Overview
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), also known simply as the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, situated at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal semi-constitutional monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as its national capital. The UAE borders Oman to the east and northeast, and Saudi Arabia to the south and southwest, while sharing maritime borders with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Iran in the Persian Gulf, and with Oman in the Gulf of Oman.
Geography and Population
In 2024, the UAE had an estimated population of over 11 million people. Dubai is the country's largest city. Only 11% of the population are native Emiratis; the vast majority of inhabitants are expatriates and migrant workers, most of whom are from South Asia.
Government and Politics
The UAE is a federal semi-constitutional monarchy. The Federal Supreme Council, made up of the seven ruling emirs, is the highest state authority. It jointly appoints one member as federal president, who appoints a prime minister, who forms and leads the cabinet. The UAE is an authoritarian state but generally liberal by regional standards.
Religion and Language
Islam is the state religion of the UAE. Arabic is the official language, while English remains the most spoken language and the language of business.
Economy
The UAE has the world's seventh-largest oil reserves and seventh-largest natural gas reserves. The UAE has the most diversified economy among the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), having become less reliant on natural resources in the 21st century and increasingly focusing on tourism and business. Dubai serves as an international hub of finance, tourism, and commerce.
International Relations
The United Arab Emirates is considered a middle power in global affairs. The UAE is a member of the United Nations, Arab League, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Non-Aligned Movement, World Trade Organization, and BRICS; it is also a dialogue partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
Human Development and Rights
The UAE ranks highly in several social indicators such as housing, healthcare, education and personal safety, as well as the highest regionally in the Human Development Index. However, human rights organisations consider the UAE substandard on human rights, ranking low in the human freedom index due to reports of government critics being imprisoned and tortured, families harassed by the state security apparatus, and cases of forced disappearances. Individual rights such as the freedoms of assembly, association, expression, and the freedom of the press are severely repressed.
Etymology
The United Arab Emirates is named after the seven emirates that formed a federation: the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the Emirate of Dubai, the Emirate of Ajman, the Emirate of Sharjah, the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, the Emirate of Umm Al Quwain, and the Emirate of Fujairah.
Early History
Stone tools recovered reveal a settlement of people from Africa some 127,000 years ago, and a stone tool used for butchering animals discovered on the Arabian coast suggests an even older habitation from 130,000 years ago. In time, lively trading links developed with civilisations in Mesopotamia, Iran, and the Harappan culture of the Indus Valley. This contact persisted and became wider, probably motivated by the trade in copper from the Hajar Mountains, which commenced around 3,000 BCE.
Six periods of human settlement with distinctive behaviours existed in the region before Islam, including the Hafit period from 3,200 to 2,600 BCE, the Umm Al Nar culture from 2,600 to 2,000 BCE, and the Wadi Suq culture from 2,000 to 1,300 BCE. From 1,200 BCE to the advent of Islam in Eastern Arabia, the area was variously occupied by the Achaemenids and other forces, and saw the construction of fortified settlements and extensive husbandry thanks to the development of the falaj irrigation system.
Islamic Period
The spread of Islam to the northeastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula is thought to have followed directly from a letter sent by the Islamic prophet Muhammad to the rulers of Oman in 630 CE. Following the death of Muhammad, Caliph Abu Bakr sent an army from Medina which completed the reconquest of the territory through the Ridda Wars, including the Battle of Dibba in which 10,000 lives are thought to have been lost.
In 637, Julfar—situated within the geographic boundaries of modern-day Ras Al Khaimah—was an important port used as a staging post for the Islamic invasion of the Sasanian Empire. The area of the Al Ain/Buraimi Oasis was known as Tu'am and was an important trading post for camel routes between the coast and the Arabian interior.
The earliest Christian site in the UAE was first discovered in the 1990s, an extensive monastic complex on what is now known as Sir Bani Yas Island and which dates back to the seventh century. Thought to be Nestorian and built in 600 CE, the church appears to have been abandoned peacefully in 750 CE.
Portuguese and Colonial Era
With the expansion of European colonial empires, Portuguese, English, and Dutch forces appeared in the Persian Gulf region. The Portuguese arrived in the region around 1500 and set up bases on the territory while waging wars against the Persians, building forts particularly on the east coast at Muscat, Sohar, and Khor Fakkan.
By the 18th century, the Bani Yas confederation was the dominant force in most of the area now known as Abu Dhabi, while the Northern Al Qawasim dominated maritime commerce.
The southern coast of the Persian Gulf was known to the British as the "Pirate Coast," as boats of the Al Qawasim federation harassed British-flagged shipping from the 17th century into the 19th. British expeditions to protect their Indian trade routes led to campaigns against Ras Al Khaimah and other harbours along the coast, including the Persian Gulf campaign of 1809 and the more successful campaign of 1819. The following year, Britain and a number of local rulers signed a maritime truce, giving rise to the term Trucial States. A further treaty was signed in 1843 and in 1853, the Perpetual Maritime Truce was agreed. The 'Exclusive Agreements', signed in 1892, made the Trucial States a British protectorate.
Independence and Modern Development
The Trucial States remained under British influence until full independence as the United Arab Emirates in 1971. Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, ruler of Abu Dhabi and the country's first president (1971–2004), oversaw rapid development of the Emirates by investing revenues from newly found oil into healthcare, education, and infrastructure.