notes on Dubai

Demographics in Dubai are rather interesting. There are 5 million people in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), of which 1.4 million live in Dubai. Naturalization is extremely difficult (e.g. women who marry UAE men can naturalize, but not vice versa), so citizens comprise only 21% of the population. Over 40% of the population are from South Asia (Indian, Pakistani, or Bangledeshi); most have come for the job opportunities. As a result, the ratio of men to women is over 2:1.

Women wear a variety of clothing; some wear the full black burka, some wear a headscarf, some wear no head covering at all. Some women wear skirts and flowing clothes, others wear jeans and tight shirts. There are even a few women in shorts. When we were at the Burj Al Arab, I noticed several women who were in full burka but with very fancy gold embroidery, and the black cloth itself was obviously very high quality, as it looked shinier and softer than usual. Maybe it's like bedsheets, where high threadcount is a big deal?

Dubai has developed very quickly. Oil was discovered in 1966, and in 1971 Dubai became independent of Britain. In 1980 there was a single highrise building, but there was a massive wave of building in the late 1990's and early 2000's, and now there are skyscrapers as far as you can see.

Originally, much of the economy was based on oil, but these days, only 6% of revenues are due to oil or petroleum ventures. The primary businesses are tourism, real estate, and finance; Dubai has become one of the finance capitals of the Middle East.

The government is very wealthy, so many things are free. Health care is entirely free for citizens, residents, and even visitors; you just don't bother with money or insurance when you go to a hospital in Dubai. Citizens get extra bonuses; for example, when citizens marry, the new couple is given their own residence (probably a condo). 95% of mosques are subsidized by the government.

There are many new projects going on in Dubai even now. The Dubai Metro opened in September but only a few stops are open as of yet. Once the rest are open it will probably help ease the traffic problem quite a bit; we were able to travel a distance by metro in 10-12 minutes that would have taken 30 minutes to drive in "normal" traffic conditions. Currently public transportation is mostly by bus; bus stops are enclosed and air conditioned. "The Palm" is the famous man-made island in the shape of a palm tree; it is nearly complete, but two more are in the works. In addition, there is another man-made island under construction which will be in the shape of a world map, called "The World"; it is currently 10% done. The Burj Dubai (Burj means tower), which will be the world's tallest building, is nearly finished; it will open before the end of the year.