UAE Economy
UAE Economy
The country’s prosperity derives in large part from its reserves of oil and gas, of which it has, respectively, the fourth and fifth largest reserves in the world. Its oil production commenced in 1962, and it now produces around 2.6 million barrels a day, with plans to raise capacity to around 4 million barrels a day over the course of the next decade.When the UAE was first established, President Sheikh Zayed and his colleagues had the foresight to decide that the revenues from oil and, later, gas exports should be used to fund a major programme of development of the country’s infrastructure, and, over the next three decades, this permitted government to lay down the essential elements of a thriving society, including housing, medical services, airports, ports and a modern transport infrastructure, as well as a system of state education for the country’s citizens that provides free schooling from the primary stage to university level. As a result, the country’s citizens now enjoy a standard of living and a life expectancy, for both men and women, that is comparable to many of the world’s leading industrial nations. Another objective of government has been that of ensuring that women, as well as men, should fully participate in the benefit of the opportunities that have come from development, this process culminating in late 2006 with the formation of a new Federal National Council, or Parliament. Women hold over 22 percent of the seats, one of the highest figures in the world. There are also two female Cabinet Ministers.The process of growth in the economic and social sectors has, of course, not taken place without many other changes as well. Over the course of the last 40 years, the total population of the country has risen from around 250,000 to around 4.25 million. Of these, only around 20 percent are UAE citizens, the rest being comprised of an expatriate workforce that includes people from virtually every country in the world, although a large number are from other parts of the Arab world and from the countries of South Asia, along with many from Europe.Both UAE citizens and expatriates play a major role in the country’s development, in both the government and private sectors, although considerable attention is being paid by government to a policy of 'Emiratisation," which seeks to ensure that the country’s citizens are afforded all possible opportunities for employment throughout the economy. Although exploitation of the oil and gas reserves provide much of the funds for government investment, it has always been recognized that these are depleting resources, and there has been a consistent policy since the UAE’s establishment of seeking to diversify the sources of national income. Commencing with heavy industry, particularly in the downstream petrochemicals sector, this diversification has spread to encompass a wide variety of sectors, including services, banking and finance, property development, light industry and tourism. Today, oil and gas revenues account for only around a third of the UAE’s gross national product, estimated at $163 billion in 2006. Although the percentage varies from year to year as a result of fluctuating world energy prices ― 2006 and 2007 having seen dramatic increases in the price of oil ― the non-oil sectors of the economy now not only provide the bulk of GDP but also most of the employment.Against the backdrop of reforms in government over the past year, the country’s economy has continued to develop rapidly.
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