UAE 101

I have had quite a few questions about the UAE in general, and I am going to try to tackle some of the most basic questions in this post.

The United Arab Emirates is a smallish country situated on the Arabian Peninsula, along the Arabian Gulf or what we Americans refer to as the Persian Gulf.  (In the map above we are the little blue one.)  The UAE is comprised of 7 sheikdoms that were formerly known as the Trucial States, which then held close ties to, and enjoyed trade and support from, Great Britain.  During much of that time, the UAE was a center for the pearl trade.  In the late 60s, the Brits opted to withdraw involvement with the Trucial states.  Though I do not find anything to indicate this, my sense is that when the pearl trade in the area died, Great Britain decided they could no longer afford ties with the Trucial States.  This was of course, pre-oil. Britain’s decision paved the way for the formation of what is now the UAE, on December 2, 1971.  This is a very young country!

Since my arrival here, I have been semi-jokingly asked by a number of friends what it is like being a minority.  Every time it has made me laugh.  Here in the UAE I am a quadruple minority – western, female, over 50 and non-Muslim.  So yes, statistically I am very clearly in the minority, but I have not felt uncomfortable at all.  The mix of ethnicities and cultures here is amazing, and the UAE works hard to nurture a thought process that seeks out all of our similarities rather than differences.  That strategy is a good one since the Emiraties themselves are in the minority.  Though I have not found any numbers that match exactly, the most recent estimate I have found puts the population of the entire UAE at around 9.3 million people.  (The population has doubled twice in the last 20 years, and it’s one of the fastest growing countries in the world.)  Of this 9+ million, depending on the stat you look at, between 1 and 1.4 million are actually Emiraties (roughly 13%).  So finding common ground amongst this very broad population is just good common sense.

Other things about the UAE… There are twice the number of men than women, and the average age of the population is around 35.  It is a young, fast moving and vibrant country.  Most of the population lives in urban areas with Dubai and Abu Dhabi respectively being the largest 2 cities in the country, and home to almost 2/3 of the population.  Dubai is currently estimated to have reached 4 million inhabitants, and Abu Dhabi city just over half that.  Abu Dhabi city (where I now live) is the capital and has the highest percentage of native Emiraties at around 20%.

Not surprisingly, about 75% of the population is Muslim. For that reason, there are 5 calls to prayer daily.  These are sounded from every mosque and can be heard coming over speakers inside the malls and other public buildings.  The sound is not the least bit intrusive.  In fact, I find it to be a somewhat soothing tone, even though I have no clue what is actually being said.  I don’t really know what I expected, but I was somehow surprised when the daily calls to prayer did not result in everybody closing up shop, leaving their table, parking their car – whatever – to go to the closest prayer room or mosque.  While some people certainly do that, others choose to worship quietly on their own, wherever they are.

The UAE has the second largest economy in the Arab world (behind Saudi Arabia.) However, while the UAE is 8^th on the world’s list of oil producing countries, it does not depend solely on oil and has a much more diversified economy than its counterparts.  Tourism, Retail, Finance, and growing Manufacturing and Services sectors are helping the economy to be less dependent on the fluctuations of the petroleum markets.

The currency is the UAE Dirham, and there are 3.67 Dirhams to the Dollar.  This has not changed since I started watching it a few years ago.  I have been asked for a cost of living comparison multiple times but that is difficult for me to give at this moment.  We are living in a hotel/apartment building, so do not get a utility bill.  I cannot get a complete picture until I have that piece of the puzzle.  Groceries are cheaper, eating out is a bit more expensive to me, but would likely not be to people who live in larger U.S. metropolitan areas.  Rent is high, but again, no more so than in any US metro area.  The kicker is the cost of the energy.  I am told is it substantially less expensive here.  Certainly a gallon of gas is…