1985 Edition

Agriculture

food imported; some dates, alfalfa, vegetables, fruit, tobacco raised

mixed farming predominates; main products — wheat, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, livestock, dairy products; 62% self-sufficient (1982); dependent on imports for more than half of consumption of refined sugar, butter, oils and fats, bacon and ham

Aid

donor — bilateral economic aid committed (ODA and OOF) (1970-82), $13 billion

Airfields

43 total, 30 usable; 20 with permanent-surface runways; 5 with runways over 3,659 m, 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 4 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

570 total, 351 usable; 249 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m, 37 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 139 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Area

83,600 km2; the size of Maine; almost all desert, waste, or urban

Branches

executive — Supreme Council of Rulers (seven members), from which a President and Vice President are elected; Prime Minister and Council of Ministers; unicameral legislature — Federal National Council; judicial — Union Supreme Court

Army, Navy, Air Force

legislative authority resides in Parliament (House of Lords, House of Commons); executive authority lies with collectively responsible Cabinet led by Prime Minister; House of Lords is supreme judicial authority and highest court of appeal

Royal Army, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Marines

Budget

(national and local government, including nationalized industries) FY84 (est.) revenues, $193.9 billion; expenditures, $179.9 billion; deficit $14 billion

Capital

Abu Dhabi

London

Civil air

6 major transport aircraft

618 major transport aircraft

Coastline

1,448 km People

12,429 km People

Communists

15,961

Crude steel

15.0 million metric tons produced (1983); 266 kg per capita (1983); 25.4 million tons capacity (1981)

Elections

none

at discretion of Prime Minister, but must be held before expiration of a fiveyear electoral mandate; last election 9 June Political parties and leaders: Conservative, Margaret Thatcher; Labor, Neil Kinnock; Social Democratic, David Owen; Communist, Gordon McLennan; Scottish National, Donald Stewart; Plaid Cymru, Dafydd Wigley; Official Unionist, James Molyneaux; Democratic Unionist, Ian Paisley; Social Democratic and Labor, John Hume; Sinn Fein, Gerry Adams; Alliance, John Coshnahan; Liberal, David Steel

Electric power

5,178,000 kW capacity (1984); 13.58 billion kWh produced (1984), 10,760 kWh per capita

94,333,000 kW capacity (1984); 280.05 billion kWh produced (1984), 4,970 kWh per capita

Ethnic divisions

Emirian 19%, other Arab 23%, South Asian 50% (fluctuating), other expatriates (includes Westerners and East Asians) 8%; fewer than 20% of the population are UAE citizens (1982)

81.5% English, 9.6% Scottish, 2.4% Irish, 1.9% Welsh, 1.8% Ulster, 0.8% other; West Indian, Indian, Pakistani 2%

Exports

$15.3 billion (f.o.b., 1983); $12.8 billion in crude oil, $2.5 billion consisting mostly of gas, reexports, dried fish, dates

$ 96.5 billion (f.o.b., 1982); machinery, transport equipment, petroleum, manufactured goods, chemicals, foodstuffs

$91.4 billion (f.o.b., 1983); manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, chemicals, semifinished goods, transport equipment

Fiscal year

calendar year Communications

1 April-31 March Communications

Fishing

catch 744,966 metric tons (1983); imports 707,000 metric tons (1983), exports 379,000 metric tons (1983)

GDP

$27.5 billion (1983), $22,710 per capita

GNP

$460.0 billion (1983), $8,214 per capita; 60.3% consumption, 16.4% investment, 21.7% government; 0.1% stockbuilding, 1.1% net foreign balance, real growth 3.4% (1983)

Government leader

ELIZABETH II, Queen (since 1952); Margaret THATCHER, Prime Minister (since 1979)

Government leaders

Shaykh Zayid bin Sultan Al NUHAYYAN of Abu Dhabi, President (since December 1971); Shaykh Rashid ibn Sa'id Al MAKTUM of Dubai, Vice President (since 1971) and Prime Minister (since April 1979)

Highways

2,000 km total; 1,800 km bituminous, 200 km gravel and graded earth

United Kingdom, 362,982 km total; Great Britain, 339,483 km paved (including 2,573 km limited-access divided highway); Northern Ireland, 23,499 km (22,907 paved, 592 km gravel)

Imports

$8.3 billion (f.o.b., 1983); food, consumer and capital goods

$99.2 billion (c.i.f., 1983); manufactured goods, machinery, semifinished goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods

Inland waterways

3,219 km publicly owned; 605 km major commercial routes

Labor force

541,000 (1980 est.); 85% industry and commerce, 5% agriculture, 5% services, 5% government; 80% of labor force is foreign • Government

(1982) 26.08 million; 54.4% industry and commerce, 29.9% services, 7.6% self-employed, 6.6% government, 1.5% agriculture; 12.5% unemployed (early 1984)

Land boundaries

1 ,094 km (does not include boundaries between adjacent UAE states) Water

360 km Water

Language

Arabic (official); Farsi and English widely spoken in major cities; Hindi, Urdu

English, Welsh (about 26% of population of Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland)

Legal system

secular codes are being introduced by the UAE Government and in several member shaykhdoms; Islamic law remains influential

common law tradition with early Roman and modern continental influences; no judicial review of Acts of Parliament; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Limits of territorial waters (claimed)

3 nm for all states except Sharjah, where claimed limit is 12 nm (economic, including fishing, 200 nm)

3 nm (fishing 200 nm)

Literacy

56.3% est.

99%

Major industries

machinery and transport equipment, metals, food processing, paper and paper products, textiles, chemicals, clothing

Major trade partners

Japan, EC, US Bt.dge,!:(1982est.)current expenditures, $6.6 billion; development, $1.9 billion; revenue, $8.8 billion

exports — 43.4% EC (10.0% FRG, 9.4% France, 9.0% Netherlands), 13.8% US, 1.9% Communist (1983); imports— 45.7% EC(14.8% FRG, 7.8% Netherlands, 7.7% France), 11.4% US, 2.3% Communist (1983)

Member of

Arab League, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB — Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, QIC, OPEC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTO Economy

ADB, CENTO, Colombo Plan, Council of Europe, DAC, EC, ELDO, ESRO, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICES, ICO, IDA, IDB— Inter-American Development Bank, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, International Lead and Zinc Study Group, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOOC, IPU, IRC, ISO, ITC, ITU, IWC — International Whaling Commission, IWC — International Wheat Council, NATO, OECD, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG Economy

Member states

Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, al Fujayrah, Ra's al-Khaymah, Sharjah, Umm al-Qaywayn

Military budget

for fiscal year ending 31 December 1984, $1.9 billion; 40% of central government budget Hebrides^ ^•Shetland i Islands ft.' Orkney Islands North Atlantic Ocean English Channel See regional mip V Land 243,977 km2; slightly smaller than Oregon; 50% meadow and pasture, 30% arable, 12% waste or urban, 7% forest, 1% inland water

for fiscal year ending 31 March 1984, $24.1 billion; about 19.7% of central government budget

Military manpower

males 15-49, 547,000; 379,000 fit for military service

males 15-49, 14,034,000; 11,902,000 fit for military service; no conscription

Monetary conversion rate

3.671 UAE dirhams=US$l (October 1984)

0.833 pounds sterling=US$l (December 1984)

National holiday

2 December

celebration of birthday of the Queen, 16 June

Nationality

Noun — Emirian(s), adjective — Emirian

noun — Briton(s), British (collective pi.); adjective — British

Official name

United Arab Emirates (composed of former Trucial States)

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Organized labor

40% of labor force Government

Other political or pressure groups

Trades Union Congress, Confederation of British Industry, National Farmers' Union, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

Pipelines

830 km crude oil; 870 km natural gas, including natural gas liquids

933 km crude oil, almost all insignificant; 2,907 km refined products; 1,770 km natural gas

Political or pressure groups

none; a few small clandestine groups are active

Political subdivisions

650 parliamentary constituencies

Population

1,320,000 (July 1985), average annual growth rate 4.4%

56,437,000 (July 1985), average annual growth rate 0.1%

Ports

1 major, 18 minor

9 major, 15 secondary, 190 minor

Railroads

none

Great Britain— 17,249 km total; British Railways (BR) operates 17,230 km 1.435-meter standard gauge (3,718 km electrified, 12,591 km double or multiple track), and 19 km 0.597-meter gauge; several additional small standard gauge and narrow gauge lines are privately owned; Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) operates 332 km 1.600-meter gauge, 190 km double track

Religion

Muslim 96%; Christian, Hindu, and other 4%

27.0 million Anglican, 5.3 million Roman Catholic, 2.0 million Presbyterian, 760,000 Methodist, 450,000 Jewish (registered)

Suffrage

none

universal over age 18

Telecommunications

adequate system of radio-relay and coaxial cable; key centers are Abu Dhabi and Dubai; 241,000 telephones United Arab Emirates (continued) United Kingdom (20.0 per 100 popl.); 8 AM, 3 FM, 9 TV stations; 3 INTELSAT stations with 1 Atlantic and 2 Indian Ocean antennas; plan submarine cables to India and Pakistan; tropospheric scatter to Bahrain; radio-relay to Saudi Arabia Defense Forces

modern, efficient domestic and international system; 29. 1 million telephones (51.7 per 100 popl.); excellent countrywide broadcast; 100 AM, 317 FM, 1,784 TV stations; 33 coaxial submarine cables; 4 earth satellite stations with a total of 8 antennas Defense Forces

Type

federation; constitution signed December 1971, which delegated specified powers to the UAE central government and reserved other powers to member shaykhdoms

constitutional monarchy

Voting strength

(1983 election) House of Commons — Conservative, 397 seats (42.4%); Labor, 209 seats (27.6%); Social DemocraticLiberal Alliance, 23 seats (17 Liberal, 6 SDP) (25.4%); Scottish National Party, 2 seats; Plaid Cymru (Welsh Nationalist), 2 seats; Ulster (Official) Unionist (Northern Ireland), 1 1 seats; Ulster Democratic Unionist (Northern Ireland), 3 seats; Ulster Popular Unionist (Northern Ireland), 1 seat; Social Democratic and Labor (Northern Ireland), 1 seat; Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland), 1 seat