United Arab Emirates

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Demographics

The demography of the United Arab Emirates is extremely diverse and in 2010 the total population was estimated to be 8.23 million, of whom only 17% were UAE nationals or Emiratis, while the majority of the population were expatriates. The law of the UAE says that everyone living for at least 20 years in the country, speaking fluently Arabic, and providing that he was never convicted to a crime can apply for the citizenship. But it’s in reality not so easy to get the citizenship these days, so a lot of people live in the country as stateless persons. There are approximatively 1.4 million Emirati citizens and according to the CIA, 17% of residents were Emirati, 23% were from other Arab countries (Egyptians, Jordanians) and Iranian, 52% were South Asian and 8% were other expatriates. Indian and Pakistani make up more than a third of the total population of the three emirates Dubai, Ajman and Sharjah according to the latest 2014 statistics by Euromonitor. The five most populous nationalities in these three emirates are: Indian (25%), Pakistani (12%), Emirati (9%), Bangladeshi (7%) and Filipino (5%). In cities as Dubai and Abu Dhabi, there is a growing presence of Europeans, Australians and Northern Americans who make up 500.000 of the country’s total population. About nine-tenth of the total population is urban and the average life expectancy is at 77 years, which is the highest level for all the Arab countries. Islam is the official state religion of the country and based on the Ministry of Economy in 2005, 76% of the total population was Muslim, 9% Christian and 15% other, mainly Hindu. A number of languages are spoken among the expatriates including Pashto, Hindi and Persian and English is of course also widely spoken.

Culture

The Emirati culture is based on Arabian culture and resonate with the wider Arab world, especially with the neighbouring states on the Persian Gulf, such as Qatar or Oman. Islam in the United Arab Emirates is generally less strict practiced than in Saudi Arabia for example. The country has a diverse society with major holidays in Dubai including Eid al Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan up to National Day (2 December). Emirati men prefer to wear a kandura which is an ankle-length white tunic woven from wool, and women wear an abaya which is black and covers most parts of the body. The list of museums in the United Arab Emirates is vast and Abu Dhbai has established a culture district on Saadiyat Island. There are six big projects planned, including the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Dubai City is growing as a centre for regional film, television and music production. Liwa is a type of dance and music performed mainly in communities that contain descendants from Africa. The Dubai Desert Rock Festival is a major festival consisting of heavy metal and rock artists. The traditional food of the people living in this region has always been rice with fish or meat. Emiratis have adopted a lot of their food from other West and South Asian countries. As meat they prefer to take lamb or mutton than goat or beef. The most popular beverages are coffee and tea, which can be completed with saffron or mint to give them a special flavour. Alcohol is only allowed to be served in hotel bars and restaurants but all nightclubs are also permitted to serve alcohol. Some supermarkets are also permitted to sell it, but then in separate quarters. Although that it’s in some way permitted to consume alcohol, it’s absolutely permitted and illegal to be intoxicated in public or to drive with any trace of alcohol in blood. Cricket is one of the most popular sports in the United Arab Emirates largely because of the expatriates from the United Kingdom and Australia. Formula One is particularly popular in the Emirates and is annually held at the picturesque Yas Marina Circuit. Other popular sports include camel racing, falconry, football and tennis.

Climate

The climate of the United Arab Emirates is subtropical-arid with hot summers and warm winters. The temperatures are even higher in the interior, where it’s also very dry. The hottest months are July and August when the average temperature is above 44°C. In the interior, summertime highs can reach up to 50°C or even more. Average minimum temperatures are measured in January and February where they are between 14 and 18°C. The average annual rainfall in the coastal area, were 80% of the people live, is less than 120 mm, though it fluctuates considerably from year to year. In midwinter and early summer, winds blow from north and northwest, bearing dust and sand which can considerably reduce visibility. It’s also interesting to point out that the first snow fallen in this country founded in 1971 was in 2004 in some of the higher-altitude points in the interior.

Burj Khalifa

Burj Khalifa is the tallest man-made structure in the world standing at 828 meters and its consisted of 164 stories in total. The construction began in September 2004 and was completed in October 2009. The skyscraper includes apartments, offices, observation decks and a hotel. The project of building such an impressive building was planned by the government of Dubai with the hope to make out of it a hub for finance, trade and tourism in the Middle East. The initial planned cost for the Burj Khalifa was 876 million dollars for height of 728 meters. However, the final cost was doubled to almost 1.5 billion dollars, due to major changes I the plan, as making the final design 100 meters higher than the initial one. The building was named in honour to the ruler of Abu Dhbai and president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan.

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