The United Arab Emirates, most known as the UAE, is located in the Middle East, bordering the Oman and Persian gulf, and between Oman and Saudi Arabia. UAE is most commonly known for their rich oil reserves and for their 2 biggest cities, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, which attract millions of tourists every year. This country is made up of 7 different States or ‘Emirates’ and 6 of those were established on December 2, 1971. It wasn’t until February 10, 1972 that Ras Al-Khaimah was founded. The 7 Emirates are Dubai, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras Al-Khaimah, Sharjah, Umm al-Qaiwain and Abu Dhabi, which is also the capital. As of 2018, they have a GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of $407.52 Billion and had a 3.4% growth in 2017. The UAE doesn’t have many Natural Resources but are able to survive and maintain wealth with what they have. Their Natural Resources consist of Natural Gases, Petroleum and Oil. The Industries that make up much of their economy are the Oil, Gas, Energy, Textile, Food and Petroleum Industries. The Manufactured Goods are not that valuable but they still get the work done. Construction Material, Mechanic and Metal Products, Paper, Textile, and Perfumes. Their Main Trading Partners are Iran, Japan, India, China, Oman, United States, Germany and the United Kingdom. The Main Imports consist of Machinery and Transport Equipment, Chemicals and food. On the other hand, the Main Exports consist of Oil, Crude Oil, Aluminum, Natural Gases, Dried Fish and Dates, which are a fruit that comes from Date Palms. The UAE has the 9th-largest Net Exports in the World, Trailing just behind Hong Kong.
The economy of the UAE is the 2nd-largest in the Arab World, right after Saudi Arabia. The UAE has had an open economy with a high per capita revenue and a fair annual trade surplus.
Zayed Bin Sultan, the UAE’s previous president, is responsible for bringing the country forward into the 20th Century and using the income from oil exports to fund any necessary development that would positively help the country. At the same time, Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, former Vice-President, had a vision for the Emirate of Dubai and looked more into the future in the use of Petroleum and other main industries. In the 1980’s, Dubai centered more and more around trade and began to use the creation of shipping and logistic centers. For Example, Port Rashid, Free Zone of Jebel Ali and Dubai International Airport lead the UAE to global plays in shipping, transportation, and logistics. As for their government, they are a Federal Monarchy and they rely on the Federal Supreme Council to choose the President and Vice-President for a 5-Year term with infinite term limits. In 2011, the government took action in protests calling for greater political participation by raising the number of people who are allowed to vote in elections.
Since 2012, the UAE has prevented social media activism, meaning that it would be difficult to spread rumours and information to the large public through any kinds of online or social media.
From August 2, 1991 to February 28, 1992, the UAE was involved in the Gulf War, which was an invasion triggered by Iraq against Kuwait. The reason being was that Iraq was accusing Kuwait of stealing Petroleum from their country through slant drilling, which is a form of underground drilling to extract natural gases or any other resources. They responded to this by aiding Saudi Arabia and protecting them from Kuwait as they believed they were the next target because of the fact that Saudi Arabia has the biggest oil reserves in the world. Iraq ended up losing the war which was led by the United States, United Kingdom, and France.
The UAE currently has a mixed economy, which is a combination of command and market economies that provide both goods and services that will benefit everybody. The UAE’s legal rules favor nationals over foreigners. Many businesses, like banks, are privately owned and this is representation to one of the types of commercial establishments in which stock is sold to the public. Any foreigner is allowed to own property or land in the UAE. This is also a great example of people who have the idea to migrate to a country like this and start investing in a business or market that will hopefully, in the future, bring you lots of wealth. The economy has grown a lot in the last decade because of the increase of oil income in the country.
In the UAE, the levels of Economy are very diverse and significant in their own ways. An Example for Primary activities that this country relies on are these two natural resources, Gold and Diamond. They are usually found in caves and are mined and later on changed to whatever your liking is. These Natural Resources make up 23.8% of the UAE’s imports and are commonly used to make jewelry like necklaces, rings, earrings and chains. As we know, the UAE has many wealthy Emirates and specially, people in Dubai, tend to be very wealthy and those are the people that have the money to buy any kind of jewelry varying from gold to diamonds. Gold is slightly more expensive than Diamonds but when it comes to jewelry, diamond tends to be the best looking for the human eye. The Second Activity of this country, revolves on the idea of manufacturing. From vehicles to home supplies, these resources make up 4.9% of the UAE’s imports. Aircraft parts, Vehicle parts, Iron pipes, and gas turbines re brought in from different countries to help power the economy and the country. Aircraft parts are used to make Airplanes or Helicopters. Vehicle parts are used to make any form of vehicle from cars to motorcycles. Iron pipes are converted for the use of clean water piping in households, schools and businesses. Finally, Gas Turbines are used to help produce energy for the country. Tertiary activities, which help provide businesses and professional services for the community. These are commonly jobs or services for the community or in this case, the whole country. Banks, Insurance Services, Financial Markets, Industries, Companies, Stores, Schools and Hospitals all contribute to help and make the community better. From making more jobs available to giving education to the people, this all helps keep a stable and wealthy economy. Hydra Properties Real Estate Development Companies are a form of Quaternary Activities. Owned by Sulaiman Al-Fahim and also the President of the Arab Union for Real Estate Development.
The Economic Forecast for this country is very promising and will hopefully maintain the wealth and rise to be even more powerful in the coming years. In 2017, the UAE’s GDP had a small decrease but in 2018, it is expected to rise by a strong improvement in non-oil sector growth according to the International Monetary Fund. It is expected to double from last years 1.7% to an increase of 3.6%. There will be a job increase in the fields that require specialists or skilled individuals in fields varying from tax managers, credit controllers, anti-money laundering specialists and executive assistants for many companies. Not only will there be more jobs, there will also be a higher salary in these types of jobs. Inflation has had a major rise in the UAE’s economy since 2015, with a 5% rise, followed by a 1.7% increase in 2016, 2.07% increase in 2017, and we should be seeing a 3% increase in 2018. With the UAE’s GDP looking to increase this year, the trade with International countries is looking bright as it is one of the most diverse countries in the Middle East. Public spending should furthermore be reinforced by higher oil prices. Tourism growth will most likely be stable in 2018 but mostly because of Dubai which receives approximately 15 million tourists per year. The Burj Khalifa, located in Dubai, is the tallest building in the world, is one of the top attractions in the world. New Technology in the future will help the country expand its knowledge to the world and it will certainly bring more wealth and people to the country. Microsoft is looking forward to opening its first ever data centres in the Middle East which will be located in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. They are hoping to get their plans done by early next year. This is a huge step towards better technology to be expanded in the Middle East in the years to come. Other big companies like Amazon are also finding new ways to expand in the UAE as they already have a few offices located in Dubai. This technology will help the UAE grow faster and more intelligent in the near future.