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Home  Dubai/UAE The UAE
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Be it the only 7-star hotel in the world, the first completely englassed underwater resort, artificial islands in palm shape, sandboarding on dunes and sheikhs with garages as big as a soccer field – find it in Dubai! This is a city of extremes which can be positioned on the upper end of the world’s luxury scale, catering as a duty free shopping paradise for tourists from all over the world. In the past, the habitants of the UAE grew their wealth mainly on oil fields. In the meantime, oil drilling only accounts for 8% of the annual GDP. The government showed great foresight by reducing the dependency on oil and boosting the tourism sector. Despite of all modern developments, the visitor will still be able to sense the charm of past times, the ancient Arabia. This feeling is emphasized by the tropical climate (during summer up to 50°C in the daytime and freezy at nights), frequent sandstorms, various oases and amazing beaches. It is interesting to know that just a mere 20% of the population consists of native emiratis. Some 24% come from the neighbouring Arabian states and around 50% from south Asia (especially from India). Over 9% of the population is made up by expatriates with their families, working in multinational enterprises. In a business surrounding people mainly speak Arabian or English; further languages are parsi, Hindi and Urdu. The national religion is the Islam; further religious movements are Hinduism and Christianity (around 4%). Within the UAE, most subsidiaries of multinational companies are located in the many free economic zones around Dubai. Due to the high number of these companies, there are institutions for different nationalities (e.g. a German School).
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