United Arab Emirates

federation of monarchies

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 a personal name, Dhabi or Zabi, that comes from the word zab , or "gazelle"

chief of state: President MUHAMMAD BIN ZAYID Al Nuhayyan (since 14 May 2022) head of government: Prime Minister and Co-Vice President MUHAMMAD BIN RASHID Al Maktum (since 5 January 2006) cabinet: Council of Ministers announced by the prime minister and approved by the president election/appointment process: 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); prime minister appointed by the president most recent election date: unscheduled election held on 14 May 2022, after the death of President KHALIFA bin Zayid Al-Nuhayyan election results: 2022: MUHAMMAD BIN ZAYID Al-Nuhayyan elected president; Federal Supreme Council vote - NA expected date of next election: 2027 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

legislature name: Federal National Council (Majlis Watani Itihadi) legislative structure: unicameral number of seats: 40 (20 indirectly elected; 20 appointed) electoral system: other systems scope of elections: full renewal term in office: 4 years most recent election date: 10/7/2023 percentage of women in chamber: 50% expected date of next election: October 2027

highest court(s): 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 after approval from the Federal Supreme Council, the highest executive and legislative authority consisting of the 7 emirate rulers; judges serve until retirement age or the expiration of their appointment terms subordinate courts: Federal Court of Cassation (determines the constitutionality of laws); 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, adjudicate civil and commercial disputes

history: previous 1971 (provisional); latest drafted in 1979, became permanent May 1996 amendment process: 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

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

4% of GDP (2024 est.) 4.3% of GDP (2023 est.) 4% of GDP (2022 est.) 4.5% of GDP (2021 est.) 6.1% of GDP (2020 est.)

United Arab Emirates Armed Forces: Land Forces (Army), Navy, Air Force, Presidential Guard (includes special operations forces), National Guard (includes Coast Guard) (2025) 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 responsibility 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

18-40 for voluntary service; 18-30 years of age for compulsory national service for men with a 36-month service obligation for those without a secondary education and 11 months for secondary school graduates; women may volunteer for national service (11-month service obligation regardless of education) (2025) 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

the UAE Armed Forces (UAEAF) are responsible for defending the state, its resources, and territory, preserving internal security, and supporting the UAE's foreign policy objectives; key security concerns include regional stability and cross-border threats, such as piracy and terrorism; in recent years, the UAE has undertaken a military modernization program to go along with an assertive security policy which has included military involvements in Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen the UAE has close security ties to France and the US; it hosts a multi-service French military base, which includes the French naval command for the Indian Ocean (ALINDIEN); the UAE has a defense cooperation agreement with the US and hosts thousands of US military troops, mostly air and naval personnel; it also has defense ties with a number of other countries, including Australia, China, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Malaysia, South Korea, and the UK, as well as NATO and fellow members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, particularly Saudi Arabia the UAEAF traces its origins to the establishment of the Trucial Oman Scouts in 1951, a joint UK-Abu Dhabi organization modeled after Jordan s Arab Legion, which became the Abu Dhabi Defense Force in 1965; the modern UAEAF were formed in 1976 (2025)

maintains a few hundred troops in Somalia and Yemen (2025)

$745.994 billion (2024 est.) $718.95 billion (2023 est.) $693.842 billion (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

$68,600 (2024 est.) $68,600 (2023 est.) $68,900 (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

3.8% (2024 est.) 3.6% (2023 est.) 7.5% (2022 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

1.7% (2024 est.) 1.6% (2023 est.) 5.3% (2022 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices

19.7% of GDP (2017 est.) note: central government debt as a % of GDP

$558.402 billion (2023 est.) $521.897 billion (2022 est.) $425.156 billion (2021 est.) note: GDP expenditure basis - exports of goods and services in current dollars

$481.852 billion (2023 est.) $427.992 billion (2022 est.) $347.529 billion (2021 est.) note: GDP expenditure basis - imports of goods and services in current dollars

2.2% (2024 est.) 2.2% (2023 est.) 2.9% (2022 est.) note: % of labor force seeking employment

revenues: $23.248 billion (2023 est.) expenditures: $19.349 billion (2023 est.) note: central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenditures converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated

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

dates, cucumbers/gherkins, camel milk, goat milk, tomatoes, chicken, goat meat, eggs, milk, camel meat (2023) note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage

total: 10,093,593 (2025 est.) male: 6,831,802 female: 3,261,791

0.62% (2025 est.)

0-14 years: 16.4% (male 842,577/female 802,302) 15-64 years: 81.4% (male 5,812,470/female 2,353,750) 65 years and over: 2.2% (2024 est.) (male 169,084/female 52,030)

10.65 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

1.73 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

-2.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

total population: 79.9 years (2024 est.) male: 78.6 years female: 81.4 years

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

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

Arabic (official), English, Hindi, Malayalam, Urdu, Pashto, Tagalog, Persian major-language sample(s): كتاب حقائق العالم، المصدر الذي لا يمكن الاستغناء عنه للمعلومات الأساسية (Arabic) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Muslim 74.5% (official) (Sunni 63.3%, Shia 6.7%, other 4.4%), Christian 12.9%, Hindu 6.2%, Buddhist 3.2%, agnostic 1.3%, other 1.9% (2020 est.) note : data represent the total population; as of 2020, immigrants make up about 88.1% of the total population, according to UN data

total population: 98.8% (2024 est.) male: 99% (2024 est.) female: 98.4% (2024 est.)

petroleum, natural gas

USG identification: major precursor-chemical producer (2025)

refugees: 7,634 (2024 est.)

42 (2025)

total: 655 (2023) by type: bulk carrier 2, container ship 3, general cargo 122, oil tanker 16, other 512

total subscriptions: 22.4 million (2024 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 203 (2024 est.)

percent of population: 100% (2023 est.)