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At Ogilvy Noor we know that you are busy growing your business and your brand. That’s why we are starting a regular series of ‘Fast Facts’ to bring you key information in quick bite size chunks about topics of interest if you are building relationships with Muslim consumers.

This week, to coincide with the 40th anniversary of independence we are taking a look at the UAE.

Population: Approx 8.2m of which only 16.5% are Emirati nationals. A huge ex-pat population of other Arabs/Iranian (23%), and South Asian (60.5%)

Economy: GDP per capita > $36k pa is currently 17th in the world (IMF). 14th best nation in the world for doing business (Doing Business 2011 Report published by the World Bank Group).

Religion: 76% Muslim, 9% Christian, and 15% other

Geography: Capital city Abu Dhabi, although best known for Dubai. Country located southeast of the Arabian Peninsula bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.

Government: a federation of seven emirates (equivalent to principalities), each governed by a hereditary emir, with a single national president.

You might not know: Pearl diving was one of the prime sources of income until the 19th century. The white long garment that Emirati men wear is called a Kandura. The long black garment that women wear is an abaya.