General Information

The United Arab Emirates is a constitutional federation of seven emirates; Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain, Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah. This federation was formally established on 2 December 1971.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) occupies an area of 83,000 sq km along the south-eastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, lying Qatar to the west, Saudi Arabia to the south and west, and Oman to the north and east. The capital and the largest city of the federation is Abu Dhabi.

Population

The U.A.E. has approximately 2.95 million people. About 80% of the population is non-UAE nationals from all over the Arab world, Asia, Europe, Africa and America. The official language of the UAE is Arabic though also English is spoken by the majority.

Economy

The UAE has an open economy with a high per capita income and a sizable annual trade surplus. It is based on oil and gas (about 30% of GDP), and fluctuates with their prices. Since 30 years ago, with the discovery of oil, the UAE has been dramatically transformed from an impoverished desert region to a modern state with a high standard of living. At present levels of production, oil and gas reserves are supposed to last for more than 100 years. The government is increasing its investments on job creation and infrastructure expansion and is opening its economy to the private sector. The UAE signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) with Washington in April 2004 and agreed to undertake negotiations toward a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US in November 2004.

The UAE market is growing constantly. One of the reasons is that the Tax free options make to run business in the UAE very attractive.

* Actual / **Estimated / ***Forecast

Government

The UAE is a federation with specified powers delegated to the UAE federal government and other powers reserved to member emirates.

Rulers

Spanish Presence in UAE