Middle East / Africa
Country profile: United Arab Emirates
| Location: | Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, between Oman and Saudi Arabia |
| Climate: | desert; cooler in eastern mountains |
| Terrain: | flat, barren coastal plain merging into rolling sand dunes of vast desert wasteland; mountains in east |
| Size: | 83600 sq. km total (Land area: 83600 sq. km ) |
| Population: | 4,621,399 |
| Languages: | Arabic (official), Persian, English, Hindi, Urdu |
| Government: | federation with specified powers delegated to the UAE federal government and other powers reserved to member emirates |
| Capital city: | Abu Dhabi |
| Legal system: | based on a dual system of Shari'a and civil courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Currency: | Emirati dirham (AED) |
| Licensing: |
Country profile
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is an important oil producer with the fifth largest proven oil reserves in the Middle East. The UAE is a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) since joining in 1967. The emirate of Abu Dhabi is the center of the oil and gas industry, followed by Dubai, Sharjah, and Ras al Khaimah. In 2004, natural gas supplied 64 percent of the country’s total energy consumption, and oil supplied the remaining 36 percent. The UAE is a high-income, stable federation of seven emirates with the second largest Arab economy in the Middle East.
The non-oil sectors grew 18.6 percent in 2006 and have tripled during the last three years. Good relations with Asian trading partners and a growing domestic population have helped diversify the thriving economy. However, the country remains dependent on oil revenue, and the government has announced large oil production capacity increases within the next seven years. Abu Dhabi is the major hydrocarbon and industrial power while Dubai is the trading, financial, and tourist center of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai account for 80 percent of the UAE’s income. Hydrocarbon revenues account for around one-third of the UAE’s GDP, though the non-oil finance and service sectors in Dubai are making the city a favored base for multinational corporations in the Gulf.
Energy production and consumption
| Oil | Gas | |
| Production: | 2 million bbl/day (2006 est.) | 45 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
| Consumption: | 372,000 bbl/day (2005 est.) | 39 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
| Exports: | 2 million bbl/day (2006 est.) | 6 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
| Imports: | 137,200 bbl/day (2005 est.) | 1 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
| Reserves: | 97 billion bbl (2007 est.) | 5 trillion cu m (1 January 2006 est.) |
| Major fields: |
United Arab Emirates - recent news
| 28 Oct 25 |
UAE: NMDC Energy’s revenue surges 33% Y-o-Y to AED 13 billion in 9M 2025, with Net Profit Reaching AED 951 million United Arab Emirates-based NMDC Energy has announced solid financial results for the first nine months of 2025, with revenue surging 33% Y-o-Y to AED 13.0 billion and net profit gaining 5% Y-o-Y to AED 951 million, on the back of solid backlog execution across multiple markets. |
| 17 Oct 25 |
UAE: Hunting opens flagship facility in Dubai, UAE Hunting, the precision engineering group, has announced that it has opened a new 45,000 sqft purpose-built facility in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. This marks a significant step in delivering the Group’s Hunting 2030 strategy by strengthening the Group’s regional footprint in a high-growth market and bringing its leading manufacturing capabilities closer to customers in the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific. |
| 09 Oct 25 |
UAE: ADNOC listed companies target record AED 158 billion ($43 billion) in dividends from 2025 to 2030 ADNOC has announced a target to distribute AED158 billion ($43 billion) in dividends across its six publicly listed companies through to 2030, subject to customary approvals, in addition to the AED86 billion ($23 billion) already paid since the first company Initial Public Offering (IPO) in 2017. |
| 27 Aug 25 |
UAE: EnerMech secures two-year contract extension with Dubai Petroleum Enermech has announced that Dubai Petroleum has extended its crane maintenance services contract for an additional two years, continuing a successful partnership that began in 2022. |
| 27 Aug 25 |
UAE: ADNOC signs 15-year LNG Sales and Purchase Agreement with IndianOil for Ruwais LNG project ADNOC has signed a 15-year Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Indian Oil Corporation (IndianOil), India’s largest integrated and diversified energy company, for the supply of 1 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) sourced primarily from ADNOC’s lower-carbon Ruwais LNG project. |
United Arab Emirates - more news
Other countries in this region
- Algeria,
- Angola,
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- Benin,
- Botswana,
- Burundi,
- Cameroon,
- Central Africa Republic,
- Chad,
- Comoros,
- Congo (Brazzaville),
- Congo (Democratic Rep.),
- Cote d'Ivoire,
- Djibouti,
- Egypt,
- Equatorial Guinea,
- Eritrea,
- Ethiopia,
- Gabon,
- Gambia,
- Ghana,
- Guinea (Republic),
- Guinea Bissau,
- Iran,
- Iraq,
- Israel,
- Jordan,
- Kenya,
- Kuwait,
- Lebanon,
- Liberia,
- Libya,
- Madagascar,
- Malawi,
- Mali,
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- Morocco,
- Mozambique,
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- Niger,
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- Palestine,
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- Saudi Arabia,
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- Seychelles,
- Sierra Leone,
- Somalia,
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- South Africa,
- South Sudan,
- Sudan,
- Syria,
- Tanzania,
- Togo,
- Tunisia,
- Uganda,
- Western Sahara,
- Yemen,
- Zambia,
- Zanzibar,
- Zimbabwe
