Talk:United Arab Emirates

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the United Arab Emirates article.
Article policies
This article is within the scope of the Arab world WikiProject. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the project and see a list of open tasks.
Start This article has been rated as Start-Class on the quality scale.
Western Asia This article is within the scope of the WikiProject Western Asia, which collaborates on articles related to Western Asia. To participate, you can edit this article or visit the project page for more details.
Start This article has been rated as Start-Class on the quality scale.
??? This article has not yet received an importance rating on the importance scale.
Peer review This Geography article has been selected for Version 0.5 and subsequent release versions of Wikipedia. It has been rated Start-Class on the assessment scale (comments).
United Arab Emirates is included in the 2007 Wikipedia for Schools, or is a candidate for inclusion in future versions. Please maintain high quality standards, and make an extra effort to include free images, because non-free images cannot be used on the CDs.

4.04 million was the population in 2003. I have made changes to the year 2005 and corrected to 2003. this can be verified from census data published by govt of UAE on their ministry of planning website http://www.uae.gov.ae/mop/UAE_figure/UAE_%2003.htm

I perosnally have no problem in having this data included, however I just wanted to put out a fyi that the 2003 figure listed on the website is an estimate, and not from a census. If I'm not wrong, the last census in UAE was in 1995.
Similar to this, the US Department of State has a population estimate of 4.3 million for UAE in 2004 [1]

Contents

[edit] There are two different population estimates quoted

The body of the article says 4.04 million (2005), but the sidebar says 2,563,212 (also 2005). What gives?

  • The CIA world fact book gives the sidepanel number but they say that the estimated population in 2005 including non-nationals is 3.44 million. Perhaps the source of the contributor was 4.04 million.--Adam 20:12, 2 December 2005 (UTC)
In my research, this contradiction exists between the CIA Factbook, the UN, and the government reports. Hundreds of thousands of migrant workers are brought in from Iran, Pakistan, Malaysia, etc. under private or pseudo-private contracts for commercial work (construction is a large industry). These people basically live in the country for 9+ months, but of course are only on a work visa. I believe 4 million is the UN number (who tend to watch migration patterns) and 2.5 is the government number.
Vector4F 06:47, 14 December 2005 (UTC)

The UAE's population can't possibly be less than 4 million people (including non-nationals), as Etisalat itself has 4 million customers. Therefore, the UAE's population must be more than 4 million people.--Maulik2005 13:53, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

According to an estimate on the US Department of State website [2], the population of Dubai in 2004 was 4.3 million. The most recent population statistics that can be found on the UAE government website is an estimate from 2003 (NOT a census). Since the US Department of State estimate is more recent, I am going with that and have included it in the article, and have provided a link to the specific page on the US Department of State website. --Jibran1 22:44, 9 March 2006 (UTC)

Some population figures from various well-cited sources for such figures:

[edit] How come Dubai is now the largest city?

http://www.citypopulation.de/UAE.html

Abu Dhabi is the largest emirate, but Abu Dhabi city isn't the largest city... WhisperToMe 04:20, 21 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Abu Dhabi is the largest Emirate and city. Abu Dhabi city isn't just the island of Abu Dhabi it extends to Alshahama and further from the east, to the end of Musafah on the west and to Almafrag to the south. And thats what I'm sure about I'm not sure if it reaches further than that but it will due to the growth of the city and the country. Alromaithi 03:34, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Border mysteriousness

Quoth the article:

The border demarcation treaties of 1974 and 1977 between the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia were never made public. Therefore the exact border of the two countries is only known to their governments.

This is ... unusual. Does anyone know why this is being kept secret by the two governments? --Jfruh 01:06, 27 May 2005 (UTC)

That is a bit strange. Is that still accurate? *conspiracy*

As far as I know it is correct that only the governments know the exact location. The reason for this I can think of is "Why should the common people know that?". I guess this belongs to their official policy that nobody should know more than absolutely necessary. I lived in this country for about 2 years and I can tell you they like to keep things secret what means power to them. You also find also not much information for a arabic subjects in the internet because openness means loss of power. -ThorstenS 07:24, 16 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Hi guys. I have found the onshore border and have a copy of the 1974 demarcation. Just so you know the onshore co-ords are 51.5906 24.2494, 51.5906 24.1233, 52.5811 22.9358, 55.1372 22.6281, 55.2028 22.7006, 55.5000 23.5364, 55.5694 24.0000, 55.8500 24.0167, 55.9000 24.2167, 55.8333 24.1972 (WGS84)

I will try to integrate this into the main text ASAP. this should be correct as it was supplied by our boundary consultants! -- GeologyTom 16:06, 11 October 2006

Hi Tom, I've had to undo your addition to the article for the time being as you shouldn't refer to a talk page from within an article, and also because that information would need a citation. Can you give us a reference for the information? Thanks. -- Earle Martin [t/c] 16:09, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

Sorry about that, will go off and read the etiquette pages! The source of this data is the "The Saudi Arabia - UAE Agreement of 21st August 1974" signed by His Majesty King Faisal Bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, King of Saudi Arabia, and His Highness Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates. It's not published by anyone in theory, as neither country published it through their governemtn system, so I have no real great references than that. Could someone reccomend the next thing to do (ie publish on wikisource, or just remove the bit saying there is no copies of the agreement). Regards.--GeologyTom 13:52, 12 October 2006 (UTC)


The Saudi-Iraqi neutral zone (1922–1981) and Saudi-Kuwaiti neutral zone (1922–1969) were also "private" matters.
Urhixidur 20:39, 2 December 2005 (UTC)

I found that the border of the 2 countries is broken line in my atlas.. ? Izzudin 16:44, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Miscellaneous Topics

I would like to write a few words about some miscellaneous topics like Religious Freedom ,Labour Discrimination and Prostitution in the UAE. Would it be appropriate to mention it in this article ? 152.78.254.131 18:42, 21 July 2005 (UTC)

I have written some words in the German Wikipedia regarding what you mention. Should be fine to write it here in the English one. Will you do a translation from the German version or do you have some additional information? -Toshi 10:12, 22 July 2005 (UTC)
Wow ! The German version is certainly more elaborate than the English one. Can someone translate and merge the information onto the English version? Fitful 17:19, 22 July 2005 (UTC)
I don't know German. I can try some online German-English translators. 152.78.254.131 17:30, 22 July 2005 (UTC)
Can you write down your informations first. In case they are more compehensive then mine I can put them also on the German version. And later both can be merged together on each Wikipedia -Toshi 18:46, 22 July 2005 (UTC)
As these are potentially controversial topics, I need some time to research them before I can start writing. As I am presently busy with some personal work, don't expect anything too soon. I will eventually get around to writing it. 152.78.254.131 21:30, 22 July 2005
From time to time I move(d) sections from the Dubai-article which applies nationwide to the UAE-article. Today the labour issues for example -Toshi 06:42, 23 July 2005 (UTC)

Why not keep the info on the individual page as well? It can't hurt (knowledge being power), and it actually will help as some people may not go to the UAE page, but will visit the Dubai page. Information on New York labor issues would be included in the New York page even if a similiar situation exists in other cities in the United States. To limit that information to the United States page only would seem to obscure pertinent information.

This page specifically mentions the sex trade in Dubai, and yet no mention is made of this on the Dubai page.

I think since the UAE are not that large as the USA and most of the topics apply nationwide (prostitution is also in Abu Dhabi very common) and the full text should be on the UAE page. Parts of the text which applies to Dubai must be of course found on the Dubai page, so I agree with you. The text can be identic in some cases on both articles but the sections of the text which applies nationwide must be in the UAE article. I am just afraid that all information are predominately found on the Dubai page since Dubai is often mistaken as the whole UAE.
See my last move of labour issues, this issues apply nationwide and is not a Dubai-related problem hence the main text should be found on the UAE page. In the Dubai article you can copy the sections which apply for this Emirate (in this case I think all) and add some additional Dubai-specific information such as more inspection of the authorities on the Dubai page. -Toshi 07:25, 12 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Structure of the article

Is it standard in the English Wikipedia to separate the main article to many smaller ones? Example: In United Arab Emirates there are the remark under the headlines such as "Main article ....". But if I check the information here such as "Emirates" and then the "Main article" Emirates of the United Arab Emirates there is no big difference. In German Wikipedia the Emirates of the United Arab Emirates was a stub and had already merged into the main article and then deleted. Other example is economy. Some more information on the external article on the upper part and the other have has statistics from CIA World fact book. My opinion is the statistics should be removed (+external link to the fact book created), new information merged into the UAE-Article and then delete the "Economy about UAE"-article. Since I am not familiar with the English Wikipedia customs I'd like to get some opinions about it. -Toshi 06:39, 23 July 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Duplicate links

The two external links mentioned at the bottom of the page: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/aetoc.html and http://www.country-data.com/frd/cs/aetoc.html#ae0056 contain the same material. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 59.93.35.193 (talk • contribs) 05:43, 15 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] The Al Nahyan Family

Most people know that the ruling family of the UAE is the Al Nahyan Family. For some reason, the name seems to be Al Nahayan at several times in the article United Arab Emirates. Why is this? --195.229.241.181 13:55, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

The corresponding wikipedia article for Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahayan follows the spelling in this article (not my doing). You can usually transliterate an Arabic name to English in no less than three different spellings (e.g. Koran, Quran, Alcoran). Typically, I use the spelling found in Oxford reference texts. --Vector4F 06:54, 14 December 2005 (UTC)


The correct spelling is Al Nahyan thats what's written in their passports. They are not the only ruling family in the UAE they are the ruling family of Abu Dhabi. As you know there are 7 Emirates in the UAE each with its own ruling family.Alromaithi 03:39, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] 34th National Day

Happy UAE 34th National Day to all! --213.42.2.21 13:36, 2 December 2005 (UTC) December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Human Rights and Labor issues NPOV

All Human Rights Part should be removed or implemented on all countries. United States , United_Kingdom, India ,... all of them have serious human rights violations (see http://www.hrw.org/wr2k1/usa/index.html ) but we don't read them in wikipedia!

Human_Rights_Watch http://www.hrw.org do not list United_Arab_Emirates as a country with human rights violations.

Do we have to add all the ugly Human Rights violations that USA, Uk, India, Israel, Germany, nether land, Denmark violated too?

The sentence: The United Arab Emirates also lacks a fair immigration and naturalization policy. does not seem to conform to NPOV. Perhaps someone can expand this.--Adam 16:22, 2 December 2005 (UTC)

I removed it. It is somewhat meaningless because it could be said of any country in the world. Almost every immigration policy is biased. UAE immigration is almost exclusively through sponsored, time-limited visas with classifications for students, special dispensation, business, and labor (all of them with an overhead fee). The UAE really doesn't give out citizenship, to my knowledge, except by native birth (no duel citizenship). --Vector4F 07:06, 14 December 2005 (UTC)

The UAE gives citizenships to people who speak Arabic, are Muslims and had been living there for a long period of time. The UAE gives citizenships to people from Yemen, Oman, Iran and other Persian and Aftican descendants. Alromaithi 03:45, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

This is NPOV. A country with serious human rights issues that affect its international relations must have said issues documented - the UAE article has a section on human rights for the same reason China does. Interested2 02:25, 29 December 2006 (UTC)


Human Rights violation is still in UAE, which should be mentioned in the page.

[edit] Racial Discrimination

Hii..absolutely love Wikipedia and the freedom it gives..

Can I write on the extreme discrimination which goes around here? Also unneccesary laws and extreme prostitution where teens as small as 13 yrs go?

Prostitution is illegal in the UAE. There is no such racial discrimination in the UAE constitution. The only kind of discrimination in the UAE is Cultural discrimination amd it's common in every part of the world. Alromaithi 03:52, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

but worse in some parts than others. 165.146.108.78 15:11, 27 May 2006 (UTC)
Asians get picked on because they're passive, not to mention that in alot of cases, because they are poor they have no alternative but to leave their country and work in the Middle East, and the Arabs know this, and use it to their advantage. Arabs in western countries routinely cry foul of any hint, real or imagined, of discrimination against them. Yet they do it in their country of origin. Arabs who say it's not true are liars.Lastcharlie 05:55, 13 September 2006 (UTC)
LOL, talk about the pot calling the kettle black. Well it's good to know that if i wanted to I could abuse anyone from India, Singapore, China, Israel, Japan, Korea etc because "they are passive". Now I know all those wars (ww2, sino-indian, indo-pakistan etc) never happened because "they are passive". I could go on but what's the point, I can only assume that Lastcharlie is projecting his own "group neurosis" (whichever group he self identifies with) on to others in a pathetic attempt to justify his own racist beliefs.

[edit] This is why wikipedia will never be a trustworthy resource...

By reading the comments some people made below, it seems they are only interested in promoting their own views on this country... "human rights" issues are now discussed in the 4th paragraph... although important it is not supposed to appear so high up in chain of information... you notice how the "human rights" issues in the "united states" article, as regarding guantanamo and the current lack of privacy and liberty are not even mentioned in the article at all...

Encarta = worth the money Wikipedia = should be sued and shut down... all biased info crazy people promote...

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 194.125.79.84 (talk • contribs) 13:27, 29 January 2006 (UTC)

Microsoft wishes that Encarta was as popular and as widely-used as Wikipedia. --AladdinSE 08:55, 31 January 2006 (UTC)
That's the Wikipedian mentality in a nut shell. Also, "popular" and "widely used" are no substitute for "accurate". Peccav1 20:53, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Child slavery

I returned this link Sport of Sheikhs - Emmy and duPont award winning documentary on child slavery in the UAE. The UAE always claimed it did not practice child slavery. Even after they changed the laws and promised to enforce them, evidence continues to emerge of systematic violations in the camel racing industry. This 2006 award-winning documentary is recent. They had video proof. Let's not whitewash it. --AladdinSE 08:47, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

Sounds reasonable. But the article now says, "According to Antislavery.org, UAE has been found to use child jockeys in camel racing, violating both human rights laws and child sex laws." Unless they routinely force jockeys to have sex with camels, someone had better change this. Dan 07:55, 23 February 2006 (UTC)

There is no info on the antislavery.org website about UAE violating child sex laws. The original phrasing was more accurate and comes from an HBO documentary (above), where supposed trainers admit trainers sodomize the boys. In the second part they show the butt of a child they purportedly rescued who claimed he was recently raped. I could not tell that, though I have no trained eye, and only viewed it once. Finally, the creators of the documentary apparently assert the problem has been solved. (see again http://www.ansarburney.org/videolinks/video-hbo1.html) This should be included, as it is the most recent update, from an apparently sincere source. Though in the format: it is reported...

Someone desided to delete this, will retry to add it.

My relative is a camel racer, he used to have child Jockeys'. When I asked him about the Human rights thing he told me that he saves the lives of these young children living in poverty in their home countries (Persia). He brings their whole family and gives them food and shelter. I believe it was a humanitarian thing. But the sport was dangerous thats why the country of the UAE banned the use of human child race jockeys. Instead my cousin now has a Mercedes Benz car key and presses the unlock button to activate the robot jockey. I guess this historic racing event became modernised with 21st century robots thanks to the Human rights organization. These robots sit just like a normal jockey with a plastic stick turned by a motor to whip the camel. This robot cost around $8,000 and was invented by a UAE national. Alromaithi 04:04, 22 May 2006 (UTC) [3]


^why does this happen? -anonymous

[edit] Arab League template

Is there any reason why this template should not be used? I noticed that it was reverted when an anon editor put it in. --AladdinSE 01:21, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

Since there are no objections, I am returning the template.--AladdinSE 00:27, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Neutrality?

I am very concerned about the neutrality of the article, in particular the 'Human rights and labor issues' section. In my opinion, there is just too much UAE-bashing going on over there. An opposing side of the argument should be put in, in order to make the section more neutral. I request all you of reading this, to please review that section. I am half-tempted to put up a NPOV tag. --Jibran1 07:52, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

Well...if you have verifiable proof to debunk the info given then why dont you put it up?Lastcharlie 06:01, 13 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Someone please review the human rights paragraph...

As someone who's lived in the UAE for more than a decade i may be biased... but bias aside i still don't see the point of putting "Human rights and labor issues" so high up on the list... also it's very hard hitting from all aspects... "illegal sex industry"... the same could be said about every city in the US... what is the point of adding that? Will that bit of information help anyone make up their mind about the place? It might even put people off visiting... which would be a shame...

Oh and just to prove that this paragraph should be removed... "The United States Department of State has cited..." Since when was the USDOS a voice for freedom and liberty? I am sure if the issue was put to a vote people would have the entire paragraph removed or at least shifted to a seperate page altogether.

Let's keep this place as informative as possible without resorting to propagating someone's or some small group's spiteful agenda.

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 213.202.188.231 (talk • contribs) 21:13, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

No country should be looked at through rose-coloured glasses. Why should the UAE be treated any different?Lastcharlie 06:03, 13 September 2006 (UTC)
--User:Nadirss

Yeah right, where are u from ? LastCharlie!!

Some one insists on removing the section, and since it has been flagged as requiring clean up for so long, I think this is justified. However, here is the deleted text until someone finds the relevent sources. Will see what I can find.

[edit] Human rights

 This section does not cite any references or sources. (August 2007)
Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.
Main article: Human rights in the United Arab Emirates

Homosexual activity is illegal and those convicted of it are subject to jail sentences and/or compulsory psychiatric treatment.

Although the UAE government has made some advances in the protection of human rights, the U.S. Department of State notes in its annual[specify] report on human rights practices that numerous fundamentalist practices and policies exist to the contrary.

Guest workers are brought in from South Asia, and a common objection is that they are grossly underpaid as their passports are held by their employers. There have been many reports of unskilled workers getting underpaid, and complaints of segregation abound.

The UAE also does not allow individuals past retirement age to stay within the country without a job. Upon retirement, residents must return to their country of origin.

Discrimination in the workplace is common, prospective employers will specify religion, nationality (and even regional origin in some cases) and also specify the sex of required candidates within job advertisements. It is very common to have different pay scales depending on nationality and sex. There are positive discrimination policies in place also that require certain roles to be filled by UAE nationals.

Triwbe (talk) 17:16, 4 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Number of migrant workers

I've had a look at the 2003 Human Rights Watch reports on UAE, and none of them claim that 90 percent of the workers are immigrants from South Asia. According to http://hrw.org/english/docs/2003/09/19/uae6388.htm 90 pecent of workers are migrants. There is no mention of the demographics of these immigrants.

[edit] Relationships with Mexico

Can anyone please inform me of their relationships with Mexico?

There is no known relationship with Mexico.Alromaithi 04:07, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Coat of arms

The link to the coat of arms of UAE at the top of the page leads to the coat of arms of Saudi Arabia. GilliamJF 05:52, 4 May 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for this hint. I have fixed the wrong entry. -Toshi 11:47, 4 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Supermarkets of UAE

Someone from UAE please check out List of supermarkets article and add a list for supermarkets from UAE. I have just added Carrefour.

Shijaz 19:08, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

huh??? --User:Nadirss

[edit] Update population

Data was released in July 2006 based on the 2005 nationwide census that puts the current population at 4,104,695. The CIA factbook is off by a huge margin and the page needs to updated to reflect this new data. I would do it myself but I'm not sure how to properly modify the country facts. Source: http://archive.gulfnews.com/nation/Government/10056248.html


[edit] Fourth richest country? And references...

The CIA list claims they are four, but on the wiki list they show up significantly lower - at 23. They also show up lower on the earthtrends site. Is CIA the most trustable source?

This article is kind of a mess, particularly the human rights section. Needs more references. Saying stuff like that really needs to be backed up by something. And why are there so many broken/pretend reference tags...? --Karafias 04:58, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

Hi there...yeah, in away the whole page needs to be more organized. But as far as references for Human rights are concerned, you may look at Dubai and look at all the human rights and labour issues. You might also want to do a google search and help come up with some links and photos. And besides, you really have to be to a particular country for sometime, if you want to know what goes on there. I'll assume you havent been to or worked in the UAE, thats why what's written might look false to you. But infact, its all the truth. Thanks.—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 203.26.206.130 (talk • contribs) .
Obviously, I believe it has some merit, or I would have removed it. Everyone has their own opinion of what "The Truth™," is but, everyone disagrees. It's human nature to distort facts to fit to our own point of view. Citing references and facts is how we keep wiki from degenerating into a personal soapbox. It may be true, some of it probably is true, but how do we know? I could add an "alien abduction" section, and claim that the entire UAE government actually came from mars. Without sources, it's just as credible as some of the sections in this article. I'm not saying it isn't true, I'm saying that sources must be cited for controversial subjects - i.e, secret prisons where they execute people. --Karafias Talk • Contributions 22:56, 14 October 2006 (UTC)


Yeah, ok...I'll put up some references asap; but do help me with the search when you have time, just a couple of 'em. That way also you will know that its not just my opinion. ;) Secondly, could you revert the edit done by one Ffares on 15 Oct? He has removed one of the website references. Thanks. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 203.26.206.129 (talk • contribs) 05:19, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

I'll help you to put up some serious human rights violations in Australia. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 195.229.242.86 (talk) 22:17, 7 December 2006 (UTC).
Sure mate, go for it! :) Am sure theres alot already though, but i'd love to see what you could put.150.101.102.188 07:20, 3 February 2007 (UTC)


This is true that It is 4th Richest country & Nowadays it going for 1st Rank I mean try for that & look at GDP growth increases per year. It is not dependant on Oil.

Article said 3rd richest, I updated it to 4th as the provided citation claims. This section kinda got hijacked discussing references, but again: why does the provided link claim they're 4th in GDP per capita, whereas the summary box on the right at the top of the article claims they're 23rd for the same statistic? One of these is not like the other.
Update - okay, the CIA factbook is GDP/capita at PPP (purchasing power parity). Is the '23rd' statistic not at PPP? --24.107.177.15 15:23, 1 January 2007 (UTC)
PPP is total GDP. Per capita it is 23rd.--70.171.33.143 19:35, 14 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Map of the individual Emirates

This country is a federation of 7 Emirates. The article needs a map showing the 7 Emirates and their territories. TiffaF 06:34, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Dubai is bigger than Abu Dhabi?????

The article about Dubai says it's population is 1,241,000 and that about Abu Dhabi says it's population is 1,850,230 so why the does this article say Dubai is the largest city of the UAE, not Abu Dhabi? Or is it because of the area? Well, it's the same, Abu Dhabi's larger!!! Even the Wikipedia's in the other languages say that... —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 82.101.191.215 (talk • contribs) 10:30, 2 November 2006 (UTC)

Well, I would like to think that it means Abu Dhabi Emirate. You are correct, Dubai city is bigger than Abu Dhabi city. But Dubai Emirate isnt. As to why Abu Dhabi has 1.8 mill. people is that it includes Al Ain and other small oil cities. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 203.166.57.135 (talk • contribs) 12:06, 2 November 2006 (UTC)

In the infobox, it still states that Abu Dhabi is the largest city (It says capital and largest city), while in the demographics section, it says Dubai is the largest city. I was unable to find reliable population data. --Fjmustak 00:01, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Poor Page

This is one of the poorest country pages on Wikipedia. Anybody with the interest or the time, please choose a section, EXPAND and IMPROVE. "History" is in desperate need of some attention. Jaw101ie 20:46, 3 November 2006 (UTC)

I fully concur to that view. I have never been in Asia and I have come across the page by chance today browsing the Qatar and surroundings... immediately the section on Human rights has struck me as something far too long and perhaps biased for article that should be the first information to anyone interested in knowing something about UAE. It might be mentioned, especially when referenced, but the way it is now it is like fist between eyes. Ruziklan 20:55, 23 November 2006 (UTC)
I grew up in the UAE and work at Dubai Media City, there are few human rights here, the government openly supports employers over employees and Dubai is nothing but one big real estate project. The recent firing of CNBC Arabya employees [4] proved this. There's also a huge social imbalance here with 76% of the population being only men, this is because the country has strict Visa rules on bringing famlies, thus also promoting further prostitution. The govt also doesn't want single men (Bachelors) to live in central business areas and wants them herded away from main city centers like cattle, to promote a "safer family environement", and the list goes on.–..RadicalSatDude 20:03, 19 December 2006 (UTC)


I agree with Ruziklan, the Human Rights paragraph is maybe a bit early in this article. But it doesnt look biased or long for me. Thats infact the truth. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 59.92.247.213 (talk • contribs) 12:46, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

WTF? This is an encyclopedia, not a rant board. Human rights the second section? Gimme a break. Sure, UAE isn't spotless in that regard, but it is far better compared to a lot of the rest of the world, and especially in the region. Some expat probably just got snubbed at work and decided to vent. --SohanDsouza 14:49, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

Well, i definitely support your saying that human rights should be left to the end. But besides that,this is an encylcopedia, so hence the need to mention that stuff. And just because much of what happens doesnt get printed in the media, doesnt mean it doesnt exist. Its all underhand. If the countries in the region want our skills, then let them treat us as equals..... Some expat? Nono, not just any expat; its normally an Asian(or sometimes african) expat that gets snubbed or kicked from his job. Who knows someday, even you or I might experience some racism some point in the future.150.101.102.188 12:16, 1 February 2007 (UTC)
I'm sure I will, when I get back there. As far as slavery and flesh trafficking and the like, sure, there are some international legal issues there. But if expats want to be treated "as equals" in a foreign land, they are dreaming a pipe dream. People want the jobs, and pretty much know they know what they are getting into so they can have them. There is a nationality hierarchy, and the lower level nationalities will just have to deal with it until they are done accumulating wealth or until they decide it is not worth the indignity anymore. It's simple demand and supply. --SohanDsouza 18:34, 4 March 2007 (UTC)
Well, yes, its that very dream which brings labourers to the Gulf. Many think that it will be an easy life,earning in Dirhams or Riyals, but only realise the harship when they are there. I think this nationality hierarchy thing should be done away with or atleast improved. Equal pay for equal work, whatever the persons nationality. But of course, minus the citizenship benefits, pension, etc. for expats. Anyway, whats written in the article has been written; what needs to be done is putting this section towards the end and also getting suitable references. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 150.101.102.188 (talk) 03:08, 6 March 2007 (UTC).
I completely agree...I will be removing it completely very soon and I mean it very very soon. Read the news and you will know why!! --User:Nadirss
Yeah, thats good to hear. But what will be you be putting in its place? Btw, i checked out Khaleej Times and couldnt find what your hinting on. So let us know why you'll be removing it soon.

[edit] Erm.

A Web site is campaigning to pressure the government of the UAE into signing up to International Labour Organization core conventions on freedom of association (see [8]). Strikes and unions are currently banned in the UAE and many laborers are virtual prisoners, having paid huge agents' fees in order to obtain jobs and visas.

Erm? This doesnt seem right to me. It looks like an advertisement. Its related, but necessary? Methinks not. Samuel 14:04, 20 December 2006 (UTC)


Yes it is an advertisement, don't you see the country page how it has been missed up. Those indians, with do all respect to their race, are sometimes stupid, they forgot those laws will be coming back hunting them one day. They ask more, they will get less. --User:Nadirss

[edit] Proposed WikiProject

In my ongoing efforts to try to include every country on the planet included in the scope of a WikiProject, I have proposed a new project on Western Asia at Wikipedia:WikiProject Council/Proposals#Western Asia whose scope would include the United Arab Emirates. Any interested parties are more than welcome to add their names there, so we can see if there is enough interest to start such a project. Thank you for your attention. Badbilltucker 16:49, 20 December 2006 (UTC)


[edit] GDP

I think there is something wrong with the GDP, I was on about a month ago and i took it down, all the numbers have changed, also I noticed the GDP (PPP) per capita is ranked somewhere in the 20's but it's more than Canada's which is ranked as 7th. 74.97.84.20 19:13, 14 January 2007 (UTC)


Even though with a reliable source, people are still arguing...Talk to the CIA FactBook Staff..They will tell you how they got that information. --User:Nadirss

[edit] Citation Needed Re: Countries with death penalty

Is the ILGA sufficient for citation? Is this a trusted/valid source for this kind of info? If so we can put this link in as citation. Regards, Vnv lain 03:53, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

You mentioned that UAE's GDP was the third highest in the Middle East, after Saudi Arabia and Iran. What about Israel? Israel's GDP is over 170 billion, putting it higher than UAE's. Please correct this. Thank you —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.142.217.94 (talk) 15:04, 9 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Malabari

Hi, I came to Dubai as an Indian. My feeling was like that. Gradually I understood that I am not Indian, but South Indian. After few more months, I came to understand that I am not South Indian, But a MALABARI !!!! Now After six years, I have to find a place in this planet where human beings exist.

I am PROUD...I am Human —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 195.229.241.181 (talk) 07:52, 14 March 2007 (UTC).

Again, people are blogging in wikipedia... have u been drinking?? --User:Nadirss
Please assume good faith and don't make personal attacks. The person above appears to have misunderstood what this page is. -- Earle Martin [t/c] 19:12, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] President as sovereign of a Federal Constitutional Monarchy nation?

How can there be a President as the sovereign of a Federal Constitutional Monarchy system? It just doesn't make any sense. --203.15.122.35 09:53, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

That's how the government is..if you want to argue, open your own blog !! --User:Nadirss

because the president is elected by the higher council of the rulers...

[edit] What on earth??

Someone has DELETED the whole human rights section!! Well, i wouldnt mind if it were transferred to the end of the article or somewhere later. But this is ridiculous! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 192.43.227.18 (talk • contribs) 04:38, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Check the politics area!!! it is still there but it will be removed soon, take your opinion with you...and what on earth is wrong with you...You have a problem with the government not the people of UAE. So respect yourself ok!! --User:Nadirss


Hi Nadirss, well when i checked it that day it wasnt on. Only a few days later when i revisited, there it was! So ok i take its back. Btw, you're right i've a problemo with the government not the people. I respect myself and others. Do you? Thanks —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 150.101.102.188 (talk • contribs) 06:33, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

"I respect myself and others" do you, really? think about it. So why are you editing/whining/or whatever you are doing in wikipedia about a government and a country that you don't even belong to? do you call that respect? What really strikes me the most is that you people are complaining about this government and you know that this government has done so much to their people more than other governments who don't even give a dam.

Btw, I used to respect people but once you enter my territory and you show me no respect, I will never even think about showing you respect. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Nadirss (talk • contribs) 15:12, 25 March 2007 (UTC)


Hello again, well, this government has done heaps for you but when it come to others people(outsiders), whatever they get depends on their nationality, race, skin colour, etc. And certainly no UAE nationality or PR, given to those born on here, those legally married to UAE women or outsiders living here much before 1971. You used to respect those on your territory; and thanks to most outsiders on your territory, you're one of the most prosperous in the region. Well, i respect you and your forefathers. But when your sons dont respect me(and my sons), i lose respect for your sons and maybe even you. 'Cuz, what the sons do reflect their upbringing. Oh btw, what about stateless Bidouns who have been languishing in the country without state benefits etc. Finally, 30+ long years after 1971, some Bidouns get their UAE nationality certificates. Ciao —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 150.101.102.188 (talk • contribs) 16:57, 25 March 2007 (UTC)


Just thought you guy should know: Wikipedia is not a forum, there. DDF 16:37, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

I agree this is not a blog but I have to respond. You are wrong in saying that "this government has done heaps for you but when it come to others people(outsiders)". You are completely wrong,my friend. The UAE continues to support many countries around the globe. And it has done to outsiders more than its own people. Even India and Pakistan which you might belong to. Unfortunately, people don't read anymore. Just read this article and think | OLPC . It is really sad to see people like you slashing other governments without even knowing what they have done to you.

Nadirss 00:56, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Emirateslive Pictures

Hey there I added my link: http://emirateslive.blogspot.com/ to the general UAE information. It was deleted since you do not allow Blogs. You do have the guideline that Blogs are not allowed. I just use the Blog as a format to upload plain pictures. You should not judge the format in which users publish their content. Instead you should judge the content itself. And I do think that my pictures are a valuable addition to the page since they show the real enviroment in any day. Just because I am using the Blog format does not mean that it is a Blog with personal information. Larsdominic 12:03, 28 March 2007

Something of a revert war seems to be developing over this link - maybe it's time to discuss it and try to reach a consensus. Personally, I don't have strong feelings either way - I'd probably tend toward removing it, but simply because the pictures don't add much to an encyclopedic understanding of the UAE. I agree with Larsdominic that hosting on Blogspot shouldn't be an automatic criterion for removal in this case, since it is not a blog in the ordinary sense. Barnabypage 13:13, 10 May 2007 (UTC)
Since larsdominic says "I added my link", I'd vote no. If it was worth having in wikipedia, someone else would have added it or reverted a delete edit. No one has. But many have tried to remove it. 195.229.241.181 08:14, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
Where is the problem that it is my link? Does that mean it is not valuable? The argumentation does not make sense. Larsdominic 13:24, 20 May 2007

[edit] Lock has been established to protect the content

Editing “United Arab Emirates” article has been locked for unregistered and newly registered users. In recent month, most of unregistered users tend to visit this article to write baseless claims, which are one of the causes that lower the quality of this article. Attempts to fabricate and manipulate information to serve different propaganda have targeted the United Arab Emirates pages. In order to clean up this article and maintain considerably higher quality information, a mechanism was needed to prevent further vandalism attacks. Therefore, a lock has been established to this page. Please, if you would like to help us in improving this article, register first or let us help you editing this article.

Nadirss 17:15, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

As with Dubai, simply adding the template to the page does not itself lock it. I've removed the template. siafu 00:40, 5 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] GDP PPP Per capita

Can someone please explain to me how this is measured? I mean, if you put in the massive amounts of foriegn workers into the calculation, you get a GDP PPP per capita at respectable $28K or so per person but not anywhere near the $50K or so often quoted.

What good is a per capita number if it doesn't measure the "wealth" of the majority of the people living in that country?

Majority of the citizens are wealthy, and the non-citizens are not counted in the country report. Non-citizens are about 80% of total population.--Herdtrid 02:12, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

This has got to be one of the worst country pages on wikipedia, a lot of whining from ppl non UAEans and a lot of silly defending from some UAEans, rewrite the whole page, probably by someone who doesnt have a vendetta against the country or by some silly UAE citizen there.


GDP will count everything produced in that country (by both nationals and non-nationals), and per capita is GDP divided by the population (I believe this would not include the non-nationals.) Thus, you get a huge number. Try looking at the GNI per capita which would only include income earned by the nationals (I believe). Brusegadi 18:00, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] add some pics

.

[edit] neutrality tag

which part is biased? --lmv 28 may 2007

[edit] Demonym

What is the demonym of the UAE? Please add it to the infobox 82.16.7.63 21:40, 8 July 2007 (UTC)

Done. Carson 23:16, 8 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Disambiguating UAE emirates and capitals

At several of the talk pages for the individual Emirates of the UAE, queries or proposals have been put forth for having separate articles for the emirates and their eponymous capitals (e.g. here and here. As of now, two of the emirates have been disambiguated from their capitals: Abu Dhabi (emirate) / Abu Dhabi and Ajmān / Ajmān (city). If you are interested in discussing a comprehensive approach to the issue, please see Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Western Asia#Disambiguating UAE emirates and capitals. — AjaxSmack 19:36, 14 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Ahead? Behind?

These two sentences in the History section don't make any sense:

"In the early 1960s Dubai was ahead of all the other states even though oil was not yet discovered in its territories. Abu Dhabi was behind until His Highness Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan became ruler of Abu Dhabi in 1967."

Ahead and behind in what ways? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 60.34.157.190 (talk) 05:23, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

I agree, it is very unclear to what it is referring to. I would assume it means development; but since I did not write it, I do not know. It needs two things: better wording and a source. Leitmanp (talk | contributions) 05:53, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Emirati Religiosity

Can someone point out the source for this chart? Per some quick calculations based on available (albeit somewhat outdated) data, I feel that the population of Hindus and Christians has been considerably inflated. I can provide some more information on my calculations if someone can point out where the source data for the chart came from. AreJay (talk) 03:52, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

I actually have contacted the author of the chart, User:Moshin. After almost three weeks, I have still not received a response. I left another message today hoping to finally get a response. I told Moshin to change the graph so that it goes by that information provided at United Arab Emirates#Culture and religion. AreJay, do you think that information is incorrect? If so, can you change it so that if Moshin ever corrects the graph, (s)he will use correct information from the article. Leitmanp (talk | contributions) 06:10, 21 May 2008 (UTC)
I said "inflated" but my calculations were way off (I was comparing the known Hindu/Christian populations of Dubai to the population of the UAE at large). However, here's what the State Department has to say about the religion in the UAE:
Of the citizens, 85 percent are Sunni Muslim and 15 percent are Shi'a. Foreigners are predominantly from South and Southeast Asia, although there are substantial numbers from the Middle East, Europe, Central Asia, the former Commonwealth of Independent States, and North America. According to a ministry report, which collected census data, 76 percent of the total population is Muslim, 9 percent is Christian, and 15 percent is "other." Unofficial figures estimate that at least 15 percent of the population is Hindu, 5 percent is Buddhist, and 5 percent belong to other religious groups, including Parsi, Bahá'í, and Sikh. These estimates differ from census figures because census figures do not count "temporary" visitors and workers, and Bahá'ís and Druze are counted as Muslim.
I am okay with using "unofficial data" presented in the State Department's report because of the nature of census data and the skewed proportion of foreign workers in the UAE. This is not unlike other articles on Dubai and the UAE where data presented is often from unofficial sources. Thanks AreJay (talk) 17:30, 22 May 2008 (UTC)
But, if we go by the unofficial data then any data from ministry reports cannot be counted. As you can see, both the ministry data and unofficial data contradict each other. We cannot use both since then it would add up to more than 100%. Is there another reliable source that contains full data on religion? I would rather use one source that adds up to 100% than mixing two different pieces of data as given by the State Department. Leitmanp (talk | contributions) 18:54, 22 May 2008 (UTC)
No, I'm afraid not. I'll keep looking online though. The 2006 State Department report quotes numbers that add up to 100%. I'm not comfortable using this data though because of the way it's been worded ("Although no official figures were available, local observers estimated that..."). This would fail WP's standards for WP:RS. Until a reliable source is found, I think it makes sense to go ahead and remove the chart from the article. AreJay (talk) 21:49, 22 May 2008 (UTC)
I replaced the graph with another graph using the information provided on the State Department's 2007 report. Leitmanp (talk | contributions) 23:38, 22 May 2008 (UTC)