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 1971); Vice President Shaykh Rashid bin Sa‘id Al MAKTUM of Dubayy (since 2 December 1971;

Head of Government—Prime Minister Shaykh Rashid bin Sa‘id Al MAKTUM of Dubayy (Prime Minister since 30 April 1979); Deputy Prime Minister Maktum bin Rashid al MAKTUM (since 2 December 1971)

Political parties and leaders: none

Suffrage: none

Elections: none

Communists: NA

Other political or pressure groups: a few small clandestine groups are active

Member of: Arab League, CCC, 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, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Abdullah bin Zayed AL-NAHAYYAN; Chancery at Suite 740, 600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20037; telephone (202) 338-6500; US—Ambassador Edward S. WALKER, Jr.; Embassy at Al-Sudan Street, Abu Dhabi (mailing address is P. O. Box 4009, Abu Dhabi); telephone [971](2) 336691; there is a US Consulate General in Dubai

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and black with a thicker vertical red band on the hoist side

Economy

Overview: The UAE has an open economy with one of the world's higher levels of income per capita. This wealth is based on oil and gas, and the fortunes of the economy fluctuate with the prices of those commodities. Since 1973, when petroleum prices shot up, the UAE has undergone a profound transformation from an impoverished region of small desert principalities to a modern state with a high standard of living. At present levels of production, crude oil reserves should last for over 100 years.

GNP: $23.3 billion, per capita $1 1,680; real growth rate -2.1% (1988)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5-6% (1988 est.)

Unemployment rate: NEGL (1988) Budget: revenues $3.5 billion; expenditures $4.0 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1989 est.)

Exports: $10.6 billion (f.o.b., 1988 est.); commodities—crude oil 75%, natural gas, reexports, dried fish, dates; partners—US, EC, Japan

Imports: $8.5 billion (c.i.f., 1988 est.); commodities—food, consumer and capital goods; partners—EC, Japan, US

External debt: $11.0 billion (December 1989 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate -9.3% (1986)

Electricity: 5,590,000 kW capacity; 15,000 million kWh produced, 7,090 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: petroleum, fishing, petrochemicals, construction materials, some boat building, handicrafts, pearling

Agriculture: accounts for 1% of GNP and 5% of labor force; cash crop—dates; food products—vegetables, watermelons, poultry, eggs, dairy, fish; only 25% self-sufficient in food

Aid: donor—pledged $9.1 billion in bilateral aid to less developed countries (1979-89)

Currency: Emirian dirham (plural—dirhams); 1 Emirian dirham (Dh) = 100 fils

Exchange rates: Emirian dirhams (Dh) per US$1—3.6710 (fixed rate)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications

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

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

Ports: Al Fujayrah, Khawr Fakkān, Mīnā’ Jabal ‘Alī, Mīnā’ Khālid, Mīnā’ Rāshid, Mīnā’ Şaqr, Mīnā’ Zāyid

Merchant marine: 47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 728,332 GRT/1,181,566 DWT; includes 14 cargo, 7 container, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 20 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 4 bulk

Civil air: 8 major transport aircraft Airports: 40 total, 34 usable; 19 with permanent-surface runways; 8 with runways over 3,659 m; 5 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 4 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: adequate system of radio relay and coaxial cable; key centers are Abu Dhabi and Dubayy; 386,600 telephones; stations—8 AM, 3 FM, 12 TV; satellite earth stations—1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 2 Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 1 ARABSAT; submarine cables to Qatar, Bahrain, India, and Pakistan; tropospheric scatter to Bahrain; radio relay to Saudi Arabia

Defense Forces

Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Central Military Command, Federal Police Force

Military manpower: males 15-49, 904,690; 498,082 fit for military service

Defense expenditures: $1.59 billion (1987)  United Kingdom



Geography

Total area: 244,820 km²; land area: 241,590 km²; includes Rockall and Shetland Islands

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Oregon

Land boundary: Ireland 360 km

Coastline: 12,429 km

Maritime claims:
 * Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation or in accordance with agreed upon boundaries
 * Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
 * Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: maritime boundary with Ireland; Northern Ireland question with Ireland; Gibraltar question with Spain; Argentina claims Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas); Argentina claims South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; Mauritius claims island of Diego Garcia in British Indian Ocean Territory; Hong Kong is scheduled to become a Special Administrative Region of China in 1997; Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark, Iceland, and Ireland (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area); territorial claim in Antarctica (British Antarctic Territory)

Climate: temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current; more than half of the days are overcast

Terrain: mostly rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling plains in east and southeast

Natural resources: coal, crude oil, natural gas, tin, limestone, iron ore, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, lead, silica

Land use: 29% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 48% meadows and pastures; 9% forest and woodland; 14% other; includes 1% irrigated

Environment: pollution control measures improving air, water quality; because of 321