Country
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United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates is a desert country by the sea. It has huge sand dunes, old oases and the tallest building in the world.
The United Arab Emirates, or UAE, is a country of seven emirates on the Arabian Peninsula, on the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Most of it is desert, and its cities, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah, line the coast. Dubai has the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building.
The United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven emirates on the eastern Arabian Peninsula, formed in 1971 from the former Trucial States. Nearly all of it is desert; oil was discovered in Abu Dhabi in 1958, and the World Bank estimated 11.5 million residents in 2025, most of them foreign workers and their families.
Photo: Tim.Reckmann, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover the UAE
The United Arab Emirates is a country made of seven parts.
Each part is called an emirate. Most of the land is sandy desert. Big cities stand by the sea. The capital city is Abu Dhabi.
The United Arab Emirates, often called the UAE, is on the eastern side of the Arabian Peninsula. It is made of seven emirates: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain, Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah. Each has its own ruler, and together they form one country.
Abu Dhabi is by far the biggest emirate, covering more than three-quarters of the land, and its city of Abu Dhabi is the capital. Most of the UAE is desert. Most people live in cities along the coasts.
The United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven emirates along the eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Abu Dhabi, which covers more than three-fourths of the land area, is the center of the oil industry, and its city of the same name is the federal capital. Dubai, at the base of the mountainous Musandam Peninsula, is one of the region's main commercial and financial centers. Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain and Ras al-Khaimah also face the Persian Gulf, while Fujairah faces the Gulf of Oman and is the only emirate with no Persian Gulf frontage.
The country is slightly smaller in area than Portugal. Its population is concentrated in cities along both coasts, with the inland oasis city of Al-Ain as another major center. The World Bank estimated 11,513,149 residents in 2025. Britannica notes that only about one-ninth of residents are citizens; the rest are mostly foreign workers and their families, with South Asians the largest group.
Cities and famous places
Dubai has the tallest building in the world.
It is called the Burj Khalifa. It is so tall that its top looks like a needle. Abu Dhabi and Sharjah are big cities by the sea too.
The Burj Khalifa in Dubai is the tallest building in the world. It is 828 meters high, with 163 floors, and it opened on January 4, 2010, after about six years of building. Inside are a hotel, homes, offices and viewing decks.
Abu Dhabi, the capital, is the center of the country's oil industry. Sharjah holds a well-known book fair every year and has a natural history museum. Inland, the oasis city of Al-Ain has traces of people going back to the New Stone Age, and UNESCO lists its old sites as World Heritage.
Burj Khalifa, known during construction as Burj Dubai, is the world's tallest building by all three of the main criteria used to judge such buildings. Excavation began in January 2004, and it was formally opened on January 4, 2010, before its interior was complete, at 163 floors and 828 m. It was designed by the Chicago firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, with Adrian Smith as architect and William F. Baker as structural engineer, and was named to honor Sheikh Khalifa ibn Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi.
The Cultural Sites of Al Ain (Hafit, Hili, Bidaa Bint Saud and the oases), inscribed by UNESCO in 2011, record settled life in a desert region since the Neolithic: circular stone tombs from about 2500 BCE, wells, mud-brick towers and palaces, and one of the oldest examples of the aflaj irrigation system at Hili, introduced as early as the 1st millennium BCE. Britannica notes Sharjah's well-regarded annual book fair and natural history museum, and Dubai's role as an international hub for business, finance and travel.
Deserts, dunes and coasts
Most of the UAE is sandy desert.
Some sand dunes are giant hills of sand. It is very hot in summer. It hardly ever rains. Rocky mountains stand in the east.
Nearly the whole country is desert, with wide areas of sand. Some of the world's largest sand dunes rise in the Liwa oases. In the east, the Hajar Mountains, which the UAE shares with Oman, are the only big mountains.
There are no rivers that flow all year. Only about 100 to 150 millimeters of rain falls in a year. July averages 33 °C, and summer days can reach 46 °C on the coast. In winter and early summer a north wind called the shamal blows dust and sand.
Nearly the entire country is desert. Britannica places some of the world's largest sand dunes east of Arada in the Liwa oases, and important oases at Al-Ain, about 160 km east of Abu Dhabi. The northern Hajar Mountains, shared with Oman, are the only other major relief feature, rising to about 2,000 m at their highest. There are no perennial streams: what little rain falls drains from the mountains in seasonal wadis that end in inland salt flats (sabkhahs), and coastal sabkhahs near Abu Dhabi are sometimes flooded by the Gulf.
The climate is hot and humid on the coast and hotter but dry inland. Rainfall averages only 100 to 150 mm a year and varies greatly; January averages 18 °C and July 33 °C, with summer highs of 46 °C on the coast and 49 °C or more in the desert. The shamal, a north or northwest wind, carries dust and sand in midwinter and early summer. The Persian Gulf coast is broken by shoals and islands and has no natural deepwater harbors; Dubai's Port Rashid and Jebel Ali are human-made; the Gulf of Oman coast has three natural harbors, Dibba, Khor Fakkan and Kalba.
Animals of the UAE
Desert animals live in the UAE.
Big Arabian oryx live in the desert. Little sand cats and foxes live there too. Fish and sharks swim in the sea.
Wild animals in the UAE include desert hunters such as the caracal, the sand cat and Rüppell's fox, and larger animals such as the Arabian oryx and Arabian gazelles. Smaller animals include hares, jerboas and gerbils, along with many snakes and lizards.
The coast is a stopping place for migrating water birds, and birdwatchers come from all over the world to see them. In the Gulf live mackerel, grouper, tuna and sharks, and sometimes whales. Millions of trees, many of them mangroves, have been planted in Abu Dhabi, making homes for wildlife.
Britannica lists the UAE's wild predators as the caracal, the sand cat (Felis margarita) and Rüppell's fox (Vulpes rueppellii) and red fox; larger animals as the Arabian oryx and the Arabian and Persian gazelles; and smaller mammals such as the cape hare, lesser jerboa and several gerbils, with a variety of snakes and lizards. Domesticated animals include goats, sheep and camels, while cattle and poultry were introduced more recently. Vegetation is scanty, mostly low shrubs that feed grazing herds, but millions of trees, notably mangroves, have been planted in Abu Dhabi and now provide habitats for various species. In the oases, date palms grow alongside alfalfa.
The seashore is a haven for migratory waterfowl and draws birdwatchers from around the world. Gulf waters hold schools of mackerel, grouper, tuna and porgies, as well as sharks and occasional whales. In the 1990s the government began a program to conserve desert animals and plants.
People, languages and food
People from many countries live in the UAE.
The main language is Arabic. Many people speak English too. Rice is a main food, and lamb and chicken are favorite meats.
People from all over the world live and work in the UAE. Only about one in nine residents is an Emirati citizen; many others come from South Asia, other Arab countries, Iran and the Philippines. Arabic is the official language, and English is widely spoken.
Emirati cooking uses rice as a main food. A favorite dish is makbus: chicken, meat or fish on spiced rice with dried lime. Dates, figs and flatbread are everyday foods. Traditional crafts such as pottery and weaving are sold in souks, open-air markets, and camel racing and falconry remain popular.
Only about one-ninth of the UAE's residents are citizens; most are foreign workers and their families, South Asians being the largest group, followed by Arabs from other countries and Iranians, with growing numbers of Southeast Asians such as Filipinos. Because of the many foreign workers, more than two-thirds of the population is male. Arabic is the official language; most Emiratis speak a Gulf Arabic dialect, Modern Standard Arabic is taught in schools, and English, Hindi, Persian, Pashto and Balochi are among the other languages spoken. About three-fifths of the population is Muslim, mostly Sunni, with small but growing numbers of Christians and Hindus.
Britannica describes Emirati cuisine as reflecting many influences: dishes common across the Arab world such as hummus and falafel, and an Iranian-influenced preference for rice and for saffron, cardamom and rose water in desserts. Makbus, poultry, meat or fish on rice with dried lime, is a favorite. Pottery, weaving and metalwork remain important crafts, poetry, including the Bedouin nabati form, is highly valued, and camel racing and falconry continue alongside football, the most-watched sport.
From pearls to a new country
People have lived in the desert oases for a very long time.
Long ago, people fished and dived for pearls in the sea. In 1971, the emirates joined together. They made one new country.
People have lived around the oases of Al-Ain for thousands of years. They built round stone tombs about 4,500 years ago. Later, people dug water channels, called aflaj, to water their farms.
For a long time, fishing and diving for pearls were the most valuable work along the coast. In the 1800s the local rulers signed agreements with Britain, and the area became known as the Trucial States. Oil was found in Abu Dhabi in 1958. In December 1971 six emirates joined to form the United Arab Emirates, and Ras al-Khaimah joined in 1972.
The Al-Ain region has been occupied continuously since the Neolithic, and its tombs, wells and aflaj irrigation channels document the development of agriculture over five millennia. For much of the coast's history, fishing and pearling were the most lucrative industries. In the 18th century the Qasimi dynasty of Ras al-Khaimah dominated the coast; after a British naval attack in 1819, Britain became the main power along it. A general treaty of peace (1820), the perpetual maritime truce of 1853, which gave the Trucial Coast its name, and exclusive agreements of 1892 tied the sheikhdoms to Britain as the Trucial States, while the Nahyan dynasty of Abu Dhabi led the inland Banu Yas confederation.
Oil was discovered in Abu Dhabi in 1958 and Dubai began producing in 1969. In January 1968, after Britain announced that its forces would leave the Persian Gulf by late 1971, the Trucial States, Qatar and Bahrain began planning a union; Qatar and Bahrain chose independence instead, and six of the Trucial States formed the United Arab Emirates in December 1971; Ras al-Khaimah joined in February 1972. Sheikh Zayed ibn Sultan Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi was president from 1971 until his death in 2004.
The UAE on the map
Find the UAE on the globe.
It is in Asia, on the Arabian Peninsula. The sea is on its coasts. Saudi Arabia and Oman are its neighbors.
The UAE is in southwestern Asia, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. Most of its coast faces the Persian Gulf, and a shorter eastern coast faces the Gulf of Oman. Saudi Arabia lies to the west and south, and Oman to the east.
Several emirates sit on a peninsula that points north toward Iran. It forms the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow sea passage that joins the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman.
The UAE is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the west and south and by Oman to the east and northeast. The northern emirates occupy a peninsula whose northward protrusion toward Iran forms the Strait of Hormuz, linking the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman; Fujairah alone faces only the Gulf of Oman. Several emirates have exclaves inside other emirates.
Britannica notes that the country's precise borders have remained a matter of dispute: the legal standing of a 1974 agreement with Saudi Arabia is unclear, and since the early 1990s the UAE and Iran have disputed ownership of three islands in the Gulf, Abu Musa and Greater and Lesser Tunb.
- Emirates
- 7: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain, Ras al-Khaimah, Fujairah
- Rainfall
- about 100 to 150 mm a year
- Mountains
- Hajar Mountains (shared with Oman), up to about 2,000 m
- People (2025 estimate)
- 11,513,149
Amazing facts
-
The tallest building in the world is in Dubai.
The Burj Khalifa in Dubai is 828 meters tall, with 163 floors.
Burj Khalifa is the world's tallest building by all three main criteria; it reached 163 floors and 828 m and opened on January 4, 2010.
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The UAE gets very little rain.
Only about 100 to 150 millimeters of rain falls in the UAE in a year, and no river flows all year.
Rainfall averages 100 to 150 mm a year and fluctuates considerably; the country has no perennial streams or regular bodies of surface water.
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Long ago, people dug channels to bring water to farms in the desert.
At Hili, near Al-Ain, are some of the oldest examples of aflaj, channels that carry water to desert farms.
UNESCO notes that the aflaj irrigation system was introduced at Al-Ain as early as the 1st millennium BCE, and that this water management has supported farming there for five millennia.
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Only a few people in the UAE are citizens.
Only about one in nine people living in the UAE is a citizen; most residents are workers from other countries and their families.
Britannica estimates that only about one-ninth of residents are citizens and that, because of the many foreign workers, more than two-thirds of the population is male.
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The Trucial Coast got its name from a promise of peace at sea.
The coast was once called the Trucial Coast, after a lasting truce at sea that its rulers agreed in 1853.
The perpetual maritime truce of 1853 gave the Trucial Coast its name; the sheikhdoms became known as the Trucial States before forming the UAE in 1971.
Words to know
- emirate
- a state or area ruled by an emir (a ruler); the UAE is made of seven
- federation
- a country formed when several states join together under one national government
- oasis
- a place in a desert where water lets plants and crops grow
- sand dune
- a hill or ridge of sand piled up by the wind
- wadi
- a valley or stream bed that holds water only after rain
- aflaj
- channels that carry water to fields and settlements in the desert (one is a falaj)
- souk
- an open-air market
Discovery challenge
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How many emirates make up the UAE?
How many emirates joined together to form the UAE?
How many emirates make up the federation of the United Arab Emirates?
- Three
- Seven
- Twelve
Show the answer
Seven
The UAE has seven emirates.
The seven emirates are Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain, Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah.
Six formed the federation in December 1971 and Ras al-Khaimah joined in February 1972, making seven.
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Which city has the tallest building in the world?
In which city is the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building?
Which emirate's capital city is home to the 828 m Burj Khalifa?
- Dubai
- Abu Dhabi
- Sharjah
Show the answer
Dubai
The Burj Khalifa is in Dubai.
The Burj Khalifa in Dubai is 828 meters tall and opened in 2010.
Burj Khalifa, known as Burj Dubai during construction, stands in Dubai city and opened on January 4, 2010.
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What covers most of the land in the UAE?
What kind of land covers nearly the whole UAE?
Which landscape covers nearly the entire country, with some of the world's largest dunes at Liwa?
- Rainforest
- Desert
- Ice
Show the answer
Desert
Most of the UAE is sandy desert.
Nearly the whole country is desert, and only about 100 to 150 millimeters of rain falls in a year.
Nearly the entire country is desert with broad areas of sand; some of the world's largest dunes lie in the Liwa oases.
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What did people dive for in the sea long ago?
Long ago, fishing and diving for what were the coast's most valuable work?
Alongside fishing, which industry was the region's most lucrative for much of its history?
- Gold coins
- Pearls
- Coal
Show the answer
Pearls
People dived for pearls in the sea.
For much of the area's history, fishing and pearling were the most valuable industries.
Britannica describes fishing and pearling as the region's most lucrative industries for much of its history.
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What is the main language of the UAE?
What is the official language of the UAE?
Which language is official in the UAE, with most Emiratis speaking a Gulf dialect of it?
- Arabic
- Spanish
- Russian
Show the answer
Arabic
The main language is Arabic.
Arabic is the official language, and English is also widely spoken.
Arabic is official; most native Emiratis speak a Gulf Arabic dialect, and Modern Standard Arabic is taught in schools.
Places to discover in United Arab Emirates
Animals of United Arab Emirates
Explore next
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Watch
Landmark
Burj Khalifa
Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is 828 meters tall, the tallest building in the world (2026). It took about six years to build, from 2004 to 2010. Its Y-shaped plan, inspired by a desert flower, helps it stand up to strong winds.
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Watch
Animal
Arabian oryx
The Arabian oryx is a white desert antelope with long, straight horns and a black-and-white face. Hunting wiped it out in the wild, but animals kept in zoos were bred and returned to the deserts of Arabia. Today it lives wild again in five countries.
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Watch
Country
Qatar
Qatar is a small desert country on a peninsula that pokes north into the Persian Gulf. Its people once lived by pearl diving and fishing; today it is one of the world's biggest exporters of natural gas. Its capital, Doha, has a skyline of towers, and about 3.2 million people lived in Qatar at the end of 2025.
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Watch
Country
Oman
Oman is a country on the southeastern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, with long coasts on the sea and the huge Empty Quarter desert inland. People have watered their farms with ancient channels called aflaj for more than 2,000 years, and Oman was famous for frankincense. About 5.4 million people lived there in 2026.
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Country
Afghanistan
Afghanistan is a landlocked country in south-central Asia. The high Hindu Kush mountains run across its middle, sandy deserts lie in the southwest, and the capital, Kabul, sits in a valley about 1,800 meters above sea level.
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Country
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan is a country on the southern side of the Caucasus Mountains, along the western shore of the Caspian Sea. It has high mountains, wide lowlands and forests, its capital is Baku, and about 10.3 million people lived there in mid-2026.
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Watch
Country
Indonesia
Indonesia is a country of about 17,500 islands in Southeast Asia, spread across the Equator between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It has more than 100 active volcanoes, rainforests full of wildlife, and about 286 million people (2025).
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Country
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Most of its land is steep mountains and forest, Mount Fuji is its tallest peak, and about 124 million people live there, many of them in big cities such as Tokyo.
For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate the UAE on the Arabian Peninsula and name its two gulfs and two neighbors.
- Describe how people live with desert heat and very little rain, from oasis farming to coastal cities.
- Explain what an emirate and a federation are, and how the UAE formed in 1971.
- Describe some of the UAE's languages, foods and crafts without treating them as one single culture.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Why do you think most people in the UAE live along the coast rather than in the desert?
- Ancient farmers at Al-Ain dug channels to carry water. How does water reach your home?
- What might be hard, and what might be interesting, about building a tower 828 meters tall?
Try at home or in class
- Pile dry sand or salt on a tray and blow gently across it with a straw to see how wind builds and moves dunes.
- Measure 100 to 150 millimeters on a ruler: that is about how much rain falls in the UAE in a whole year.
Key vocabulary: emirate, federation, oasis, sand dune, wadi, aflaj, souk
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- UNESCO World Heritage List , UNESCO World Heritage Centre (Linked as a reference; site facts come from Wikidata)
- Population, total: United Arab Emirates , World Bank Open Data
- United Arab Emirates (introduction) , Encyclopaedia Britannica
- United Arab Emirates: Land (relief, climate, plant and animal life, people) , Encyclopaedia Britannica
- United Arab Emirates: Languages and religion (settlement, economy) , Encyclopaedia Britannica
- United Arab Emirates: Daily life and social customs (cultural life) , Encyclopaedia Britannica
- United Arab Emirates: History , Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Burj Khalifa , Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Cultural Sites of Al Ain (Hafit, Hili, Bidaa Bint Saud and Oases Areas) , UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- PlayOwl region table, version 1 , PlayOwl (PlayOwl original data)
- flag-icons 7.5.0 , Panayiotis Lipiridis and contributors (MIT)
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated October 24, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
Picture credits
- Photo: Tim.Reckmann, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source · license
- Photo: Валерий Дед, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source · license
- Photo: Mueed Ahmed, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source · license
- Photo: Tim Reckmann from Hamm, Deutschland, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source · license