The+United+Arab+Emirates

The United Arab Emirates is a country on the Arabian Peninsula. The country shares a land border with Saudi Arabia to the south, Oman to the east, as well as sea borders with Iran and Qatar. The capital of the UAE is Abu Dhabi, however the largest city is Dubai. The official language is Arabic, but English is widely used. The official religion is Islam. On December 2, 1971, the UAE declared independence from Great Britain.

The Government is a federation consisting of seven Hereditary Monarchies, one for each emirate. These seven monarchs make up the Federal Supreme Council. One is then selected to be the Federal President. The current Federal President is Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. In The UAE, the line of government power goes as follows: 1: Federal Supreme Council, 2: Federal President/Federal Vice President (US Equivalent: President Obama and Vice President Biden), 3: Council of Ministers (US Equivalent: President’s Cabinet), 4: Federal National Council (US Equivalent: Congress), 5: Federal Judiciary (US Equivalent: Supreme Court).

The economy of The UAE is highly dependent on oil and its export. In 2009, 85% of the economy of The Emirates was because of exported oil. Also in 2011, money made from oil exports accounted for 77% of the federal budget. Dubai is an exception to this statement. Dubai’s economy is based on Real Estate/Construction and trade. This is due to the oil reserves in Dubai being depleted. The reserves are expected to be empty within 20 years.