2. GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION
UAE (United Arab Emirates) lies
between North Africa and Asia
and is a federation of seven
emirates: Abu Dhabi, Dubai,
Sharjah, Ras Al Khaymah,
Fujairah, Umm Al Qaywayn and
Ajman.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to
the west and south-west and
Oman to the east and south-east
are its neighbouring countries.
UAE lies on the Arabian Gulf and
the Gulf of Oman, with the Indian
Ocean off Fujairah emirate in the
north-east.
The UAE is rich and highly
developed and has moved from
being an LEDC in the 1960s to a
MEDC today. Emiratis have
access to free education,
including university, access to
good healthcare, and developed
industries. The main industry is
oil and gas production, with
growing manufacturing and
tourism industries.
3. UAE THE NATION
The UAE has been made of
seven different emirates since
1971. The largest emirate is
Abu Dhabi, and Abu Dhabi City
is the capital of the Emirates.
Abu Dhabi emirate occupies
67,340 square kilometres,
which is approximately 86.7%
of the whole country. Outside
the cities and towns, 80 per
cent of the area of the UAE is
desert, particularly in the west
of the nation. The huge “Empty
Quarter”, or Rub al Khali, in
Abu Dhabi emirate is the
world's largest sand desert.
Despite the desert there are a
number of oases in UAE, and
some towns are based around
Oases, like Al Ain and Liwa in
Abu Dhabi.
4. CLIMATE
The UAE climate is subtropical –
mainly hot and humid. In
summer, temperatures rise to an
average of around 40oC and it is
often hotter, with rainfall very rare
in summer months. In winter, the
temperature drops to around 2023oC on average, with some
rainfall typical – but only around
3cm per month on average
December to February.
The UAE climate is hot and
humid due to its location: it is
subtropical as it lies above the
equator on the (northern) Tropic
of Cancer.
Source of charts:
http://www.mydestination.com/abudhabi/6176
541/abu-dhabi-weather-forecast
These two charts show average temperature and
precipitation per month
5. PHYSICAL LANDSCAPE AND FEATURES
The climate and heat means most
plants will only grow round oases,
which are more plentiful in UAE than
in some desert areas worldwide. The
desert terrain is covered with sand
dunes that can be up to 250 metres
in height.
Also, the heat means little fertile
ground. Only certain animals,
adapted to the climate, live there,
such as types of gazelle, including
the tahr, small animals such as
hares, and reptiles, and of course
camels, once the main form of
transport.
Due to the heat and difficulties of
living in the desert, over 80 per cent
of people live in towns and cities,
mainly along the coast. They tend to
stay indoors during the daytime in
summer, in air-conditioned
environments.
The Empty Quarter in Abu Dhabi emirate
6. THE ECONOMY
The economy is very rich at
$360 billion gross domestic
product (GDP) in 2012. Easily
the largest and richest industry
is oil, especially in Abu Dhabi
emirate. Money from oil has
transformed the country since
its discovery.
UAE also has a large tourist
industry, and more than 10
million people visited Dubai in
2012.
The UAE has changed
massively since the 1960s,
from a place of fishing villages
to one of the richest most
developed countries in the
world.
The photos show Dubai in the 1960s and
today.
7. ECONOMIC CONTRASTS AND CULTURE
The economic contrasts are interesting in
UAE; they are often extreme. In October this
year (2013), the BBC reported that more than
three quarters of the population in UAE are
non-Emirati. This is because so many
migrant workers come to work there and find
better paid jobs.
UAE has links with a lot of other countries as
a lot of people migrate to the UAE to find
work. Europeans, Americans, and North
Africans tend to find office and professional
work, but some industries depend on cheap
labour, using poor people from countries
such as Pakistan, India, and the Philippines,
for example in the building and hotel
industries.
Whilst the main religion is Islam, most faiths
are practised. The mix of nationalities means
that English is a second language (and
language of business) after Arabic, followed
by Hindi, Urdu, and Persian (Farsi).
(Photos from the Guardian and World Property Channel)
8. OTHER INTERESTING FACTS
Although UAE is a relatively tiny
country, it has amazing sights and
structures, for example in the
largest and very modern city of
Dubai there is the tallest building in
the world, the Burj Khalifa, and Al
Ain Palace.
People also come to visit the
desert on safaris and to see the
clear starry night sky away from
light pollution.
9. CONTROVERSIES
UAE can be a place of controversy.
Due to its often wealthy lifestyle,
the UAE uses a huge amount of
natural resources, eg to air
condition homes, desalinate water,
and fuel its cars.
UAE is still an important market
hub for the Far Eastern delicacy of
shark fins.
The popular sport of camel racing
has been criticized for using
children.
The UAE record on human rights is
also criticized, for example
homosexuality is illegal there and
the UAE practises capital
punishment.
10. WHY I CHOSE UAE
I was born in the UAE but I left
when I was two years old so I
knew very little about it. However, I
had heard about the Burj Khalifa,
so I wanted to know how such a
small country could afford to build
such an enormous structure.
What I have discovered about UAE
is amazing and the number of
times I have been shocked or
surprised by the geographical
information has been numerous.
Me as a small
child in UAE
