United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates (UAE) is located on the southeast side of the Arabian Peninsula, with its coastline along the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, and land borders against Saudi Arabia and Oman. It is comprised on seven emirates – Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain – led by a Supreme Council made up of the hereditary emir of each region. The area was known as the Trucial States or Trucial Oman and governed by the British until 1971, when several of the emirates came together to form the UAE. More than 90 percent of the country is nothing but rolling desert sands, yet the UAE is the richest country in the Arab world, thanks to a seemingly boundless supply of oil and its strategic location on the narrow Straight of Hormuz, separating the Persian Gulf from the Arabian Sea.

The population is 4,444,000 and growing at 3.997 percent annually. The birth rate is 16.09 per 1,000 and the death rate is 2.16 per 1,000. However, the migration rate is 26.04 migrants per 1,000. The United Arab Emirates relies on foreigners to do most of the work within the country; almost 74 percent percent of the population age 15–64 are expatriates from South Asia. Only 20 percent of the population are native-born Emiratis.

Median age is 30.1 years. Life expectancy is 73.16 years for males and 78.35 years for females. Gross national income is $18,060 per person. Unemployment is just 2.4 percent. Eighty-five percent of the population lives in an urban area.

UAE suffers a low burden of communicable disease. In 2005, there were just 24 cases of measles, [Page 1703]one case of tetanus, and 87 cases of tuberculosis. All 1,544 diagnosed cases of malaria were “imported” by sick expatriates coming into the country from abroad. Safe water and sanitation is available to all. Immunization rates for children are 98 percent. The rate of HIV/AIDS is under 0.2 percent.

Mortality generally follows the pattern of a modern industrial nation: 20.2 percent of all deaths stem from cardiovascular disease, 16 percent from accidents, 19 percent defined as “unknown,” and 6.3 percent from cancers. Main risk factors are smoking and obesity. Cases of hypertension and diabetes are both on the rise. While expatriate workers receive health-care, it is not on the same level as resident Emiratis, and many illnesses and deaths arise from problems not detected until they are beyond treatment. Expatriate workers are also more likely to suffer from industrial accidents.

UAE has invested heavily in improving the lives of mothers and children in the last three decades. Child mortality is extremely low, with nine deaths per 1,000 in children under 5. Immunization is universal, and children are generally well-nourished. There is universal education for both boys and girls. Maternal mortality is also low, at 54 deaths per 100,000 live births. The total fertility rate for Emirati women is 2.43 children, despite the fact that only 28 percent use contraception. Almost all women receive prenatal care and give birth in hospital.

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