Western Asia · ARE
United Arab Emirates
The story · 9 chapters
How it was drawn
Coastal sheikhdoms that signed truces with Britain in the nineteenth century became the Trucial States, then joined as the United Arab Emirates in 1971.
Play the story Take the first lessonThrough the ages
Rivals in history
The kingdoms, empires and states United Arab Emirates fought or stood against, from the first to today.
- Kingdom of Portugal1507 to 1650
Portuguese fleets sack Khor Fakkan in 1507 and hold forts along the coast to control trade through Hormuz. The Yaruba imams of Oman drive them from the lower Gulf, a struggle that ends when Muscat falls in 1650.
- British Empire1809 to 1820
Accusing the Qawasim of piracy against Indian shipping, British expeditions attack Ras al Khaimah in 1809 and capture it in December 1819. The General Treaty of 1820 opens 150 years of British dominance on the coast.
- Kingdom of Saudi Arabia1949 to 1974
Saudi Arabia claims much of Abu Dhabi's hinterland, including the Buraimi oasis. A Saudi force occupies part of the oasis in 1952 and is expelled in 1955. The 1974 Treaty of Jeddah finally settles the frontier.
On 30 November 1971, two days before the federation is born, Iranian forces seize Greater and Lesser Tunb and land on Abu Musa under a deal with Sharjah. The UAE still claims all three islands, and Iran refuses to negotiate over sovereignty.
- Houthi movement (Ansar Allah)2015 to 2022
The UAE joins the Saudi-led coalition that intervenes in Yemen's war in 2015 and backs southern forces, then withdraws most of its troops in 2019. In January 2022 Houthi drones and missiles strike Abu Dhabi.
Today
United Arab Emirates now
The Trucial States of the Persian Gulf coast granted the UK control of their defense and foreign affairs in 19th-century treaties. In 1971, six of these states -- Abu Dhabi, 'Ajman, Al Fujayrah, Ash Shariqah, Dubayy, and Umm al Qaywayn -- merged to form the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Ra's al Khaymah joined in 1972. The UAE's per-capita GDP is on par with those of leading West European nations. For more than three decades, oil and global finance drove the UAE's economy.
- Capital
- Abu Dhabi
- Government
- federation of monarchies
- Head of government
- Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
- Head of state
- Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan
- Languages
- Arabic
- Area
- 98,648 km²
Through time
Then and now
- Population10.6 million2023 · 74,500 in 1950
- Life expectancy82.9 years2023 · 42.1 years in 1950
- GDP per person$77,2032022 · $25,182 in 1950
- Living in cities86%2025 · 55% in 1950
- Literacy99%2024
- Political regimeClosed autocracy2025
- Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950
- Military spending5.6% of GDP2014
- War deathsNone2025
Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.
Relations
Close partners and tensions
Close partners
- United Kingdom
- United States
- France
- Saudi Arabia
- Qatar
Tensions
- Iran, Islamic Rep.
Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 23 October 2026.