Independent Baptist Friends International

It consists of seven states, termed emirates (because they are ruled by emirs), which are Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al-Quwain. The capital is Abu Dhabi, which is also the country's center of political, industrial and cultural activities.

Before 1971, the UAE was known as the Trucial States or Trucial Oman, in reference to a 19th-century truce between the United Kingdom and several Arab Sheikhs. The name Pirate Coast was also used in reference to the area's emirates from the 18th to the early 20th century.

The UAE's political system, based on its 1971 Constitution, is composed of several intricately connected governing bodies. Islam is the official religion, and Arabic is the official language.

Its oil reserves are ranked as the world's sixth-largest and the UAE possesses one of the most-developed economies in West Asia. It is the thirty-fifth-largest economy at market exchange rates, and has a high per capita gross domestic product (GDP), with a nominal per capita GDP of US$47,407 as per the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It is 15th in purchasing power per capita and has a relatively high Human Development Index for the Asian continent, ranking thirty-second globally. The UAE is classified as a high-income developing economy by the IMF.

The form of government used in UAE is a constitutional monarchy with a presidential system of government. It is a founding member of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, and a member state of the Arab League. It is also a member of the United Nations, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, the OPEC, and the World Trade Organization.

Sources

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Arab_Emirates
• http://www.flickr.com/places/info/23424738/
• http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=united+arab+emirates