The UAE in 15 minutes

The United Arab Emirates is a state just 53 years old. Before 2 December 1971 there were seven separate sheikhdoms under British protection — the Trucial States. Their union — Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah — has become one of the most successful federations of the modern era.

The UAE's story is the move from the Bedouin desert and the pearl trade to a city of the future. The same dynasties that ruled tribes 250 years ago rule the emirates today: Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi, Al Maktoum in Dubai, Al Qasimi in Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah, Al Sharqi in Fujairah. That continuity is rare — a modern country still led by families with centuries-old traditions.

For millennia today's Emirates were inhabited by Bedouin nomads — driving herds of camels and goats between pastures, living in tents, settling around the wells of oases. The main oases were Al Ain (now part of Abu Dhabi, a UNESCO site) and Liwa on the edge of the Rub' al Khali, the world's largest sand desert.

Islam reached the region in the 7th century — Arab tribes accepted the new faith during the Prophet Muhammad's lifetime. Before that there were pagan cults of the sun and moon; finds at Mleiha (Sharjah) and Bidaa Bint Saud show trade with Mesopotamia and India 2,000 years before Christ.

About twenty tribes lived permanently in this area by the 18th century. The biggest: Bani Yas (the central tribe of Abu Dhabi and Dubai), Al Qasimi (Sharjah and RAK) and Al Sharqi (Fujairah).

From the 17th to the early 20th century the Gulf economy ran on one industry — pearling. Each summer hundreds of wooden dhows put out for a four-month season. Ghawas divers descended without gear to 20-30 metres, up to 50 times a day. The main hubs were Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Dubai.

Dubai went its own way. In 1894 the ruler Sheikh Maktoum declared the port free of customs duties — and traders from Iran and India poured in. That is how Dubai became a re-export hub long before oil.

In 1853 the British signed a Perpetual Maritime Truce with the sheikhs — hence the name Trucial States. Britain protected the sheikhdoms from outside enemies and the sheikhs stopped maritime raiding. There was no real colonisation: the sheikhs remained full rulers.

Things turned in 1929. The Japanese invented cultured pearls — the Gulf's natural-pearl industry collapsed inside a decade. The region entered one of its poorest stretches.

The first regional oil was found in Abu Dhabi in 1958, at the Bab-1 well. In 1962 the first export tanker arrived there. In 1966 Dubai discovered its own Fateh field offshore. Life changed inside a generation.

Two men architected the new era. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who became ruler of Abu Dhabi in 1966, immediately funnelled oil revenue into schools, roads, hospitals and housing. Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai since 1958, dredged the Creek port, built the airport and started the Dubai World Trade Centre — the region's first skyscraper.

By the late 1960s today's UAE had schools (there were almost none before), hospitals and the first university in Al Ain. Bedouin families moved into modern houses. Fifteen years after oil, the region was unrecognisable.

In 1968 Britain abruptly announced it would withdraw from the Gulf by 1971. The sheikhs faced a choice: go it alone or unite. Sheikhs Zayed (Abu Dhabi) and Rashid (Dubai) chose federation.

On 2 December 1971, in Union House on Jumeirah Street, six emirates signed the UAE Constitution. The building is now the Etihad Museum. The seventh, Ras Al Khaimah, joined in February 1972. Sheikh Zayed became the first president and Sheikh Rashid the prime minister.

Zayed remained president until his death in 2004. He is the country's 'Father of the Nation' — Baba Zayed. Across the UAE his portrait hangs alongside the current president, his son Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed. That is a rare, conflict-free transfer of power in the Arab world.

The Constitution works like this: each emirate keeps its ruler and autonomy, but Abu Dhabi (the richest — 90% of national oil reserves) holds the presidency and Dubai the premiership. The Federal National Council parliament has been partly elected since 2006.

In the 1990s Dubai grasped it first: oil would run out in a generation. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid bet on tourism, aviation and real estate. Burj Al Arab opened in 1999, Palm Jumeirah in 2001, Emirates Airline became the region's biggest carrier. The Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, opened in 2010. Dubai Expo 2020 (run 2021–22) drew 24 million visitors.

Abu Dhabi took another route — the cultural capital. The Saadiyat Cultural District: Louvre Abu Dhabi (2017), Abrahamic Family House (2023), Zayed National Museum (opened 2025), Guggenheim Abu Dhabi (under construction).

The space programme is a separate point of pride. The Hope Probe reached Mars in February 2021 — the UAE became the fifth country with an orbiter at the Red Planet. An asteroid-belt mission is planned for 2028.

Vision 2030 sets the country towards a knowledge, tourism and AI economy. Oil should drop below 20% of GDP by 2030 (it's 35% today). Behind the showcase remain the same four ruling families that ruled three centuries ago.