| About Dubai: |
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| Facts & Figures |
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 Language
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| Climate
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| Government |
| Geography
and Population |
| Religion
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| Time
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| Currency
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| Economic
Growth |
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| Language |
| Arabic is the official language of Dubai, but English is
widely understood and ranks alongside Arabic as the language
of commerce. |
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| Climate |
| Dubai has a subtropical, arid climate. Sunny, blue skies
can be expected most of the year. Rainfall is infrequent and
irregular, falling mainly in winter. It boasts of a pleasant
winter that is quite a surprise to some who expect the weather
to be intolerably warm. Temperatures range from a low of 10.5°C/50°F
to a high of 48°C/118°F. The mean daily maximum is
24°C/75.2°F in January rising to 41°C/105.8°F
in July. |
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| Government |
| The Supreme Council of the UAE, comprising the hereditary
rulers of the seven emirates, is the highest federal authority.
It is responsible for general policy matters involving communications,
education, defense, foreign affairs and development, and for
ratifying the federal laws. The council president is HH Shaikh
Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan (ruler of Abu Dhabi), while HH
Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum (ruler of Dubai) is
its vice president and prime minister. |
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| The federal Council of Ministers, responsible to the Supreme
Council, has executive authority to initiate and implement
laws. It is a consultative assembly of 40 representatives
appointed for two years. |
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| Geography and Population |
| Dubai is the second largest of the seven emirates that make
up the United Arab Emirates. Dubai's population is currently
approximately 1.4 million and is expected to double by 2010.
Approximately 80% of Dubai's population comprises of expatriates. |
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| Religion |
| Islam is the official religion of the UAE and there are
a large number of mosques throughout the city, considered
tourist attractions for their architectural significance.
True to the emirate’s cosmopolitan nature, Dubai respects
other religions and is quite a melting pot of different beliefs
and cultures, each adding to Dubai’s character. |
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| Time |
| The UAE is four hours ahead of GMT – there is no Summer
Time in Dubai. |
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| Currency |
| The currency is the UAE Dirham (Dhs, sometimes referred
to as AED – Arab Emirate Dirham). It is currently pegged
to the US Dollar at a rate of 3.67. |
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| Economic Growth* |
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The discovery of oil in the emirates in the 1950’s
dramatically transformed an economy that had been primarily
based on regional and local trading.
Building an economy based on the exploitation of oil from
the early 1960’s and gas from the 1970’s, the
UAE became one of the most prosperous countries in the world. |
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| Abu Dhabi and Dubai are the most important economic centres,
together providing more than 80% of the UAE’s income. |
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| Dubai is phasing out its oil production in anticipation
of the depletion of its reserves by about 2015. |
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| Dubai is leading the drive towards diversification, with
the government encouraging other sectors such as trade and
tourism. |
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| The Dubai aluminum company (DUBAL) is ranked the 7th largest
global producer in the industry, with a current production
capacity of 861,000 tonnes per annum. |
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| Dubai is a major trading hub; its 2 ports (Jebel Ali and
Rashid) taken together are among the busiest in the world. |
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| Dubai has also become a booming retail centre, attracting
shoppers from as far away as Russia and West Africa. |
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| The UAE dirham is fixed against the US dollar and there
are no exchange controls. The country’s monetary policy,
as implemented by the UAE Central Bank, is to ensure the stability
of the dirham and to control inflation, which was maintained
at 1.5-2% from 1999-2002. |
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| Dubai is the world’s 3rd ranking re-export centre
after Hong Kong and Singapore. |
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| Dubai economy is divided into two categories: |
1- Oil Producing & Exporting.
2- Non-Oil activities.
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| GDP: US$ 37.4 bn |
1 - Non-Oil 95.1%
2 - Oil 4.9%
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| Per Capita GDP US$ 31,140 |
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| Employment 848,000 |
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| Imports US$ 60 Billion |
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| Exports US$ 4.9 Billion |
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| Re-Export US $ 21 Billion |
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| Total Non-Oil Foreign Trade US$ 85.9 Billion |
| *All figures for 2006 |
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