The United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven kingdoms (sheikdoms) that are along the southewestern shore of the Persian Gulf.

The Persian Gulf lies between Iran and the Arabian Peninsular, and is part of the region overlapping Africa and Asia known as the Middle East.

The Persian Gulf is unusual in that it is almost landlocked. It connects to the Indian Ocean via a narrow stretch of waterway known as the Strait of Hormuz, just 56 km (35 mi). This is a very important fact to remember, because, in times of war, it is easily blocked.

Most of the eastern shore of the Persian Gulf is part of Saudi Arabia, and Saudi Arabia lies inland of all of the United Arab Emirates member countries.

Eight nations have coasts along the Persian Gulf: Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

The major cities in the Persian Gulf are Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, all in the United Arab Emirates, Dammam, and Khobar in Saudi Arabia, Doha in Qatar, Kuwait City in Kuwait, Manama in Bahrain, and Bandar Abbas in Iran.

The Persian Gulf and its coastal areas are the world’s largest single source of oil and natural gas. This oil and gas is key to the success of all of the modern Gulf countries.

The UAE is now a successful federation of the seven hereditary kingdoms (sheikhdoms) who decided to join together. The emirates are Abu Dhabi (which serves as the capital), Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain. It covers an area of 83,600 km2 (32,278mi2) and is home to 1.2 million nationals and far more than that expatriate workers, making a total UAE population approaching 10 million.

The UAE’s oil reserves have turned out to be the seventh-largest in the world, and its natural gas reserves are the world’s seventeenth-largest.

The UAE coast stretches for more than 650km (404mi) along the southern shore of the Persian Gulf. Most of the coast consists of salt pans that extend far inland. The largest natural harbor is at Dubai, although other ports have been dredged at Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

South and west of Abu Dhabi, sand dunes merge into the sand sea of Rub al-Khali (Empty Quarter) of Saudi Arabia, one of the least hospitable places on Earth. The desert area of Abu Dhabi includes two important oases with underground water that allow permanent settlements and some farming.