INTRODUCTION TO

THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

DECEMBER 2005
I. HISTORY
II. GEOGRAPHY
III. CLIMATE
IV. ECONOMY AND CURRENCY
V. POPULATION, LANGUAGE AND RELIGION

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History

Although the UAE is still a very young country, the earliest settlements date
back to the Stone Age. First to come were the Greeks, followed by the
Portuguese who arrived in 1498. Heres a brief history of the UAE...

1700s The Al Qasimi family ruled much of the Northern Emirates.

1800s The British regarded the Gulf region as a cardinal communication link with
its empire in India and began asserting their presence in this region. It was known
as the Trucial Coast until the departure of the British in 1971.
1833 Dubai was founded when a group of people of the Bani Yas tribe seceded
from Abu Dhabi and settled in Dubai.
1928 Accession of Sheikh Shakhbut as Ruler of Abu Dhabi.
1958 Petroleum was first discovered in commercial quantities beneath the coastal
waters of Abu Dhabi. This discovery dramatically transformed the UAE from one of
the poorest states into the richest.
1966 Accession of His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as Ruler of
Abu Dhabi.

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History (contd)

1968 The Trucial States, joined by neighbours Bahrain and Qatar, was named the
Federation of Arab Emirates.
July, 1971 Six of the Trucial States (Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Umm Al Quwain,
Ajman and Fujairah) agreed on an interim federal constitution for achieving
independence as the United Arab Emirates.
August, 1971 The interests of Bahrain and Qatar proved to be incompatible with
others members of the Federation of Arab Emirates, and both seceded into separate
independent states.
December, 1971 The UK accordingly terminated its special treaty relationship with
the States, and the UAE became independent December 2nd.
1972 The remaining sheikhdom, Ras Al Khaimah, joined the United Arab Emirates
as the seventh emirate to form the present UAE.

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Geography of Abu Dhabi

The United Arab Emirates occupy a total area of about 83,600 square kilometres
or 32,400 square miles (roughly the size of Portugal or Maine). Of this, the
emirate of Abu Dhabi contains about 80 percent of the area and Ajman, the
smallest of the seven emirates, has an area of about 250 square kilometres.

The UAE share borders with Qatar on

the Northwest, the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia on the west, south, and
Southeast, and the Sultanate of Oman
on the Southeast and Northeast.

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Geography (contd)

It has a coastline to both the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Gulf and is
south of the strategically important Strait of Hormuz. Off the coastline lie
more than 200 islands, most of them uninhabited.

To the South and West, the land is a mainly sand dunes and salt flats with
occasional oasises, whereas the East Coast is essentially a fertile plain
where rainfall and subterranean water have allowed agriculture to be
practised for thousands of years. Along the coast, there are long, unspoiled
beaches stretching for kilometres.

To the North, the sand dunes yield to gravel plains formed by the Hajar
mountain range, dating back about 200 million years. The mountains rise to
a height of over 3000 metres and run from the UAE, south into Oman.

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Climate

Abu Dhabi is a coastal city lying between a hot, dry desert and a warm sub-
tropical sea. In general, the area enjoys clear, sunny and warm weather with
plenty of sunshine. Northern Hemisphere seasons also play an important
role with marked differences from summer to winter.

The average maximum temperature during the winter is around 25 Degrees

Centigrade; daytime conditions tend to be warm, sunny and pleasant with
light winds. Evenings and nights are cool with temperatures occasionally
falling below 10 Degrees Centigrade in January and February.

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Climate (contd)

The majority of the annual rainfall also occurs between December and
March; this tends to be in the form of intense storms with short sharp
periods of heavy rain. Prolonged periods of rain are rare, however periods
of cloudy, unsettled weather may last for a few days. Local north-westerly
winds called Shamals frequently develop during the winter, these Shamals
bring cool, windy conditions and rough seas.

The summer period from July to September is hot and sunny and can be
very unpleasant at times due to a combination of high temperature and
humidity. Sea breezes bring some relief from the heat in the afternoons but
nights are hot and sultry with temperatures often remaining above 30
Degrees Centigrade. Thick fog can often affect Abu Dhabi in the early
morning towards the end of the summer.

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Economy and currency

The United Arab Emirates has a free market economy

based on oil and gas production.

The country has the largest reserves of hydrocarbons in

the world: the UAE is second only to Saudi Arabia in
worldwide oil reserves and third in natural gas reserves.
Although the UAE is trying to diversify its economy by
encouraging light manufacturing, the oil sector accounts
for 80 per cent of UAE revenues and 70 per cent of UAE
exports.

These resources are not distributed evenly among the seven emirates:
Abu Dhabi has 70 per cent of total oil earnings;
Dubai has 25 per cent;
and Sharjah has four per cent.
Oil revenues in the other emirates are negligible.

The local currency is the Dirham DHS that is divided into 100 fils. The currency
is also referred to as AED (Arab Emirates Dirham).

The current exchange rate is Dh3.6780 to US$1 and no revaluation has occurred
since 1977

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Population, Language and Religion

Population

According to the local authorities, the U.A.E. population was about 3.5 million in
2001. In this population, nationals represent approximately 20%.
The UAE has a large expatriate population consisting of workers from all over the
world
A lot of nationalities can be found in the emirates such as:
Indians
Pakistanis
Filipinos
Lebanese
British
Language
Arabic is the official language of the U.A.E, but English is widely spoken as is
Urdu, Malayalam and Tagalog.
Religion
Islam is the official religion of the UAE, but other religions are respected. Abu
Dhabi has a variety of Christian churches: St. Josephs Roman Catholic Church,
St. Georges Orthodox Church, St. Andrews Protestant Church, Evangelical
Church.

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