50 Interesting Facts About UAE

Last updated on June 23rd, 2022

39. Unmarried Cohabitation

Another progressive reform to the UAE laws is the decriminalization of cohabitation for unmarried couples. Although authorities often look the other way when it comes to foreigners, the change permanently removes the threat of punishment.

40. UAE and Israel Ties

In 2020, UAE and Israel signed a peace deal. It is now known as the Abraham Accord. This is the first time that Israel has normalized ties with a Gulf country.

Aerial view of Souk Madinat Jumeirah and Burj Al Arab. for facts about UAE
Aerial view of Souk Madinat Jumeirah and Burj Al Arab. Photo © Medvedkov

Sports

41. FIFA World Cup

The UAE was able to qualify for the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. They faced Germany, Yugoslavia, and Colombia in Group D. A documentary entitled “Lights of Rome” was made about the team’s journey.

42. Manchester City Purchase

The ruling family’s Abu Dhabi United Group bought the Manchester City English Premiere League Club in 2008. The previous owner was Thailand’s former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

43. AFC Champions League

UAE club Al-Ain FC won the Asian continental club championship for the 2002-03 season. They defeated BEC Tero Sasana of Thailand 2-1 in the final.

44. Emirati Cricket

The large number of South Asian expats has boosted the popularity of cricket in the country. UAE qualified for the Cricket World Cup in 1996 and 2015.

45. Sri Lanka National Cricket Team

In 2009, terrorists attacked Sri Lanka’s national team bus in Pakistan causing other nations to withdraw from matches in the country. To ensure safety, UAE served as the home of Pakistan’s national team for nearly a decade.

46. Formula One

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit attracts the best racing teams each year. The race is 58 laps around the 5.281 km circuit for a total of 306.183 km. In 2021, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won over Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton with a time of 1:22:109.

The Tennis courts near a Walk at Jumeirah Beach Residence.
The Tennis courts near a Walk at Jumeirah Beach Residence. Interesting Facts About UAE. Photo © slava296

47. Professional Tennis

The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is one of the biggest events in the sport with over $2 million in prize money. It regularly attracts top-ranked players in the competition. Russian Andrey Rublev won the 2022 edition.

48. Professional Golf

The UAE has multiple golf courses with high-level tournaments held annually in the country. Among these is the Au Dhabi HSBC Championship that increased the prize purse from $7 million in 2021 to $8 million for 2022.

49. Dubai Camel Race Track

Camel racing is an old tradition in the gulf coast and it remains popular in UAE today. The Al Marmoom Camel Race Track in the Dubai desert is the largest in the country. The racing season runs from October to April and held over weekend mornings.

50. Robot Jockeys

In 2002, UAE banned child jockeys for camel racing because it was deemed exploitative. The sport evolved by using small robot jockeys operated via remote control. Human owners follow their steads in SUVs around the track.

United Arab Emirates – quick facts and statistics

Independence2 December 1971 (from the UK)
Capital CityAbu Dhabi
24°28′N 54°22′E
Largest CityDubai
25°15′N 55°18′E
Total areatotal: 83,600 sq km

land: 83,600 sq km

water: 0 sq km

slightly larger than South Carolina; slightly smaller than Maine
Population9,856,612 (July 2021 est.)
Official LanguageArabic
Languages spokenArabic (official), English, Hindi, Malayam, Urdu, Pashto, Tagalog, Persian
DemonymEmirati
Government typeFederal parliamentary elective semi-constitutional monarchy
PresidentKhalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
National anthem"Nashid al-watani al-imarati" (National Anthem of the UAE)
National symbolgolden falcon
National colorsgreen, white, black, red
BordersOman 609 km; Saudi Arabia 457 km
CurrencyUAE dirham (AED)
ReligionIslam
Life expectancy at birth79.37 years (2021 est.)
Life expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life.
Literacy rate 97.6% (age 15 and over can read and write)
Terrainflat, barren coastal plain merging into rolling sand dunes of vast desert; mountains in east
Coastline1,318 km

Mean elevation149 m
Lowest pointPersian Gulf 0 m
Highest pointJabal Bil 'Ays 1,905 m
Climatedesert; cooler in eastern mountains
Natural resourcespetroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas
Birth rate10.81 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate1.56 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Sex ratio2.56 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
Industriespetroleum and petrochemicals; fishing, aluminum, cement, fertilizer, commercial ship repair, construction materials, handicrafts, textiles
Imports$229.2 billion (2017 est.)
gold, broadcasting equipment, jewelry, refined petroleum, diamonds (2019)
Exports$308.5 billion (2017 est.)
crude petroleum, refined petroleum, gold, jewelry, broadcasting equipment (2019)
GDP - per capita (PPP)$67,100 (2019 est.)
Time ZoneUTC+04:00 (United Arab Emirates Standard Time)
Internet country code.ae
Drives on theRight
Calling Code+971
Table last updatedMarch 12, 2022