Map of United Arab Emirates | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
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Background: The Trucial States of the Persian Gulf coast granted the UK control of their defense and foreign affairs in 19th century treaties. In 1971, six of these states - Abu Dhabi, 'Ajman, Al Fujayrah, Ash Shariqah, Dubayy, and Umm al Qaywayn - merged to form the United Arab Emirates (UAE). They were joined in 1972 by Ra's al Khaymah. The UAE's per capita GDP is on par with those of leading West European nations. For more than three decades, oil and global finance drove the UAE's economy. In 2008-09, the confluence of falling oil prices, collapsing real estate prices, and the international banking crisis hit the UAE especially hard. The UAE did not experience the "Arab Spring" unrest seen elsewhere in the Middle East in 2010-11, partly because of the government's multi-year, $1.6-billion infrastructure investment plan for the poorer northern emirates, and its aggressive pursuit of advocates of political reform. The UAE in recent years has played a growing role in regional affairs. In addition to donating billions of dollars in economic aid to help stabilize Egypt, the UAE was one of the first countries to join the Defeat-ISIS coalition, and to participate as a key partner in a Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen. On 15 September 2020, the UAE and Bahrain signed a peace agreement (the Abraham Accords) with Israel - brokered by the US - in Washington DC. The UAE and Bahrain thus became the third and fourth Middle Eastern countries, along with Egypt and Jordan, to recognize Israel.


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Location: Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, between Oman and Saudi Arabia

Geographic coordinates: 24 00 N, 54 00 E

Map reference: Middle East

Area
Total: 83,600 km²
Land: 83,600 km²
Water: 0 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than South Carolina; slightly smaller than Maine

Land boundaries
Total: 1,066 km
Border countries: (2) Oman 609 km; Saudi Arabia 457 km

Coastline: 1,318 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

Climate: desert; cooler in eastern mountains

Terrain: flat, barren coastal plain merging into rolling sand dunes of vast desert; mountains in east

Elevation
Highest point: Jabal Bil 'Ays 1,905 m
Lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
Mean elevation: 149 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas

Land use
Agricultural land: 4.6% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land arable land: 0.5% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent crops: 0.5% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent pasture: 3.6% (2018 est.)
Forest: 3.8% (2018 est.)
Other: 91.6% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 898 km² (2020)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal
Municipal: 2.63 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Industrial: 69 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Agricultural: 2.32 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 150 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

Natural hazards: frequent sand and dust storms

Geography
Note: strategic location along southern approaches to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil; Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi) and Dubayy (Dubai) together account for over 90% of the area of the country and two-thirds of the population


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Population
Distribution: population is heavily concentrated to the northeast on the Musandam Peninsula; the three largest emirates - Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah - are home to nearly 85% of the population: 9,973,449 (2023 est.)
Note: the UN estimated the country's total population was 10,082,000 as of 2022; immigrants make up 88.1% of the total population, according to UN data (2020)
Growth rate: 0.58% (2023 est.)
Below poverty line: 19.5% (2003 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Emirati(s)
Adjective: Emirati

Ethnic groups: Emirati 11.6%, South Asian 59.4% (includes Indian 38.2%, Bangladeshi 9.5%, Pakistani 9.4%, other 2.3%), Egyptian 10.2%, Filipino 6.1%, other 12.8% (2015 est.)
Note: data represent the total population; as of 2019, immigrants make up about 87.9% of the total population, according to UN data

Languages: Arabic (official), English, Hindi, Malayalam, Urdu, Pashto, Tagalog, Persian
Major-language samples:

Religions: Muslim (official) 76%, Christian 9%, other (primarily Hindu and Buddhist, less than 5% of the population consists of Parsi, Baha'i, Druze, Sikh, Ahmadi, Ismaili, Dawoodi Bohra Muslim, and Jewish) 15% (2005 est.)
Note: data represent the total population; as of 2020, immigrants make up about 88.1% of the total population, according to UN data

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 16.23% (male 829,266/female 789,187)
15-64 years: 81.77% (male 5,840,920/female 2,314,683)
65 years and over: 2% (2023 est.) (male 15,1340/female 48,053)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 20.3
Youth dependency ratio: 18.2
Elderly dependency ratio: 2.1
Potential support ratio: 47.3 (2021 est.)

Median age
Total: 35.7 years (2023 est.)
Male: 37.9 years
Female: 29.9 years

Population growth rate: 0.58% (2023 est.)

Birth rate: 10.8 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate: 1.6 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate: -3.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution: population is heavily concentrated to the northeast on the Musandam Peninsula; the three largest emirates - Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah - are home to nearly 85% of the population

Urbanization
Urban population: 87.8% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 1.5% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 3.008 million Dubai, 1.831 million Sharjah, 1.567 million ABU DHABI (capital) (2023)

Environment
Current issues: air pollution; rapid population growth and high energy demand contribute to water scarcity; lack of natural freshwater resources compensated by desalination plants; land degradation and desertification; waste generation, beach pollution from oil spills
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
International agreements signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 41.75 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 206.32 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 56.55 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 2.52 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 3.15 male(s)/female
Total population: 2.16 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio: 9 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 5.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Male: 5.6 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 4.5 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 79.8 years (2023 est.)
Male: 78.4 years
Female: 81.2 years

Total fertility rate: 1.62 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: NA

Drinking water source
Improved urban: NA
Improved rural: NA
Improved total: 100% of population
Unimproved urban: NA
Unimproved rural: NA
Unimproved total: 0% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure: 5.5% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density: 2.6 physicians/1,000 population (2019)

Hospital bed density: 1.4 beds/1,000 population (2017)

Sanitation facility access
Improved urban:
Unimproved urban:

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 31.7% (2016)

Alcohol consumption
Per capita total: 2.03 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita beer: 0.21 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita wine: 0.14 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita spirits: 1.65 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita other alcohols: 0.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: NA

Education expenditures: 3.9% of GDP (2020 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 98.1%
Male: 98.8%
Female: 97.2% (2021)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 16 years
Male: 15 years
Female: 17 years (2020)

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 10.7% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 7.9%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 19.9%


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Country name
Conventional long form: United Arab Emirates
Conventional short form: none
Local long form: Al Imarat al Arabiyah al Muttahidah
Local short form: none
Former: Trucial Oman, Trucial States
Abbreviation: UAE
Etymology: self-descriptive country name; the name "Arabia" can be traced back many centuries B.C., the ancient Egyptians referred to the region as "Ar Rabi"; "emirates" derives from "amir" the Arabic word for "commander," "lord," or "prince"

Government type: federation of monarchies

Capital
Name: Abu Dhabi
Geographic coordinates: 24 28 N, 54 22 E
Time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Etymology: in Arabic, abu means "father" and dhabi refers to "gazelle"; the name may derive from an abundance of gazelles that used to live in the area, as well as a folk tale involving the "Father of the Gazelle," Shakhbut BIN DHIYAB AL NAHYAN, whose hunting party tracked a gazelle to a spring on the island where Abu Dhabi was founded

Administrative divisions: 7 emirates (imarat, singular - imarah); Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi), 'Ajman, Al Fujayrah, Ash Shariqah (Sharjah), Dubayy (Dubai), Ra's al Khaymah, Umm al Qaywayn

Dependent areas

Independence: 2 December 1971 (from the UK)

National holiday: Independence Day (National Day), 2 December (1971)

Constitution
History: previous 1971 (provisional); latest drafted in 1979, became permanent May 1996
Amendments: proposed by the Supreme Council and submitted to the Federal National Council; passage requires at least a two-thirds majority vote of Federal National Council members present and approval of the Supreme Council president; amended 2009

Legal system: mixed legal system of Islamic (sharia) law and civil law

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: the father must be a citizen of the United Arab Emirates; if the father is unknown, the mother must be a citizen
Dual citizenship recognized: no
Residency requirement for naturalization: 30 years

Suffrage: limited; note - rulers of the seven emirates each select a proportion of voters for the Federal National Council (FNC) that together account for about 12 percent of Emirati citizens

Executive branch
Chief of state: President MUHAMMAD BIN ZAYID Al Nuhayyan (since 14 May 2022); Co-Vice President MUHAMMAD BIN RASHID Al Maktum (since 5 January 2006); Co-Vice President MANSUR bin Zayid Al Nuhayyan (since 29 March 2023); Crown Prince KHALID bin Muhammad Al Nuhayyan, the eldest son of the monarch, born 14 November 1982; note - MUHAMMAD BIN ZAYID Al Nuhayyan elected president by the Federal Supreme Council following the death of President KHALIFA bin Zayid Al nNuhayyan on 13 May 2022
Head of government: Prime Minister and Co-Vice President MUHAMMAD BIN RASHID Al Maktum (since 5 January 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers SAIF bin Zayid Al Nuhayyan, MANSUR bin Zayid Al Nuhayyan (both since 11 May 2009), and MAKTUM bin Muhammad bin Rashid Al Maktum (since 25 September 2021)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers announced by the prime minister and approved by the president
Elections/appointments: president and vice president indirectly elected by the Federal Supreme Council - composed of the rulers of the 7 emirates - for a 5-year term (no term limits); unscheduled election held on 14 May 2022, following the death of President KHALIFA bin Zayid Al-Nuhayyan (next election expected in 2,027); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president
Election results: MUHAMMAD BIN ZAYID Al-Nuhayyan elected president; Federal Supreme Council vote - NA
Note: the Federal Supreme Council (FSC) is composed of the 7 emirate rulers and is the highest constitutional authority in the UAE; the FSC establishes general policies and sanctions federal legislation; meets 4 times a year; Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi) and Dubayy (Dubai) rulers have effective veto power

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral Federal National Council (FNC) or Majlis al-Ittihad al-Watani (40 seats; 20 members indirectly elected using single non-transferable vote by an electoral college whose members are selected by each emirate ruler proportional to its FNC membership, and 20 members appointed by the rulers of the 7 constituent states; members serve 4-year terms)
Elections: last held for indirectly elected members on 7 October 2023 (next to be held in October 2,027); last held for appointed members in October 2019 (next appointments expected in late 2023)
Election results: all candidates ran as independents; seats by emirate - Abu Dhabi 4, Dubai 4, Sharjah 3, Ras al-Khaimah 3, Ajman 2, Fujairah 2, Umm al-Quwain 2; composition (preliminary) - 13 men, 7 women, percent of elected women 35%; note - to attain overall FNC gender parity, 13 women and 7 men will be appointed; overall FNC percent of women 50%

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Federal Supreme Court (consists of the court president and 4 judges; jurisdiction limited to federal cases)
Judge selection and term of office: judges appointed by the federal president following approval by the Federal Supreme Council, the highest executive and legislative authority consisting of the 7 emirate rulers; judges serve until retirement age or the expiry of their appointment terms
Subordinate courts: Federal Court of Cassation (determines the constitutionality of laws promulgated at the federal and emirate level; federal level courts of first instance and appeals courts); the emirates of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Ra's al Khaymah have parallel court systems; the other 4 emirates have incorporated their courts into the federal system; note - the Abu Dhabi Global Market Courts and the Dubai International Financial Center Courts, the country’s two largest financial free zones, both adjudicate civil and commercial disputes.

Political parties and leaders: none; political parties are banned

International organization participation: ABEDA, AfDB (nonregional member), AFESD, AMF, BIS, BRICS, CAEU, CICA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OIF (observer), OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHRC, UNIDO, UNOOSA, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Yousif Mana Saeed Ahmed AL OTAIBA (since 28 July 2008)
In the us chancery: 3,522 International Court NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 243-2,400
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 243-2,408
In the us email address and website:
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Martina A. STRONG (since 4 October 2023)
From the us embassy: Embassies District, Plot 38, Sector W59-02, Street No. 4, Abu Dhabi
From the us mailing address: 6,010 Abu Dhabi Place, Washington DC 20,521-6,010
From the us telephone: [971] (2) 414-2,200
From the us FAX: [971] (2) 414-2,241
From the us email address and website:

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and black with a wider vertical red band on the hoist side; the flag incorporates all four Pan-Arab colors, which in this case represent fertility (green), neutrality (white), petroleum resources (black), and unity (red); red was the traditional color incorporated into all flags of the emirates before their unification

National symbols: golden falcon; national colors: green, white, black, red

National anthem
Name: "Nashid al-watani al-imarati" (National Anthem of the UAE)
Lyrics/music: AREF Al Sheikh Abdullah Al Hassan/Mohamad Abdel WAHAB
Note: music adopted 1971, lyrics adopted 1996; Mohamad Abdel WAHAB also composed the music for the anthem of Tunisia

National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites: 1 (cultural)
Selected World Heritage Site locales:


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Economy overview: historically oil-driven Middle Eastern economy; diversifying into a trade-oriented logistics and supply chain leader; weak domestic business growth; declining real estate sector; new Israeli technology trade improving resilience; key aid donor

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real gdp growth rate:

Real gdp per capita:

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 34.9% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 12.3% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 23% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 1.8% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 100.4% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -72.4% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 0.9% (2017 est.)
Industry: 49.8% (2017 est.)
Services: 49.2% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: dates, cucumbers, tomatoes, goat meat, eggs, milk, poultry, carrots/turnips, goat milk, sheep milk

Industries: petroleum and petrochemicals; fishing, aluminum, cement, fertilizer, commercial ship repair, construction materials, handicrafts, textiles

Industrial production growth rate: 2.54% (2021 est.)

Labor force: 6.074 million (2021 est.)
Note: expatriates account for about 85% of the workforce

Unemployment rate:

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 10.7% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 7.9%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 19.9%

Population below poverty line: 19.5% (2003 est.)

Gini index
Coefficient distribution of family income: 26 (2018 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10%: NA
Highest 10%: NA

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $129.741 billion (2019 est.)
Expenditures: $127.262 billion (2019 est.)
Note: the UAE federal budget does not account for emirate-level spending in Abu Dhabi and Dubai
Surplus  or deficit: -0.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Taxes and other revenues: 0.68% (of GDP) (2020 est.)

Public debt:

Revenue
From forest resources: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)
From coal: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance:

Exports:
Partners: India 14%, Japan 8%, China 8%, Saudi Arabia 8%, Iraq 5% (2021)
Commodities: crude petroleum, refined petroleum, gold, broadcasting equipment, diamonds, natural gas, jewelry, aluminum (2021)

Imports:
Partners: China 17%, India 9%, United States 6%, Saudi Arabia 5%, Germany 3% (2021)
Commodities: gold, broadcasting equipment, refined petroleum, diamonds, cars, jewelry, computers (2021)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

Debt external:

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access electrification-total population: 100% (2021)
Installed generating capacity: 35.173 million kW (2020 est.)
Consumption: 122.386 billion kWh (2019 est.)
Exports: 257 million kWh (2019 est.)
Imports: 245 million kWh (2019 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 7.011 billion kWh (2019 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 95.7% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 1.3% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources solar: 3% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources wind: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

Coal
Production: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Consumption: 2.563 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Exports: 2,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
Imports: 2.565 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 3,769,100 bbl/day (2021 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 863,700 bbl/day (2019 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate exports: 2,427,200 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate imports: 172,900 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 97.8 billion barrels (2021 est.)

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 943,500 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products exports: 817,700 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports: 392,000 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 62,889,064,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
Consumption: 73,750,936,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
Exports: 7,673,768,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
Imports: 20,041,951,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
Proven reserves: 6,090,887,000,000 cubic meters (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 276.236 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 5.032 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 126.524 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 144.681 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 471.788 million Btu/person (2019 est.)


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 2,286,104 (2022 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 24 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 18 million (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 190 (2021 est.)

Telephone system

Broadcast media: except for the many organizations now operating in media free zones in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, most TV and radio stations remain government-owned; widespread use of satellite dishes provides access to pan-Arab and other international broadcasts; restrictions since June 2017 on some satellite channels and websites originating from or otherwise linked to Qatar, but in early 2023 Abu Dhabi unblocked several sites, including Al Jazeera (2022)

Internet
Country code: .ae
Users total: 9.4 million (2021 est.)
Users percent of population: 100% (2021 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 3,245,123 (2020 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 33 (2020 est.)


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Military expenditures:

Military and security forces:
Note: each emirate maintains a local police force called a general directorate, which is officially a branch of the federal Ministry of Interior; all emirate-level general directorates of police enforce their respective emirate’s laws autonomously; they also enforce federal laws within their emirate in coordination with one another under the federal ministry; the State Security Directorate (SSD) in Abu Dhabi and Dubai State Security (DSS) have primary responsible for counterterrorism law enforcement efforts; local, emirate-level police forces, especially the Abu Dhabi Police and Dubai Police, are the first responders in such cases and provide technical assistance to SSD and DSS

Military service age and obligation: 18-30 years of age for compulsory military service for men (compulsory service initiated in 2014); 18-40 for voluntary service; 36-month service obligation for men without a secondary education and 11 months for secondary school graduates; women may volunteer (11-month service obligation regardless of education) (2023)
Note 1: compulsory service may be completed in the uniformed military, the Ministry of Interior, or other security institutions designated by the military leadership
Note 2: the UAE military employs a considerable number of foreign personnel on contracted service

Space program
Overview: has an ambitious and growing space program and is recognized as one of the leading programs in the region; focused on satellite development, including communications, remote sensing, and navigational; also placing emphasis on building expertise, infrastructure, ground stations, technology, and research and development capabilities to support its space program domestically; rather than building its own launch capabilities, has elected to utilize foreign partners to launch payloads from spaceports abroad; invests heavily in foreign commercial space companies and has sought to  encourage global partnerships; has a foreign-assisted astronaut training program; seeking to establish UAE as an international hub for space education; has signed more than 25 cooperation agreements or memorandums of understanding with major global and regional players in the space sector, including the Arab Space Cooperation Group, China, the European Space Agency (ESA), France, Germany, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea, the UK, and the US; sees the development of its commercial space industry as a key pillar for diversifying and developing the country’s non-oil economy; approximately 60 space companies and entities operate in the UAE, including international and start-ups, and five space science research centers (2023)
Overview note: further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in space programs

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 10 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 497
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 95,533,069 (2018)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 15,962,900,000 (2018) mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: A6

Airports: 43 (2021)
With paved runways: 25
With paved runways note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
With unpaved runways: 18
With unpaved runways note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control

Heliports: 5 (2021)

Pipelines: 533 km condensate, 3,277 km gas, 300 km liquid petroleum gas, 3,287 km oil, 24 km oil/gas/water, 218 km refined products, 99 km water (2013)

Railways

Roadways
Total: 4,080 km (2008)
Paved: 4,080 km (2008) (includes 253 km of expressways)

Waterways

Merchant marine
Total: 636 (2022)
By type: bulk carrier 2, container ship 3, general cargo 121, oil tanker 16, other 494

Ports and terminals
Major seaports: Al Fujayrah, Mina' Jabal 'Ali (Dubai), Khor Fakkan (Khawr Fakkan) (Sharjah), Mubarraz Island (Abu Dhabi), Mina' Rashid (Dubai), Mina' Saqr (Ra's al Khaymah)
Container ports teus: Dubai Port (13,742,000) (2021)
Lng terminals export: Das Island


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Disputes international: UAE-Oman: boundary agreement was signed and ratified with Oman in 2003 for entire border, including Oman's Musandam Peninsula and Al Madhah enclaves, but contents of the agreement and detailed maps showing the alignment have not been published

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Stateless persons: 5 (mid-year 2021)

Illicit drugs: major source of precursor chemicals used in the production of illicit narcotics