uae facts
The United Arab Emirates, in the Eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula, extends along part of the Gulf of Oman and the Southern coast of the Persian Gulf. Its neighbors are Saudi Arabia to the West and South, Qatar to the North, and Oman to the East. Most of the land is sandy.
Formed in 1971, the Federation is made up of 7 emirates: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah and Umm al-Qaiwain.
The federal president and prime minister, Each emirate has a separate ruler, called "emir", who oversees the local government.
The seven rulers elect the federal President. Nowdays the President of UAE is sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nayan, also ruler of Abu Dhabi.
This year UAE is turning 45 years old on the 2nd of December. A lot of celebrations are planned in the most famous places of the country.
In 2013, the UAE's population was 9.2 million, of which 1.4 million are Emiratis and 7.8 million are expatriates.
The official language is Arabic, but English is widely spoken by the population.
The official religion is Islam.
The official religion is Islam.