UNITED ARAB EMIRATES                                                            
GEOGRAPHY                                                                       
Total area: 83,600 km2; land area: 83,600 km2                                   
                                                                                
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Maine                                   
                                                                                
Land boundaries: 1,016 km total; Oman 410 km, Saudi Arabia 586 km,              
Qatar 20 km                                                                     
                                                                                
Coastline: 1,448 km                                                             
Maritime claims:                                                                
                                                                                
Continental shelf: defined by bilateral boundaries or equidistant               
line                                                                            
                                                                                
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;                                                
                                                                                
Territorial sea: 3 nm (assumed), 12 nm for Ash Shariqah                         
(Sharjah)                                                                       
                                                                                
Disputes: boundary with Qatar is in dispute; no defined boundary                
with Saudi Arabia; no defined boundary with most of Oman, but                   
Administrative Line in far north; claims three islands in the Persian           
Gulf occupied by Iran (Jazireh-ye Abu Musa or Abu                               
Musa, Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Bozorg or Greater Tunb, and Jazireh-ye                  
Tonb-e Kuchek or Lesser Tunb)                                                   
                                                                                
Climate: desert; cooler in eastern mountains                                    
                                                                                
Terrain: flat, barren coastal plain merging into rolling sand                   
dunes of vast desert wasteland; mountains in east                               
                                                                                
Natural resources: crude oil and natural gas                                    
                                                                                
Land use: arable land NEGL%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and                 
pastures 2%; forest and woodland NEGL%; other 98%; includes irrigated           
NEGL%                                                                           
                                                                                
Environment: frequent dust and sand storms; lack of natural                     
freshwater resources being overcome by desalination plants;                     
desertification                                                                 
                                                                                
Note: strategic location along southern approaches to                           
Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil                     
                                                                                
PEOPLE                                                                          
Population: 2,389,759 (July 1991), growth rate 5.7% (1991)                      
                                                                                
Birth rate: 30 births/1,000 population (1991)                                   
                                                                                
Death rate: 3 deaths/1,000 population (1991)                                    
                                                                                
Net migration rate: 30 migrants/1,000 population (1991)                         
                                                                                
Infant mortality rate: 23 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)                       
                                                                                
Life expectancy at birth: 69 years male, 74 years female (1991)                 
                                                                                
Total fertility rate: 4.9 children born/woman (1991)                            
                                                                                
Nationality: noun--Emirian(s), adjective--Emirian                               
                                                                                
Ethnic divisions: Emirian 19%, other Arab 23%, South Asian                      
(fluctuating) 50%, other expatriates (includes Westerners and East              
Asians) 8%; less than 20% of the population are UAE citizens (1982)             
                                                                                
Religion: Muslim 96% (Shia 16%); Christian, Hindu, and other                    
4%                                                                              
                                                                                
Language: Arabic (official); Persian and English widely spoken in               
major cities; Hindi, Urdu                                                       
                                                                                
Literacy: 68% (male 70%, female 63%) age 10 and over but definition             
of literacy not available (1980)                                                
                                                                                
Labor force: 580,000 (1986 est.); industry and commerce 85%,                    
agriculture 5%, services 5%, government 5%; 80% of labor force is foreign       
                                                                                
Organized labor: trade unions are illegal                                       
                                                                                
GOVERNMENT                                                                      
Long-form name: United Arab Emirates (no short-form name);                      
abbreviated UAE                                                                 
                                                                                
Type: federation with specified powers delegated to the UAE central             
government and other powers reserved to member emirates                         
                                                                                
Capital: Abu Dhabi                                                              
                                                                                
Administrative divisions: 7 emirates (imarat,                                   
singular--imarah); Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi), Ajman, Al Fujayrah,                    
Ash Shariqah, Dubayy, Ras al Khaymah, Umm al Qaywayn                            
                                                                                
Independence: 2 December 1971 (from UK; formerly Trucial States)                
                                                                                
Constitution: 2 December 1971 (provisional)                                     
                                                                                
Legal system: secular codes are being introduced by the UAE                     
Government and in several member shaykhdoms; Islamic law remains                
influential                                                                     
                                                                                
National holiday: National Day, 2 December (1971)                               
                                                                                
Executive branch: president, vice president, Supreme Council of                 
Rulers, prime minister, Council of Ministers                                    
                                                                                
Legislative branch: unicameral Federal National Council (Majlis                 
Watani Itihad)                                                                  
                                                                                
Judicial branch: Union Supreme Court                                            
                                                                                
Leaders:                                                                        
                                                                                
Chief of State--President Shaykh Zayid bin Sultan Al NUHAYYAN,                  
(since 2 December 1971), ruler of Abu Dhabi;                                    
Vice President Shaykh Maktum bin Rashid al-MAKTUM (since 8 October 1990),       
ruler of Dubayy;                                                                
                                                                                
Head of Government--Prime Minister Shaykh Maktum bin Rashid                     
al-MAKTUM (since 8 October 1990), ruler of Dubayy;                              
Deputy Prime Minister Sultan bin Zayid Al NUHAYYAN (since 20 November           
1990)                                                                           
                                                                                
Political parties and leaders: none                                             
                                                                                
Suffrage: none                                                                  
                                                                                
Elections: none                                                                 
                                                                                
Communists: NA                                                                  
                                                                                
Other political or pressure groups: a few small clandestine                     
groups are active                                                               
                                                                                
Member of: ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77,                  
GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT,            
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAPEC,           
OIC, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO                  
                                                                                
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Abdullah bin Zayid                        
Al NUHAYYAN; Chancery at Suite 740, 600 New Hampshire Avenue NW,                
Washington DC 20037; telephone (202) 338-6500;                                  
                                                                                
US--Ambassador Edward S. WALKER, Jr.; Embassy at Al-Sudan Street,               
Abu Dhabi (mailing address is P. O. Box 4009, Abu Dhabi); telephone  971        
(2) 336691; there is a US Consulate General in Dubayy (Dubai)                   
                                                                                
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and black             
with a thicker vertical red band on the hoist side                              
                                                                                
ECONOMY                                                                         
Overview: The UAE has an open economy with one of the world's                   
highest incomes per capita outside the OECD nations. This wealth is based       
on oil and gas, and the fortunes of the economy fluctuate with the prices       
of those commodities. Since 1973, when petroleum prices shot up, the UAE        
has undergone a profound transformation from an impoverished region of          
small desert principalities to a modern state with a high standard of           
living. At present levels of production, crude oil reserves should last         
for over 100 years.                                                             
                                                                                
GDP: $27.3 billion, per capita $12,100; real growth rate 10%                    
(1989 est.)                                                                     
                                                                                
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3-4% (1989 est.)                              
                                                                                
Unemployment rate: NEGL (1988)                                                  
                                                                                
Budget: revenues $3.8 billion; expenditures $3.7 billion,                       
including capital expenditures of $NA (1989 est.)                               
                                                                                
Exports: $15.0 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.);                                     
                                                                                
commodities--crude oil 65%, natural gas, reexports, dried fish,                 
dates;                                                                          
                                                                                
partners--US, EC, Japan                                                         
                                                                                
Imports: $9.0 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.);                                      
                                                                                
commodities--food, consumer and capital goods;                                  
                                                                                
partners--EC, Japan, US                                                         
                                                                                
External debt: $11.0 billion (December 1989 est.)                               
                                                                                
Industrial production: growth rate - 9.3% (1986)                                
                                                                                
Electricity: 5,773,000 kW capacity; 15,400 million kWh produced,                
6,830 kWh per capita (1990)                                                     
Industries: petroleum, fishing, petrochemicals, construction                    
materials, some boat building, handicrafts, pearling                            
                                                                                
Agriculture: accounts for 2% of GNP and 5% of labor force; cash                 
crop--dates; food products--vegetables, watermelons, poultry, eggs,             
dairy, fish; only 25% self-sufficient in food                                   
                                                                                
Economic aid: donor--pledged $9.1 billion in bilateral aid to less              
developed countries (1979-89)                                                   
                                                                                
Currency: Emirian dirham (plural--dirhams);                                     
1 Emirian dirham (Dh) = 100 fils                                                
                                                                                
Exchange rates: Emirian dirhams (Dh) per US$1--3.6710 (fixed rate)              
                                                                                
Fiscal year: calendar year                                                      
                                                                                
COMMUNICATIONS                                                                  
Highways: 2,000 km total; 1,800 km bituminous, 200 km gravel and                
graded earth                                                                    
                                                                                
Pipelines: 830 km crude oil; 870 km natural gas, including natural              
gas liquids                                                                     
                                                                                
Ports: Al Fujayrah, Khawr Fakkan, Mina Jabal Ali,                               
Mina Khalid, Mina Rashid, Mina Saqr,                                            
Mina Zayid                                                                      
                                                                                
Merchant marine: 57 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 925,424                  
GRT/1,543,716 DWT; includes 22 cargo, 8 container, 2 roll-on/roll-off           
cargo, 20 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 5 bulk                  
                                                                                
Civil air: 8 major transport aircraft                                           
                                                                                
Airports: 38 total, 35 usable; 20 with permanent-surface runways;               
7 with runways over 3,659 m; 5 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 5 with runways       
1,220-2,439 m                                                                   
                                                                                
Telecommunications: adequate system of radio relay and coaxial                  
cable; key centers are Abu Dhabi and Dubayy; 386,600 telephones;                
stations--8 AM, 3 FM, 12 TV; satellite communications ground                    
stations--1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 2 Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 1              
ARABSAT; submarine cables to Qatar, Bahrain, India, and Pakistan;               
tropospheric scatter to Bahrain; radio relay to Saudi Arabia                    
                                                                                
DEFENSE FORCES                                                                  
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Federal Police Force                           
                                                                                
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 940,130; 516,218 fit for                    
military service                                                                
                                                                                
Defense expenditures: $1.59 billion, 6.8% of GDP (1988)                         
                                                                                
