27 Facts About United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates, or simply the Emirates, is a Western Asian country. It is located at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula and shares borders with Oman and Saudi Arabia, as well as maritime borders with Qatar and Iran in the Persian Gulf.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven autonomous city-states or emirates: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Umm al-Qaiwain, Fujairah, Ajman, and Ras al-Khaimah.

Archaeological evidence indicates that the UAE and the surrounding Arabian Peninsula have been inhabited for approximately 125,000 years. The discovery of ancient tools in the area suggests that humans migrated through the region from Africa to Asia.

The UAE and Arabian Peninsula were first colonised by the Portuguese in 1498, then by the Dutch in 1622, and finally by the British in the 1720s.

The UAE gained formal independence from Britain on December 2, 1971, with six emirates before Ras al-Khaymah joined the federation in 1972.

The UAE flag has horizontal green, white, and black stripes with one vertical red stripe. The flag incorporates the four Pan-Arab colours of fertility (green), neutrality (white), petroleum resources (black), and unity (yellow) (red).

There are no permanent rivers or natural lakes in the UAE. Instead, rainwater falling in the Hajar Mountains forms year-round water in wadis and underwater gorges, which the country heavily relies on.

A robotic police officer joined Dubai's police force in 2017. The "Robocop" assists in the identification of wanted criminals and the collection of evidence. According to Dubai Police, unarmed robots will make up 25% of its patrolling force by 2030.

The United Arab Emirates, particularly Dubai, is well-known for its man-made islands. The most well-known is Palm Jumeirah, an artificial palm tree-shaped archipelago with luxury hotels, beaches, and a population of approximately 80,000 people. Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, which houses a Formula One race track, is another artificial island project.

The UAE became the first Gulf country to establish diplomatic relations with Israel in 2020. It also became the third Middle Eastern country, after Egypt and Jordan, to recognise Israel.

In addition, Dubai is home to the world's first 3D-printed commercial building. The office took 17 days to print and three months to assemble using only one 3D printer.

The UAE is home to the world's tallest building. The Burj Khalifa (Khalifa Tower) in Dubai stands 828 metres (2,716 feet) tall.

The UAE became the world's first country to create the position of Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence in 2017. The position was created to create AI policies and best practises, as well as to fund AI projects.

Abu Dhabi, the country's capital, means "father" and "gazelle" in Arabic. The name most likely comes from the gazelles that used to roam the area, as well as a folk tale about the "Father of the Gazelle," Shakhbut bin Dhiyab al Nahyan, whose hunting party tracked a gazelle to a spring where the city was founded.

The falcon is the UAE's national symbol, and falconry is a popular pastime and tradition. A well-trained falcon can fetch as much as €100,000 ($110,000). Abu Dhabi even has a falcon hospital.

With only 1.4 total births per woman, the UAE has one of the world's lowest fertility rates. It was ranked 14th lowest in the world and the lowest in the Middle East in 2020.

Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, has its own cryptocurrency. emCash is a blockchain-based cryptocurrency that is designed for various financial transactions and runs on its own blockchain.

The opulent Burj Al Arab hotel, which opened in 1999 as the world's tallest hotel, is arguably the UAE's most iconic structure. The 321m (1,053ft)-high hotel has 60 floors, and the white metal crosspieces at the top of the building (which can only be seen from the sea) form the Middle East's largest cross.

The United Arab Emirates is home to the world's longest driverless metro line. The Dubai Metro Red Line is 52.1 kilometres (32.37 miles) long.

Dubai is regarded as one of the world's most powerful cities. The city was ranked 17th in the Global Power City Index for 2020.

The UAE is home to the world's most distant man-made leaning structure. The Abu Dhabi Capital Gate building has an 18° inclination and stands 160m (524ft) tall. It is known as the "Leaning Tower of the Middle East" because it leans at five times the angle of Italy's Leaning Tower of Pisa.

The economy of the UAE is dominated by petroleum. Abu Dhabi, the wealthiest of the emirates, has one of the highest concentrations of proven oil reserves in the world.

When measured by GDP per capita based on purchasing power parity, the UAE is the second richest country in the Middle East (after Qatar) and the eighth richest in the world (PPP).

The Arabian Desert covers the majority of the UAE. It is the largest desert in Asia and the second largest on the planet, covering 2,300,000 square kilometres (900,000 square miles). Only Africa's Sahara Desert is larger.

The UAE also has a portion of the world's largest continuous sand desert. The Rubʿ al-Khali, which lies mostly within Saudi Arabia as well as Yemen, Oman and the UAE, covers an area of around 650,000 sq km (250,000 sq mi) and translates as "Empty Quarter".

Expatriates make up approximately 85% of the UAE's 5.3 million workforce.

The UAE has some of the highest CO2 emissions in the world. The UAE ranks fifth in the world in terms of metric tonnes per capita, with 22.94 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions per capita.