9 Nights Discover All That’s Possible

The UAE is a constitutional federation of seven emirates. On 2ndDec’1971 (UAE’s National Day), six of these states – Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Dubai, and Umm al Quwain – merged to form the United Arab Emirates (UAE). They were joined by Emirate of Ras al Khaimah on 10thFeb’1972.

Capital

Abu Dhabi city is the capital of the UAE Federation.

Founder

H. H. late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan was the first President of the UAE and is known as the Father of the Nation.

Political system

The UAE is a constitutional federation of seven emirates.

Official language

The official language of the UAE is Arabic. Other widely spoken languages include: Bengali, English, Farsi, Hindi, Malayalam, Mandarin, Nepali, Russian, Sinhalese, Tagalog and Urdu.

Area

The UAE area is approximately 71,023.6sq km of land, including some islands in the Arab Gulf, in addition to 27,624.9sq km of territorial water. Abu Dhabi accounts for 84 per cent of the country’s total landmass.

Geographic coordinates

The UAE is situated at: Longitude: 51° 35’ – 57°10’ east Latitude: 22°35’ – 26°25’ north

Time

The UAE is 4 hours ahead of GMT.

Climate

The UAE maintains a desert climate. It is warm and sunny in the winter and during the summer, it is hot and humid. It is generally cooler in the eastern mountains.

Monetary unit/currency

The Emirati Dirham is the official currency of the UAE, abbreviated officially as AED. Unofficial abbreviations include Dh and Dhs.

• The dirham is divided into 100 fils.
• Coins are in the following denomination: AED 1, 50 fils and 25 fils.
• Notes or bills are in the denomination of AED 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1,000.

Exchange rate:

The UAE Dirham is pegged to the USD. 1 USD = AED 3.6725.

Flag

The flag comprises three equal horizontal lines with green at the top, white in the middle and black at the base. There is also a wider vertical red ribbon in the direction of the flagpole.

• Green represents hope, joy, optimism and love. It can also to symbolize the country’s prosperity.
• White represents peace and honesty. White is the purest colour, and is interpreted by some to symbolize cleanliness.
• Black stands for the defeat of enemies and also strength of mind.
• Red represents hardiness, bravery, strength and courage. The vertical red band can also be interpreted as binding all the other meanings together in unity.

Population

According to Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority, the UAE’s total population (nationals and expatriate residents) was 9,304,277 in 2017, as compared to 9,121,167 in 2016. Males outnumber females.

There were 6,415,942 males in 2017, as compared to 6,298,294 in 2016. There were 2,888,335 females in 2017, as compared to 2,822,873 in 2016.

There are more than 200 nationalities living and working in the UAE. The expatriate community outnumbers the population of UAE nationals.

Indians form the largest foreign community in the UAE, followed by Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, other Asians, Europeans and Africans.

Coastline

Prior to the construction of ‘Dubai Palms’ and other schemes, the coastline of the UAE was approximately 1,318 kilometers. Land reclamation projects are extending this figure.

Taxes

The UAE does not levy income tax on individuals. However, oil companies and branches of foreign banks are liable to pay taxes. In addition, the UAE levies 5 per cent Value Added Tax on the consumption or use of goods and services.