Overview > About the United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates
On December 2nd 1971, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was promulgated as an independent, sovereign and federal state. The UAE comprises 7 emirates; Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Ajman, Umm al Qaiwain and Fujairah. The UAE federal authorities consist of the UAE Supreme Council, the UAE President, Vice-President, Prime Minister, the National Federal Council and the Federal Judiciary
About the United Arab Emirates
- Capital of UAE: Abu Dhabi
- National Day: 2 December
- Religion: Islam
- Official Working Days: Monday – Friday
- Official Weekends: Saturday – Sunday
- Time Zone: GMT+4
- Exchange Rate: 1 USD = AED 3.6725
Abu Dhabi named world's safest city for third year in a row
Abu Dhabi is the safest city in the world according to a newly released global crime index. Numbeo, a crowd-sourced global data website, placed the UAE capital first after it had the safest rating of 330 cities across the world. Dubai was also ranked sixth on the 2019 mid-year index that was based on the views of almost 70,000 people. It was the third consecutive year that Abu Dhabi had topped the poll. Rankings were obtained after users selected a location and rated how serious they felt crime was there. They also took into consideration how that has changed over the last three years, how safe they now felt and if they had concerns over being attacked due to discrimination.
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The ambition, integrity and determination of the United Arab Emirates have earned the nation significant international recognition– some of the most recent including:
- Hazza Al Mansoori’s historic mission to space, spending eight days aboard the International Space Station from 25 September as he represented the UAE as the first Emirati astronaut
- Pope Francis 48-hour visit to the country in February last year which included meetings with Muslim clerics and open-air masses for 135,000+ expatriate Catholics
- The 2.7 billion Dirham project Dubai Water Canal opened its gates as a 3.2km long waterway supporting 9 marine stations which winds its way to the Arabian Gulf from the Creek in Old Dubai
- The Arabian Gulf Digital Archives is a new online archive that has been created in partnership with the UK National Archives to showcase historical and cultural material that tells the story of the rich, intriguing and complex history of the Arabian Gulf
- Women in leadership took on priority as 7 new women were appointed to the country’s cabinet, including Ohood Al Roumi, the country’s first-ever Minister of State for Happiness
- The origins of Louvre Abu Dhabi date back to March 2007. The UAE and France formed an unprecedented partnership for cultural exchange, and the highlight of this would be the establishment of Louvre Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat Island.