 0.117155 | 8.53568 |
| XCD | East Caribbean Dollars | 0.370370 | 2.70000 |
| EGP | Egypt Pounds | 0.217271 | 4.60255 |
| EUR | Euro | 0.870489 | 1.14878 |
| FJD | Fiji Dollars | 0.447227 | 2.23600 |
| FIM | Finland Markkaa ** | 0.146406 | 6.83034 |
| FRF | France Francs ** | 0.132705 | 7.53550 |
| DEM | Germany Deutsche Marks ** | 0.445074 | 2.24682 |
| XAU | Gold Ounces | 301.977 | 0.00331151 |
| GRD | Greece Drachmae ** | 0.00255463 | 391.447 |
| HKD | Hong Kong Dollars | 0.128215 | 7.79939 |
| HUF | Hungary Forint | 0.00358416 | 279.006 |
| ISK | Iceland Kronur | 0.00999868 | 100.013 |
| INR | India Rupees | 0.0205205 | 48.7319 |
| IDR | Indonesia Rupiahs | 0.000102055 | 9,798.61 |
| IEP | Ireland Pounds ** | 1.10529 | 0.904738 |
| ILS | Israel New Shekels | 0.212386 | 4.70841 |
| ITL | Italy Lire ** | 0.000449570 | 2,224.35 |
| JMD | Jamaica Dollars | 0.0210041 | 47.6099 |
| JPY | Japan Yen | 0.00754183 | 132.594 |
| JOD | Jordan Dinars | 1.41057 | 0.708931 |
| LBP | Lebanon Pounds | 0.000660937 | 1,513.00 |
| LUF | Luxembourg Francs ** | 0.0215788 | 46.3417 |
| MYR | Malaysia Ringgits | 0.263330 | 3.79751 |
| MXN | Mexico Pesos | 0.111007 | 9.00848 |
| NZD | New Zealand Dollars | 0.440474 | 2.27028 |
| NOK | Norway Kroner | 0.113022 | 8.84780 |
| NLG | Netherlands Guilders ** | 0.395011 | 2.53158 |
| PKR | Pakistan Rupees | 0.0166945 | 59.9000 |
| PHP | Philippines Pesos | 0.0196386 | 50.9202 |
| XPT | Platinum Ounces | 510.962 | 0.00195709 |
| PLN | Poland Zlotych | 0.243488 | 4.10699 |
| PTE | Portugal Escudos ** | 0.00434198 | 230.310 |
| ROL | Romania Lei | 0.0000303433 | 32,956.21 |
| RUR | Russia Rubles | 0.0321342 | 31.1195 |
| SAR | Saudi Arabia Riyals | 0.266668 | 3.74998 |
| XAG | Silver Ounces | 4.65692 | 0.214734 |
| SGD | Singapore Dollars | 0.542540 | 1.84318 |
| SKK | Slovakia Koruny | 0.0208441 | 47.9751 |
| ZAR | South Africa Rand | 0.0883340 | 11.3207 |
| KRW | South Korea Won | 0.000759354 | 1,316.91 |
| ESP | Spain Pesetas ** | 0.00523174 | 191.141 |
| XDR | IMF Special Drawing Rights | 1.24862 | 0.800882 |
| SDD | Sudan Dinars | 0.00384615 | 260.000 |
| SEK | Sweden Kronor | 0.0964189 | 10.3714 |
| CHF | Switzerland Francs | 0.593789 | 1.68410 |
| TWD | Taiwan New Dollars | 0.0286531 | 34.9002 |
| THB | Thailand Baht | 0.0230087 | 43.4619 |
| TTD | Trinidad and Tobago Dollars | 0.163399 | 6.12000 |
| TRL | Turkey Liras | 0.000000763622 | 1,309,549.07 |
| VEB | Venezuela Bolivares | 0.00108696 | 920.000 |
| ZMK | Zambia Kwacha | 0.000239866 | 4,169.00 |
| United Arab Emirates : Geographic coordinates | 24 00 N, 54 00 E |
| United Arab Emirates : Population growth rate | 1.59% |
| United Arab Emirates : Birth rate | 18.11 births/1,000 population |
| United Arab Emirates : Death rate | 3.79 deaths/1,000 population |
| United Arab Emirates : People living with HIV/AIDS | N/A |
| United Arab Emirates : Independence | 2 December 1971 |
| United Arab Emirates : National holiday | Independence Day, 2 December |
| United Arab Emirates : Constitution | 2 December 1971 |
| United Arab Emirates : GDP | purchasing power parity - $54 billion |
| United Arab Emirates : GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $22,800 |
| United Arab Emirates : Electricity - consumption | 34.131 billion kWh |
| United Arab Emirates : Exports | $46 billion crude oil 45%, natural gas, reexports, dried fish, dates |
| United Arab Emirates : Imports | $34 billion machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food |
| United Arab Emirates : Telephones | 915,223 |
| United Arab Emirates : Mobile cellular | 1 million |
| United Arab Emirates : Radio broadcast stations | AM 13, FM 7, shortwave 2 |
| United Arab Emirates : Radios | 820,000 |
| United Arab Emirates : Television broadcast stations | 15 |
| United Arab Emirates : Televisions | 310,000 |
| United Arab Emirates : Internet country code | .ae |
| United Arab Emirates : Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 |
| United Arab Emirates : Internet users | 400,000 |
| United Arab Emirates : Railways | N/A |
| United Arab Emirates : Highways | 4,835 km |
| United Arab Emirates : Waterways | N/A |
| United Arab Emirates : Pipelines | crude oil 830 km; natural gas, including natural gas liquids, 870 km |
| United Arab Emirates : Ports and harbors | 'Ajman, Al Fujayrah, Das Island, Khawr Fakkan, Mina' Jabal 'Ali, Mina' Khalid, Mina' Rashid, Mina' Saqr, Mina' Zayid, Umm al Qaywayn |
| United Arab Emirates : Merchant marine | 70 ships |
| United Arab Emirates : Airports | 40 |
| United Arab Emirates : Heliports | 2 |
| United Arab Emirates : Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense |
| United Arab Emirates : Military expenditures | $1.6 billion |