Western Asia
Glittering · Desert · Futuristic
United Arab Emirates is a country located in Western Asia. Its capital city is Abu Dhabi, with other major cities including Dubai and Sharjah. With a population of approximately 9.9M, the main language spoken is Arabic. The country covers an area of 83,600 km². The official currency is the United Arab Emirates dirham (د.إ). Traffic drives on the right side.
Dubai's Burj Khalifa at 828 m is the world's tallest building, and the UAE is the only country where the sun's reflection off the building can be seen from neighbouring countries — it contains a vertical distance equivalent to twice the Empire State Building.
Abu Dhabi serves as the political, cultural and economic heart of United Arab Emirates, positioned in Western Asia. As the seat of government and often the most populous city, it concentrates the country's main institutions, universities and cultural landmarks. Beyond the capital, major cities include Dubai, Sharjah, Al Ain — each a hub of regional culture, economy and history. Abu Dhabi houses the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque — 82 domes, 1,000 columns, and a floor of white marble inlaid with semiprecious stones — in a capital whose ADNOC building, Louvre Abu Dhabi, and Guggenheim (under construction) represent a deliberate investment in cultural capital by a petrostate using art institutions to build international identity beyond oil revenues.
With a population of approximately 9.9M, United Arab Emirates is a vibrant society with a rich mix of traditions and communities. The official language is Arabic, which reflects the country's cultural heritage and connects it with a wide international community. Internationally, United Arab Emirates is reached via the dialling code +971. Emiratis constitute only 11% of the UAE's population of 9.9 million — the remaining 89% being Indian, Pakistani, Filipino, Bangladeshi, Egyptian, and European migrants working in a kafala system whose labour protections have been significantly reformed in 2021 but which still ties workers to employers in ways that limit mobility — creating a society of extraordinary ethnic diversity where political rights are distributed along citizenship lines.
United Arab Emirates spans 83,600 km², in the Western Asia subregion of Asia. Geographically centred around 24.0°N, 54.0°E, the country offers a diverse range of landscapes shaped by its location, climate and geology. Road traffic follows the right-hand rule, in line with surrounding Asia convention.
The official currency is the United Arab Emirates dirham (د.إ), used for everyday transactions and commerce throughout the country. United Arab Emirates's economy is shaped by its geography, natural resources and trade relationships. Business and daily life operate under UTC+04:00, aligning the country with its regional neighbours.
Football / Camel Racing holds a special place in the heart of United Arab Emirates's national identity. Camel racing with robot jockeys (replacing the child jockeys banned in 2005 after international human rights pressure) and falconry are the UAE's most culturally embedded sports, while Formula One's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit hosts the championship's final race and golf attracts the world's best players to tournaments in a desert city that has built more championship courses than some European countries.
The highest point in United Arab Emirates is Jebel Jais, rising to 1,934 metres above sea level. The Hajar Mountains in the UAE's east rise to over 1,900 metres in a rugged limestone range where wadis (seasonal rivers) fill suddenly during winter rains and the village of Hatta maintains a culture distinct from the coastal cities — a mountain landscape that provides the UAE's rare ecological diversity beyond the desert and coastal environments that define most of the country's geography.