The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the
Middle East's version of the United States of America (USA). Also a salad
bowl of various nationalities, UAE is one of the Filipinos' employment
haven not only because of the good pay but also because of the amazing
fusion of the traditional values of the East and the modern technologies
of the West. It is where people of different cultures work and live
together in harmony, in a standard of living that is comparable to the
world's most advanced nations. What's more, UAE is literally crime-free.
UAE's Emirates
UAE is a federation of seven emirates or states namely: Abu Dhabi (UAE's
capital), Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al-Qaiwain, Ras Al-Khaimah and
Fujairah.
UAE celebrates its National Day on the 2nd day of December. It was on this
day in 1971 when the Federation of the United Arab Emirates was formed.
The celebration runs from December 2 to 4. During the occasion, the major
cities of the emirates are decorated with lights brightly lit-up.
Government and Legal System
UAE's backbone is of federation type with specified powers delegated to
the UAE federal government and other powers reserved to member emirates.
Laws and policies are implemented through the federal court system which
was introduced in 1971. The emirates have secular and Islamic law for
civil, criminal and high courts.
Population and Religion
One UAE website states that the country's population is estimated to be
2.94 million, with a growth rate of around 6.5 percent a year. This,
accordingly, is expected to slow down to 2.9 percent by the year 2005 when
the population will number around 3.48 million.
UAE citizens account for a little over 20 percent of UAE's population.
Believe it, roughly 80 percent comes from the Far East, Europe, the Indian
sub-continent and rest of the Arab world! The main population is
concentrated in the cities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
The prevailing religion is Islam.
Climate
A peaceful haven in the Arabian peninsula by the Arabian sea, UAE in
itself is a tourist's paradise as the sun shines all year round and thus
making it an ideal summer resort.
Moderate climate is found between October and March, where days are
usually pleasant averaging 26 degrees Celcius in temperature. Nights
during the bracket are cool, averaging 15 degrees Celcius.
Summer formally unfolds between April and September with temperatures
peaking at 50 degrees Celcius. Occasional sand storms are also experienced
due the Southerly and Northerly winds.
Language
UAE nationals speak Arabic, their national language. Due to the mixture of
different cultures, though, languages such as English, Hindi and Farsi are
also widely spoken. You can also hear people speaking Tagalog, Malayalam
and Russian; Asian languages are used especially in commerce.
Currency
Dirhams and fils are the units of currency in UAE. One hundred fils is
equivalent to one Dirham (Dh). The Dirham is tied to the US dollar at a
steady exchange rate of $US 1= Dh 3.671.
Should you want to change your money, banks are the usual go-to
money-changer as they are known to offer the best rates on foreign
currency exchange. Hotels and airports, however, offer quick service and
are usually open outside banking hours. Exchange rates are published
daily.
Commerce and Economy
UAE is a major player in the global oil industry. In fact, the emirate of
Abu Dhabi alone contains 10 percent of the world's oil reserves or 98
billion barrels, converted into figures.
Also considered as a trade paradise in the Middle East, UAE is booming
with each emirate establishing a Free Zone which underscores that no taxes
are collected from business firms so as to encourage the companies to set
up their manufacturing and export units in the country.
Workforce-wise, one study reveals that the human resource in the UAE has
grown from 288,414 in 1975, to 1,378,390 in 1998. The wholesale and retail
sector account for the largest proportion of the manpower, followed by the
construction sector.
