United Arab Emirates

Demographics

The UAE's population of 4.041 million (2005) consists of over 3.23 million non nationals. Indeed, around 50% of the population is South Asian, with the remainder being Emirati, Arab, European and East Asian. Some of the natives are originally of Persian and Indian subcontinent descent. Religious beliefs are mostly Muslim (Islam is the state religion). However, there are sizable minorities of Christians, Hindus and other faiths. Arabic is the country's official language and is used in the government and bureaucracy, while English is increasingly important commercially and as the lingua france for non-Arab expatriates. Around 90% of the population can read and write (2005 estimate).

Related Topics:
South Asian - Persian - Indian subcontinent - Muslim

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~