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2.4 Cultural Aspects of the UAE Society
The population in the UAE as published on the seventh of October 2009
in an English-printed gulf newspaper in the UAE has breached the six
million mark. Most of the population in the UAE originates in India
(about one million) 91 and the next largest amount is from Pakistan. The
Emirati nationals comprise 20% of the total population. Figure 2.5
shows the population growth in the UAE from 1960 to 2008.
Figure 2.5: population growth in the UAE Adapted from World Bank, World
Development Indicators
The Emirati population can be divided according to Kay 92 into two main
groups that include the Hadar (civilians) and the Bedouin (nomadic). In
recent years this classification faded as education increased and there
were movements towards civilising the nomadic in the UAE.
Islam is the religion of the UAE and like all other Muslim countries the
UAE applies Sharia Law. Islamic traditions became part of the UAE
culture and dominate the life style of people, although with the diversity
of nationalities in the UAE as shown above a great diversity in culture is
present. For more than four decades the UAE culture has been mixing
with other cultures including Eastern and Western diversities. 93
The big gap between the citizens to the foreigners‟ ratio of 1:4 is a major
concern for the UAE government and the UN. According to the UAE
91 Ministry of Information and Culture. (2009). UAE Yearbook. Ed Vine P. and Al-Abd I. Accessed online
at http://www.uaeinteract.com/uaeint_misc/pdf_2009/ on 13. 10. 2009
92 Kay, K. (2006). Sharjah Heritage and Progress. (Ajman: Motivate Publishing), p11.
93 Abdullah M. (2007). op.cit. p160.
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