Dubai (city) | Geography, Map, & History
Dubai encyclopedia encyclopeadia britannica article
Christopher Davidson
Dubai city, capital of the emirate of Dubai and often regarded as the Middle East’s premier entrepot. It is a commercial hub with a large expatriate population. With its warm temperature, sandy beaches, luxury resorts, and cultural and sporting attractions, the city is also a tourist destination.
/favicon.png
Encyclopedia Britannica
Dubai

United Arab Emirates

Recent News

Dubai, city and capital of the emirate of Dubai, one of the wealthiest of the seven emirates that constitute the federation of the United Arab Emirates, which was created in 1971 following independence from Great Britain. There are several theories about the origin of the name Dubai. One associates it with the daba—a type of locust that infests the area—while another holds that it refers to a market that existed near the city. In recent years Dubai has been compared to Singapore and Hong Kong and is often regarded as the Middle East’s premier entrepôt. Area 13.5 square miles (35 square km). Pop. (2017 est.) 2,919,178.

Character of the city

Dubai is a city of skyscrapers, ports, and beaches, where big business takes place alongside sun-seeking tourism. Because of its large expatriate population, it feels like a Middle Eastern melting pot, and the atmosphere is generally tolerant. Religious affiliations are not a prominent aspect of city life. Islam is the majority religion, but churches and Hindu temples coexist with Dubai’s mosques.

Dubai is a relatively crime-free place where administrative efficiency and openness to business have encouraged astounding growth. However, criticism of Dubai’s authoritarian government and ruling elite is not tolerated, and there persists an atmosphere of discreet corruption.

Landscape

The western area of Dubai benefits from small stretches of sandy beaches, which have helped to catalyze the city’s tourism industry. Dubai’s rulers have sought to increase the city’s limited seafronts, and, in the absence of natural offshore islands, developers were encouraged to construct giant man-made islands off the coast of the city. The most famous of these is Palm Jumeirah, which has the shape of a palm tree. Others include the “World” islands, a cluster of small islands positioned to resemble a world map when viewed from above.

City site and layout

Britannica Quiz

Largest, Tallest, and Smallest Around the Globe Quiz

Dubai straddles a natural inlet called Dubai Creek on the southern shores of the Persian Gulf. For more than a century, the area was Dubai’s centre, because of the early city’s reliance on fishing, pearl diving, and maritime trade. Lining the creek are the oldest buildings in Dubai, most of which date from the 1960s and are rarely more than two stories in height. In the Bastakiyyah quarter, on the western shore of the creek, some much older buildings have been restored, and many of these feature the distinctive wind tower design that was imported by Persian merchants early in the 20th century.

The new city centre is a string of skyscrapers lining Sheikh Zayed Road. Notable among these are the Emirates Towers, which were built in the late 1990s and early 2000s and which house a hotel and government offices. Close to Sheikh Zayed Road is the Dubai International Financial Centre, housed in a futuristic arch-shaped building, and the Burj Khalifa, which at the time of its official opening in 2010 was the world’s tallest building; it was named after the president of the United Arab Emirates and emir of Abu Dhabi, Khalifa ibn Zayed Al Nahyan. To the west of the skyscrapers lie several affluent suburbs, most of which house substantial villas. On their periphery lies the Burj al-ʿArab, a giant sail-shaped tower which is home to a luxury hotel. Farther west are new clusters of skyscrapers surrounding a man-made marina and several man-made lakes.

Climate

Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Subscribe Now

Like much of the Persian Gulf coastline, Dubai has a year-round hot climate. Humidity is high in the summer months and moderate the rest of the year. The coldest winter month is usually January, with lows of about 15 °C (49 °F), while the hottest summer month is July, with highs of more than 40 °C (104 °F).

People

Dubai’s population has grown steadily over the past two centuries, from just a few thousand local inhabitants to well over two million. Most of the early population increases were due to merchants from neighbouring countries choosing to relocate to Dubai’s business-friendly environment. In the later 20th century the city’s construction boom led to a huge increase in the number of South Asian labourers and an influx of skilled expatriates from all over the world who play an important role in Dubai’s multi-sector economy. Expatriates in the city vastly outnumber native Emiratis. With the exception of the labourers, who are housed in work camps beyond the city limits, expatriates of various nationalities are spread across Dubai. Although Arabic is the official language, English is, in practice, the lingua franca.

The local population is predominately Muslim, and most of the expatriate population is also Muslim, although there are significant Christian, Hindu, and Sikh communities. Given the tolerance of the ruling family toward non-Muslims and the city’s focus on business, the various communities coexist harmoniously, although there have been occasions when foreign residents have broken decency codes or drug-use prohibitions.