United Arab Emirates - Essay Example

United Arab Emirates Introduction The United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven sheikhdoms each known as an Emirate, the seven Emirates are; Abu Dhabi( Abu Zaby), Dubai( Dubayy), Sharijah(Ash Sharijah), Umm al Qaywayn, Ajman, Al Fajayrah, and Ras al Khaymah. The official census in 2005 estimated population of the federation to be 4, 467, 899 million, and according to the Oxford Business Group report (14) the country occupies an area of about 77,700 square kilometers, located on the south east Arabia in between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. The principal and the most prosperous of all of the seven states is the capital of the federation, the Abu Dhabi generating nearly sixty percent of the country’s wealth. The most popular city from the federation, Dubai City is located in the Dubai Emirate, the second leading emirate while Sharjah City and Khawr Fakkan are the two main cities in the third biggest state, the Sharjah. History The UAE consists of tribal groupings of Arabian Peninsula sheikhdoms found on the tip end of the Persian Gulf and north the Gulf of Oman, the area was involved in several dynastic clashes for centuries just immediately after it was converted to Islam in the seventh century. The main tribal groups of the country’s nationals are the Qawasim and the Bani Yas who emerged as the powerful tribes after the dynastic disputes (Federal Research Division 13). The Qawasim were originally traders and inhabit the present day emirates of Ras al Khaymah while the Bani Yas were predominantly agriculturalists and pastoralists and lived in what is today the emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The British mounted expeditions against the inhabitants in an attempt to have control of the maritime routes and a desire to establish supremacy in the area over other interested European powers. In 1820, a peace treaty between the coastal sheikhs and Britain was concluded to end the looting of goods and piracy and to establish an end to the slave trade that was very popular in the region at that time. However, regular warfare among tribes was still rampant at sea and the sheikhs made several truce agreements with the supervision of British political authorities to whom the warring parties reported any violations of the truce treaty. A perpetual maritime truce was signed by the tribal sheikhs in May 1853 to end any further conflicts at sea between the tribes. The coastal sheikhdoms thereafter remained under British protection practicing their traditional form of Arab monarchial rule while Britain oversaw their defense and foreign relations. In 1952 under the guidance of Britain, the seven sheikdoms established the Trucial Council to advance the implementation of common policies concerning administration of the sheikhdoms with the aim of eventually leading to a federation of emirates. In 1968, Britain decided to end the protection status with the seven sheikhdoms and withdrew United Kingdom armed forces out of the region. Three months thereafter, the seven sheikhdoms formed a Federation of Arab Emirates together with Qatar and Bahrain, still under British rule. However, in 1971 the latter two states decided to cede from the federation to establish separate sovereign states. Immediately after in the same year, Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Al Fujayrah, Dubai, Sharjah and Umm al Qaywayn agreed to have a common federal constitution in order to achieve independence under the United Arab Emirates. On December 1, 1971, Britain ended all ties and relationships with the seven sheikhdoms including every one the treaties and declared the federation independent on December 2, 1971. Initially the six emirates formed the federation and the other remaining sheikhdom, Ras al Khayman, joined the United Arab Emirates in February 1972. When independence was declared, Sheikh Zayid of Abu Dhabi assumed the presidency of new UAE until 2004 when he died while Sheikh Rashid Al Maktum of Dubai was entitled the vice president and his son Sheikh Maktum ibn Rashid Al Maktum was named the prime minister. Geography The UAE is located on the Arab Peninsula and borders Oman to the north, east, and Saudi Arabia to the west and south, the total area of the Emirates is estimated to be about 77, 600 km2 but this does not include the three islands in the Strait of Hormuz with the capital Abu Dhabi occupying 67, 350 square kilometers. The UAE is a relatively flat desert with the 1,318 kilometers of coastline consisting mainly of saltpans; the highest point of UAE is Jabal Yibir, standing at 1,527 meters and constitutes part of the mountain chain that stretches along the coast for about 150 kilometers. The United Arab Emirates generally experiences a hot and dry weather with the hottest months of July and August experiencing temperatures exceeding 40oC with extremely high humidity. The weather is much cooler in January and February with temperatures ranging between 17oC to 20oC. The area experiences frequent sand storms, which interfere with visibility and together with the coral reefs and shifting sandbars in the Persian Gulf severely limit navigation. Society The population of UAE is projected to rise to about 8.5 million by 2013 up from 4.5 million according to the official census conducted in 2005. There was a drastic increase in the population between the ten-year periods stretching from 1995 to 2005 increasing hitting 75 per cent with the percentage increase of non-nationals exceeding that of the nationals by a big margin. The population of UAE is predominantly young with males constituting the majority at a male to female ration of approximately 2 to 1. The birth rate according to the last official census is about 17 per 1000 people while the death rate stands at approximately 2.1 per 1000. The country has a high life expectancy estimated to be around 73.3 years for males and 78.6 years for females with an overall life expectancy of nearly 75.8 years. In the United Arab Emirates, the number of children per woman is approximately 2.4, which is the country’s fertility rate, according to official government records. The country has a diverse blend in population with the majority being non-natives, with an estimated composition of only 30 percent of the population being native citizens (Poston and Leon 251). South and South Eastern Asians comprise about 60 percent of the population, comprising the largest population of expatriates in the country, but majorly come from Palestinians and Yemenis among others. Other non-natives in the UAE are; Iranians, Filipinos and Africans among others, the non-native population was attracted by the employment provided by the employment boom, especially with heavy urbanization of the two largest cities. The majority of the population in the country is Muslims with a rough estimation of about 96 percent; with an estimated population, 85 percent being Sunni and the rest being Shiite and the remaining population of the land is majorly Christians and Hindu. The authorized official language in the federation is Arabic, but due to the great existence of expatriates in the country, English, Hindi, Urdu and Farsi are commonly spoken. The federal governments with the laws of the land recognizing Islam as the federation’s official religion controls religion in the country, the country’s laws also prohibit conversion from other religions from Islam, but welcomes conversion to Islam from other religions. It is mandatory for all citizens attending public schools in the country to acquire Islamic studies while teaching of non-Islamic religious studies is strictly prohibited in public schools. The content of weekly sermons in all the country’s mosques is determined by a federal regulatory authority, which also funds the mosques and employs all Sunni imams. The federal and state governments are generally tolerant toward non-Islamic faiths despite the prohibition of circulation of non-Islamic religious things. The UAE boasts of a high literacy level estimated at approximately 92 per cent even though the teacher to pupil ratio is extremely low at 15:1. Education is compulsory until the ninth grade and free to all citizens through the university level with schools being segregated on gender basis up to the sixth grade, the end of primary education. The levels of the health sector in the UAE are impressively high following government’s investments in the sector owing to the strong economic growth over the years. The citizens of UAE enjoy free health care with the residents of Abu Dhabi covered by a comprehensive health insurance funded by both employer and employee. Economy Following the discovery of oil in the country in 1958 beneath the coastal waters of Abu Dhabi, petroleum has been the determining driver of the economy and is the main force behind the power structure and relative prestige the emirates currently enjoys. Onshore oil was discovered in the capital in1960 and the onset of commercial production in 1962 has significantly influenced the great wealth and affluence of the country’s largest emirate. The discovery of oil in the UAE has greatly transformed the country from the previous dependence on pearling, fishing, herding and agriculture to the modern status the country currently enjoys with high income per capita and significant trade surplus. The wealthiest emirate, Abu Dhabi is the primary producer of oil and the overall financier of the whole federation while Dubai, the second largest emirate, mainly derives its wealth from services such as tourism, construction, telecommunications real estate and financial institutions (Kupchan 329). The two emirates combined comprise more than eighty percent of the total country’s income while the other six emirates lag behind in development. Companies involved in the country’s oil and gas reserves are still crucial to the growth of wealth, and provide the large volume of export earnings. However, the UAE progressively increasing broadening economy relies also on global banking, insurance, merchandise exports, monetary services, and tourism. The traditional livelihood of deep-sea fishing and pearling are still practiced, and there is some agriculture (dates, vegetables, watermelon, and poultry), though they do not practice, piracy after it was eradicated by Britain. Additionally, the country aggressively engages in aluminum, fertilizer, and textiles production and commercial ship repair. The UAE is a capitalist economy with a considerable trade surplus with a large per capita income with the service industry leading to a substantial reduction on reliance on the oil, falling to 25 percent (est.). The estimated Gross Domestic Product in 2012 is $ 271.2 billion with a projected growth rate of up to four percent. The economy is majorly dependent on the industrial sectors and the service sector commanding 56.1 and 43.1 percent respectively. Nevertheless, the agricultural sector contributes merely less than 0.8 percent to the national economy. The harsh climatic conditions in the country such as high temperatures, extreme aridity has led to consistent poor performance by the agricultural sector, however, they dates are produced in high quantities in the country. Oil and Gas The United Arab Emirates confirmed crude oil reserves is ninety eight billion barrels estimated to be about eight percent of current world crude oil deposits, Abu Dhabi commands about ninety four percent of all the oil reserves while Dubai contains four billion barrels in deposits. UAE has natural gas reserves of two hundred and fourteen trillion cubic feet, the fifth largest supply in the world only after Russia, Iran, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. Abu Dhabi holds the largest of the oil deposits; about 198.5 trillion cubic feet and other Emirates such as Ras al Khaymah, Dubai, and Sharjah hold a considerably lesser reserves. Dubai is one of the globe’s fastest growing city in terms of infrastructural growth, hosting the globe’s tallest hotel building and the globe’s largest shopping and recreational mall. Its service industry, particularly the tourism industry exceeded its oil revenue, according to government the UAE government. The emirate has more than 300 hotels and hosts more than six million visitors annually, and the number is projected to increase by 6.3 percent. In the year 2006, the federal government projected 14 million visitors to the Dubai emirate by the year 2010, the projection for subsequent years in 2012 were 16 million. Dubai is a tourist’s magnet in the gulf, with its whitesands beaches, nightlife, large shopping malls, luxurious hotels, and the man made islands and formula 1 circuit (Christensen 8). The Emirate intends to spruce up its image in the future with construction of more elegant hotels, shopping malls, and a theme park. The major trading partners of the UAE are China, Japan, the United States, Spain, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Italy, and the Netherlands Antilles. Abu Dhabi has a comparatively fewer visitors than Dubai achieving a target number of 1.2 million people in the year 2006, and projecting fewer visitors in their 10 year plan. The official currency of UAE is dirham (Dh), currently exchanging at 1 dirham to $ 0.27. Government and Politics The United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven self-governing emirates, through the 1996 constitution, it identifies that all powers are not particularly given out to the federal government, as the emirates retain the powers. The first head of the federation and ruler of Abu Dhabi was Sheikh Zayid ibn Sultan Al Nuhayyan who died in 2004 after the rising to power in 1971 succeeded by his son, who was the crown prince for 30 years. Sheikh Khalifa’s half-brother, Sheikh Mohammed, took over from him as top prince of Abu Dhabi, being the nest in line to succeed him as the ruler of Abu Dhabi and possibly the head of the federation. The highest federal authority is the Supreme Council of Rulers, consisting of the rulers of the seven emirates, they are charged with electing the president of the federation, who has always been the ruler of Abu Dhabi. The Council also elects the vice president, since independence has always been from Dubai. The President of the federation is tasked with appointing the prime minister, and the Council of Ministers and other presidential executive functions. The Federal Supreme Council has not only legislative powers but also executive powers. The Council performs important functions which include ratification of federal laws, decrees, in addition, they tasked with planning general policy, and upon the recommendation of the president they may remove the prime minister. The country’s legislature is referred to as the Federal National Council (FNC), under the 1996 constitution; the council examines and amends proposed federal legislation, but performs these functions as consultative assembly (Robbers 969). The council comprises a 40 member, appointed by the rulers for a two- year term, with the two dominant emirates, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, having eight members each. Twenty four other members are drawn from other emirates, Sharjah and Ras al Khaymah having a combined membership of twelve, while the remaining emirates contributing the other twelve members. Under, the constitution, sharia, Islamic religious law, is a principal source for the country’s legal system, applying to all facets of the country’s legal matters both in criminal context and civil contexts. The UAE, main forces were merged, in 1976, with Dubai being the last emirate to disband its forces and joining them with the federal in 1997, the ruler of Abu Dhabi and the president of the federation is the supreme commander of the entire armed forces. The armed force of the federal nations is a volunteer, and all are males, and an estimated thirty percent of the armed force being expatriates. Works Cited Christensen, Shane. Frommer's Dubai. New Jersey: John Wiley, 2010. Print. Kupchan, Charles. How Enemies Become Friends: The Sources of Stable Peace. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2010. Print Robbers, Gerhard. Encyclopedia of World Constitutions. New York: Facts On File, 2007. Print. Poston, Dudley L, and Leon F. Bouvier. Population and Society: An Introduction to Demography. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Print. Oxford Business Group. The Report: Abu Dhabi 2010. Oxford Business Group, 2010. Print. Federal Research Division. United Arab Emirates, a Country Study. Whitefish, MT: Kessinger, 2005. Print. Read More