United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates (UAE; in Arabic: الإمارات العربية المتحدة) is a country in Western Asia. It borders Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. The capital is Abu Dhabi, and the largest city is Dubai. The Burj Khalifa, Earth's tallest artificial structure, is in Dubai. Approximately 600.83 square kilometers is the area of the United Arab Emirates, till December 31, 2017, the UAE counted a population of 9,304,277,  according to the reports of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority. 

The main natural resources in The United Arab Emirates are oil and gas. The oil reserves of the UAE are approximately 8.2% of the global oil reserves according to OPEC. Economic growth has been more steady than in most countries in the Middle East.

The country is made of seven states, or emirates. Each emirate is an absolute monarchy. The UAE has a federal constitution by which the Emirates share power.

 History 
The oldest human traces in the Emirates date back to 7000 years BCE. The Emirates has more than 330 historical buildings, some have a history from the Stone Age. After the start of Islam a new chapter began in the area, during the Umayyad period, the area of the Arabic Gulf was stable and it became important for navigation and shipping. The Portuguese were the first who arrived in this area after the fall of Al-Andalus. The explorer Vasco da Gama was the first to reach India from Europe after turning around the Cape of Good Hope and passing the Arabic Gulf. The Portuguese controlled all the harbors in the area for more than 2 centuries. During the 18th and 19th centuries Great Britain controlled the area after the Portuguese left. They organized the Trucial States, an informal protectorate.
In 1968 the British announced that they were leaving their colonies in the Middle East and on 2nd December 1971, the United Arab Emirates was created. Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan became the president of the state and Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the former ruler of Dubai, became the vice president. After the first president Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, his son Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan became the second president of the UAE. After his death on the on the 13th of May 2022, his brother Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan became the 3rd president.

 Cities and landscape 
This country has seven emirates: Dubai, Ajman, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Umm al-Quwain, Fujairah and Ras Al-Khaimah. It has also more than 200 islands, that differ in size, origin, composition and importance. The UAE is characterized by a diversity of natural looks from steep mountains to flat coastal plains and from the high red sand dunes in Liwa to the city Al-Ain, which is considered a natural oasis full of palm trees.

 Demographics 
In 2014, the population in the United Arab Emirates became about 9 million citizens. Due to significant growth in various economic sectors, the United Arab Emirates got a significant increase in population over the past few years, the UAE witnessed a significant influx of labor from different religious and cultural backgrounds. The state of UAE adopts a culture of tolerance and moderation, especially when people from 200 nationalities are living in its territory. The country's inhabitants increased from 4.1 million to 8.3 million between 2005 and 2010 while the Emirati citizens form less than 1 million of them.

 Culture 
The UAE is a modern state which sticks to its heritage because the citizens are the minority. The officials in UAE support establishing the necessary balance between modernization and tradition and give an illustration of the cultural identity. The United Arab Emirates is colorful and rich in Folklore. The camel and the date palm have nomadic and agricultural bases in its society that are traceable to thousands of years before the spread of Arabs and Muslims. The UAE is also Influenced by other ancient civilizations like Mesopotamia and Greece however the colonial powers which controlled almost everything left very little affect on the folklore of this country. The aggressive behavior of the Portuguese left no space for social interaction and culture exchange

 Government and politics 
The United Arab Emirates is based on a federal-state system that is subject to the provisions of the UAE constitution with full sovereignty. The Federation has its capital, logo, flag, and national anthem. Several federal institutions shape the political system of the United Arab Emirates. The Federal Supreme Council (in Arabic: المجلس الأعلى للاتحاد) represents the highest authority in the country and the rulers of the seven emirates are members of it. Its mission is to take care of the common interests of the Emirates, the ratification of federal laws, the election of the president and his deputy and other tasks.

The seven emirates are:

 Emirates Mars Mission 
In July 2020, the United Arab Emirates launched the EMM (Emirates Mars Mission) to Mars. It arrived in Mars orbit in February 2021. The mission is to use several scientific instruments to gain useful data about Mars. The Emirates Mars Mission is being operated from the United States (U.S.) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It became first Arab country to reach Mars.


 Development of the UAE 
The most important elements behind the growth and development since the founding of the UAE are oil and gas. The first export of oil took place in the year 1962, the former president Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan wanted to use these resources in building infrastructure for starting economic and civilization development. The development of the UAE is going so fast, especially in the last 20 years, so Dubai did realize huge projects like Palm Jumeirah, The World (archipelago), and Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building.

The state of UAE is focusing recently on building the basics for future development, by supporting projects and initiatives that promote qualitative innovation investments, research, technological- and industrial development. The government is preparing an integrated strategy that will enable them to completely dispense with oil as one important compartment of the economy because currently more than 30% of the UAE's GDP is based on oil.

 Religion 
There is freedom of religion in the United Arab Emirates, but it is limited.

About 76 percent of the people living in the UAE are Muslims, about nine percent are Christians, and the remaining fifteen percent are mostly Hindus and Buddhists. One percent of the people are agnostic. There are other sources that say that the percentage of Christians is much higher, especially among foreigners. One report gives an estimate of almost thirteen percent. About 96 percent of the citizens of the UAE are Muslims. In the UAE. most Muslims are  are Sunni, most follow  the Maliki school of jurisprudence. Most of the remaining fifteen percent are Shia. Most Shia Muslims live in the Emirates of Dubai and Sharjah. There are no official statistics for the breakdown between Sunni and Shia Muslims among noncitizen residents. Media estimates suggest less than twenty percent of the noncitizen Muslim population are Shia.  The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi is the largest mosque in the country and a major tourist attraction. Ibadi is common among Omanis in the UAE, while Sufi influences exist as well.

Most of the Christans are Roman Catholics. 

References

 Other websites 

 United Arab Emirates profile