UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: SOCIETY

Population: The UAE’s last official census was conducted in 1995. In that year, the total population was about 2.4 million. The UAE began Census 2005, the most comprehensive census to date, in September 2005. The population for 2004 was 4.3 million, estimated to increase to 4.7 million in 2005. The annual growth rate between the years 1999 and 2004 averaged 8 percent. The majority of the population (almost 3 million) is urban and lives in the two largest emirates—Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Demography: The UAE’s population is predominantly young. According to the government, at the end of 2004 more than half the population of 4.3 million (about 2.4 million people) was 15–39 years of age, and roughly one-quarter of the population (about 1.1 million people) was less than 15 years of age. Of the remaining population, approximately 800,000 people were 40–59 years of age, and almost 70,000 were 60 and older. The population is male dominant, with males numbering 2.9 million and females, 1.4 million. In 2005 the birthrate and death rate were estimated to be 18.8 per 1,000 and 4.3 per 1,000, respectively. The infant mortality rate, like the population, is estimated to be higher for males—nearly 17 deaths per 1,000 live births, as compared with about 12 female deaths per 1,000 live births. The UAE has a relatively high level of life expectancy: 72.7 years for males and nearly 77.9 years for females, or 75.2 years overall. The country’s fertility rate is greater than 2.9 children per woman.

Ethnic Groups and Languages: UAE citizens constitute less than 20 percent of the population. The rest are foreign workers, predominantly from South and Southeast Asia (approximately 50 percent of the population). The remainder of the expatriate population includes a significant number of other Arabs—Palestinians, Egyptians, Jordanians, Yemenis, and Omanis—as well as many Iranians, Pakistanis, Indians, Bangladeshis, Afghanis, Filipinos, and West Europeans. Arabic is the official language. Other languages spoken include Persian, English, Hindi, and Urdu. English is widely understood in the UAE.

Religion: The vast majority (approximately 96 percent) of the UAE’s citizens are Muslims; approximately 85 percent of Muslims are Sunni and 15 percent, Shia. The government funds or subsidizes almost 95 percent of Sunni mosques and employs all Sunni imams. A central federal regulatory authority distributes weekly guidance to both Sunni imams and Shia sheikhs regarding the content of sermons.

The UAE’s constitution declares that Islam is the official religion of all seven of the constituent emirates of the federal union. Muslims are expressly prohibited from converting to other religions, but conversion by non-Muslims to Islam is viewed favorably. During Ramadan, all residents and visitors are required to abide by restrictions imposed on Muslims. Islamic studies are mandatory for citizen children attending public schools and for Muslim children attending private schools. Religious instruction in non-Muslim religions is not permitted in public schools.

According to the U.S. Department of State, non-Muslim religious leaders within the UAE and outside the country regard the UAE as one of the most liberal and broad-minded countries in the region in terms of governmental and societal attitudes toward other faiths. The UAE government generally follows a policy of tolerance toward non-Muslim religions and, in practice, does not interfere very much with their religious activities. However, the government does prohibit non-Muslims from proselytizing or distributing religious literature under penalty of criminal prosecution, imprisonment, or deportation, deeming such behavior to be offensive to Islam. In 2004 the government hosted an international conference designed to encourage moderation in religious preaching and condemn extremism and terrorism. In that same year, construction began on Coptic Orthodox and Greek Orthodox churches.

Education and Literacy: According to the UAE government, the literacy rate is 91 percent for females and 84 percent for males. The United Nations has estimated that the overall literacy rate for the population aged 15 to 24 exceeds 90 percent. The government has set a goal of achieving full literacy before 2010.

The government has increased funding for education significantly over a 10-year period, spending US$67.3 million in 1994 and nearly US$1.5 billion in 2003. Public education is free for male and female citizen children through the university level. The UAE has one of the lowest pupil-to-teacher ratios (12:1) in the world. Education is compulsory through the ninth grade, although, according to the U.S. Department of State, this requirement is not enforced. Citizen children are required to attend gender-segregated schools through the sixth grade, the last grade of primary education. In 2004–5 approximately 9.9 percent of students in grades one through five and 8.3 percent of students in grades six through nine did not complete their education; this rate rose to 9.3 percent in grades 10–12.

The Ministry of Education has adopted “Education 2020,” a series of five-year plans designed to introduce advanced education techniques, improve innovative skills, and focus more on the self-learning abilities of students. As part of this program, an enhanced curriculum for mathematics and integrated science was introduced at first-grade level for the 2003–4 academic year in all government schools. In addition, the UAE government believes that a poor grasp of English is one of the main employment barriers for UAE nationals and consequently will introduce a new English syllabus in all government schools over the next three years. In February 2006, the new prime minister, stating that the cabinet would give top priority to improving the quality of education, directed the education minister to take initial steps toward achieving this goal, including the provision of permanent classrooms, computer laboratories, and modern facilities.

At the higher education level, numerous institutions are available to the student body. In 1976 UAE University (UAEU) was established in Al Ayn in Abu Dhabi. Consisting of nine colleges, it is considered by the UAE government to be the leading teaching and research institution in the country. More than 15,500 students were enrolled at UAEU in the academic year 2004–5. In 1988 the first four Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) were opened. In the academic year 2005–6, 12 all-male campuses offered more than 75 programs with a combined enrollment of 16,000 students. The commercial arm of the HCT, the Centre of Excellence for Applied Research and Training, is allied with multinational companies to provide training courses and professional development. In 1998 Zayid University was opened for women with campuses in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The current enrollment of 2,500 women nationals is expected to more than double after a new campus in Dubai opens in 2006.

In 2003 Dubai established a dedicated education zone, Knowledge Village, based at Dubai Internet City, to bring together globally recognized international universities, training centers, e-learning, and research and development companies in one location. It has met thus far with only limited success, unable to attract the prestigious American universities that have instead chosen to be based in Qatar’s Education City.

Health: Standards of health care are considered to be generally high in the UAE, resulting from increased government spending during strong economic years. Total expenditures on health care in 2002 constituted 3.1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP); in that same year, the per capita expenditure for health care was US$802. Health care currently is free only for UAE citizens. Effective January 2006, all residents of Abu Dhabi are covered by a new comprehensive health insurance program; costs will be shared between employers and employees. The number of doctors per 100,000 (annual average, 1990–2003) is 177. The UAE now has 40 public hospitals, compared with only seven in 1970. The Ministry of Health is undertaking a multimillion-dollar program to expand health facilities⎯hospitals, medical centers, and a trauma center⎯in the seven emirates. A state-of-the-art general hospital has opened in Abu Dhabi with a projected bed capacity of 143, a trauma unit, and the first home health care program in the UAE. To attract wealthy UAE nationals and expatriates who traditionally have traveled abroad for serious medical care, Dubai is developing Dubai Healthcare City, a hospital free zone that will offer international-standard advanced private health care and provide an academic medical training center.

Cardiovascular disease is the principal cause of death in the UAE, constituting 28 percent of total deaths; other major causes are accidents and injuries, malignancies, and congenital anomalies. In 1985 the UAE established a national program to prevent transmission of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and to control its entry into the country. According to World Health Organization estimates, in 2002−3 fewer than 1,000 people in the UAE were living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS.

Welfare: Among developing nations, as categorized by the United Nations, the UAE ranks 41 out of 177 countries on the human development index, a measure of life expectancy, education, and standard of living. In 1999 the Federal National Council approved legislation providing monthly social security benefits to national widows and divorced women, the disabled and handicapped, the aged, orphans, single daughters, married students, relatives of jailed dependents, estranged wives, and insolvents. Also eligible are widowed and divorced national women previously married to foreigners and expatriate husbands of UAE national women. In 2003 the government distributed approximately US$179 million to 77,000 beneficiaries of social welfare, the largest group of recipients being the elderly (12,000). In October 2005, welfare payments to UAE nationals, including the unemployed, increased by 75 percent. The recipient population has dropped since 1980, but the cost to the government has risen by 16 percent per person. Social security entitlements constitute 1–2 percent of gross domestic product.

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