Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 77.9%
male: 76.1%
female: 81.7% (2003 est.)
Government United Arab Emirates
Country name:
conventional long form: United Arab Emirates
conventional short form: none
local long form: Al Imarat al Arabiyah al Muttahidah
local short form: none
former: Trucial Oman, Trucial States
abbreviation: UAE
Government type:
federation with specified powers delegated to the UAE federal
government and other powers reserved to member emirates
Capital:
name: Abu Dhabi
geographic coordinates: 24 28 N, 54 22 E
time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
7 emirates (imarat, singular - imarah); Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi),
'Ajman, Al Fujayrah, Ash Shariqah (Sharjah), Dubayy (Dubai), Ra's al
Khaymah, Umm al Qaywayn (Quwayn)
Independence:
2 December 1971 (from UK)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 2 December (1971)
Constitution:
2 December 1971; made permanent in 1996
Legal system:
federal court system introduced in 1971; applies to all emirates
except Dubayy (Dubai) and Ra's al Khaymah, which are not fully
integrated into the federal judicial system; all emirates have
secular courts to adjudicate criminal, civil, and commercial matters
and Islamic courts to review family and religious disputes