Read This Essay on The United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates is a federa­tion of seven emirates (formerly indepen­dent sheikhdoms): Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras-al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm-al-Qaiwain that lie across the eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. The country covers an area of 30,000 sq miles (77,700 sq km) and has a population of a little over 2.8 million, a substantial proportion of which consists of Pakistanis, Indians, Iranians, Baluchis, Zanzibari Afri­cans, and other groups who have immigrated to work in the oil industry and in the service sector of the economy.

The capital city, Abu Dhabi, has grown into a large urban conurbation of over three- quarters of a million people to accommodate the immigrant groups and developed into a modern, cosmopolitan center. Dubai and Shariqah (population: 600,000) and 125,000 respectively) are other larger cities that have grown enor­mously during the last two decades.

The country is mostly a low-lying de­sert plain of below 500 feet (150 meters) except for the Al-Flajar Mountains rising to nearly 10,000 feet (3,050 meters) in the east. The U.A.E. is an oil-rich nation, whose petroleum and natural gas reserves are among the world’s richest (nearly 10 percent of the world’s total). Annual pro­duction amounts to nearly 2 percent of the world’s output.

The oil and natural gas in­dustry accounts for one-third of the gross domestic product and is concentrated pri­marily near Abu Dhabi. Enormous oil revenues have made the U.A.E. one of the richest nations in the world, with a per capita income close to that of the U.S. ($23,000 annually in the mid-1990s).

Agriculture plays an insignificant role in the economy, and less than 1 percent of the land is given to cultivation, two-fifths of which is under irrigation. Date palms, mangoes, melons, wheat, alfalfa, millets, and vegetables are the main agricultural products. Most of the food grain and meat requirements have to be met through im­ports which account for one-sixth of all imports. Fishing along the coast is an im­portant economic activity, and supplies all domestic requirements.

Besides industry based on petroleum and natural gas, the manufacturing sector has grown substantially during the last two decades and accounts for nearly 9 percent of the domestic revenue. The construction industry has also expanded enormously, made possible by oil revenues. Extensive construction of new buildings, roads, and industrial plants has taken place during the last two decades.

Manufactures include such products as aluminum, plastic and building materials. Traditionally, exports have exceeded imports. In addition to pe­troleum and natural gas, dates, aluminum, dried fish and pearls are the main exports. Imports include machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, and food grains. Ja­pan, United Kingdom, United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Taiwan, Singa­pore, and Turkey are the major trading partners.