UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; Arabic: الإمارات العربية
المتحدة al-ʾImārāt al-ʿArabīyyah al-Muttaḥidah), sometimes
simply called the Emirates (Arabic: الإمارات al-ʾImārāt),
is a country in Western Asia at the northeast end of the
Arabian Peninsula on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman to the
east and Saudi Arabia to the south and west, as well as
sharing maritime borders with Qatar to the west and Iran to
the north. The sovereign constitutional monarchy is a
federation of seven emirates consisting of Abu Dhabi (which
serves as the capital), Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras Al
Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain. Their boundaries are
complex, with numerous enclaves within the various emirates.
Each emirate is governed by a ruler; together, they jointly
form the Federal Supreme Council. One of the rulers serves
as the President of the United Arab Emirates. In 2013, the
UAE's population was 9.2 million, of which 1.4 million are
Emirati citizens and 7.8 million are expatriates.
Human occupation of the present UAE has been traced back to
the emergence of anatomically modern humans from Africa some
124,000 BCE through finds at the Faya-2 site in Mleiha,
Sharjah. Burial sites dating back to the Neolithic Age and
the Bronze Age include the oldest known such inland site at
Jebel Buhais. Known as Magan to the Sumerians, the area was
home to a prosperous Bronze Age trading culture during the
Umm Al Nar period, which traded between the Indus Valley,
Bahrain and Mesopotamia as well as Iran, Bactria and the
Levant. The ensuing Wadi Suq period and three Iron Ages saw
the emergence of nomadism as well as the development of
water management and irrigation systems supporting human
settlement in both the coast and interior. The Islamic age
of the UAE dates back to the expulsion of the Sasanians and
the subsequent Battle of Dibba. The UAE's long history of
trade led to the emergence of Julfar, in the present-day
emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, as a major regional trading and
maritime hub in the area. The maritime dominance of the
Persian Gulf by Emirati traders led to conflicts with
European powers, including the Portuguese Empire and the
British Empire.
Following decades of maritime conflict, the coastal emirates
became known as the Trucial States with the signing of the
General Maritime Treaty with the British in 1820 (ratified
in 1853 and again in 1892), which established the Trucial
States as a British Protectorate. This arrangement ended
with independence and the establishment of the United Arab
Emirates on 2 December 1971, immediately following the
British withdrawal from its treaty obligations. Six emirates
joined the UAE in 1971, the seventh, Ras Al Khaimah, joined
the federation on 10 February 1972.
Islam is the official religion and Arabic is the official
language of the UAE. The UAE's oil reserves are the
sixth-largest in the world while its natural gas reserves
are the world's seventh-largest. Sheikh Zayed, ruler of Abu
Dhabi and the first President of the UAE, oversaw the
development of the Emirates and steered oil revenues into
healthcare, education and infrastructure. The UAE's economy
is the most diversified in the Gulf Cooperation Council,
while its most populous city of Dubai is an important global
city and international aviation and maritime trade hub.
Consequently, the country is much less reliant on oil and
gas than in previous years and is economically focusing on
tourism and business. The UAE government does not levy
income tax although there is a system of corporate tax in
place and Value Added Tax at 5% was established in 2018.
The UAE's rising international profile has led to it being
recognised as a regional and a middle power. It is a member
of the United Nations, the Arab League, the Organisation of
Islamic Cooperation, OPEC, the Non-Aligned Movement and the
Gulf Cooperation Council.
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