Part 782

Coastline: 1,318 km

Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: location and status of boundary with Saudi Arabia is not final, defacto boundary reflects 1974 agreement; no defined boundary with most of Oman, but Administrative Line in far north; claims two islands in the Persian Gulf occupied by Iran: Lesser Tunb (called Tunb as Sughra in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Kuchek in Persian by Iran) and Greater Tunb (called Tunb al Kubra in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Bozorg in Persian by Iran); claims island in the Persian Gulf jointly administered with Iran (called Abu Musa in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Abu Musa in Persian by Iran); in 1992, the dispute over Abu Musa and the Tunb islands became more acute when Iran unilaterally tried to control the entry of third country nationals into the UAE portion of Abu Musa island, Tehran subsequently backed off in the face of significant diplomatic support for the UAE in the region

Climate: desert; cooler in eastern mountains

Terrain: flat, barren coastal plain merging into rolling sand dunes of vast desert wasteland; mountains in east lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m highest point: Jabal Yibir 1,527 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas

Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 2% forest and woodland: 0% other: 98%

Irrigated land: 50 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment: current issues: lack of natural freshwater resources being overcome by desalination plants; desertification; beach pollution from oil spills natural hazards: frequent sand and dust storms international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Law of the Sea

Geographic note: strategic location along southern approaches to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil

People ------

Population: 3,057,337 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 35% (male 542,848; female 519,952) 15-64 years: 64% (male 1,277,829; female 683,282) 65 years and over: 1% (male 22,246; female 11,180) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 4.33% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 26.43 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 3.03 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: 19.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.87 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.99 male(s)/female all ages: 1.52 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 20.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 72.74 years male: 70.64 years female: 74.94 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.46 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality: noun: Emiri(s) adjective: Emiri

Ethnic divisions: Emiri 19%, other Arab and Iranian 23%, South Asian 50%, other expatriates (includes Westerners and East Asians) 8% (1982) note: less than 20% are UAE citizens (1982)

Religions: Muslim 96% (Shi'a 16%), Christian, Hindu, and other 4%

Languages: Arabic (official), Persian, English, Hindi, Urdu

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write but definition of literacy not available (1995 est.) total population: 79.2% male: 78.9% female: 79.8%

Government ----------

Name of country: conventional long form: United Arab Emirates conventional short form: none local long form: Al Imarata al Arabiyah al Muttahidah local short form: none former: Trucial States abbreviation: UAE