I.

Introduction

United Arab Emirates (UAE), federation of seven independent states located in the southeastern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, part of the Middle East region. Once known as the Trucial States, the UAE became an independent country in 1971.

Each emirate (small state ruled by a hereditary chief called an emir) is centered on a coastal settlement and named for that settlement. The seven member emirates are Abu Dhabi (also known as Abū Zaby), ‘Ajmān, Dubai, Al Fujayrah, Ra’s al Khaymah, Ash Shāriqah, and Umm al Qaywayn. The city of Abu Dhabi is the federal capital, and Dubai is the largest city in the country.

The UAE is a desert country about the size of South Carolina. The nation is bordered by the Persian Gulf to the north, Saudi Arabia to the south and west, and Oman and the Gulf of Oman to the east.

Before the discovery of petroleum in the 1950s, the UAE was a group of largely undeveloped states under the protection of the British government. The oil industry brought rapid growth and modernization to the area, which helped the emirates break away from the control of the United Kingdom in the early 1970s. The bulk of the country’s oil is found in Abu Dhabi, making it the wealthiest and most powerful of the seven emirates. With a stable economy buoyed by the oil industry, the UAE boasts one of the highest standards of living in the world.