United Arab Emirates: Flag and Facts
The United Arab Emirates flag has green, white and black horizontal stripes of equal size, with a wider vertical red band along the left side.
- Capital
- Abu Dhabi
- Region
- Western Asia
- Population
- 10 million (2025)
- Languages
- Arabic
- Currency
- United Arab Emirates dirham
- Area
- 83,600 km² (32,278 sq mi)
- People
- Emirati
- Calling code
- +971
- Highest point
- Jabal Bil 'Ays 1,905 m
- Independence
- 2 December 1971 (from the UK)
- National symbols
- golden falcon
- Borders
- Oman, Saudi Arabia
About United Arab Emirates
In 19th-century treaties, the Trucial States on the Persian Gulf coast let Britain run their defense and foreign affairs. In 1971 six of those states, including Abu Dhabi and Dubayy, joined to form the United Arab Emirates, and Ra's al Khaymah became the seventh member in 1972. Independence from the UK is dated 2 December 1971, which is now National Day.
Oil and global finance powered the economy for more than three decades. The land is mostly a flat coastal plain that turns into rolling sand dunes and desert, with mountains in the east. About 10.1 million people live in the country. Dubai is the biggest city at about 3 million, ahead of Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, the capital, at roughly 1.6 million.
Did you know?
- The golden falcon is the national symbol of the UAE.
- Jabal Bil 'Ays, the highest point, rises 1,905 meters.
- The government is a federation of monarchies.
Want to test yourself? The random flag generator has a quiz mode, and the full flags of the world page shows every flag at once.
Questions about United Arab Emirates
What do the colors of the UAE flag stand for?
Green is fertility, white is neutrality, black is oil and red is unity.
What currency does the UAE use?
The UAE dirham.
Sources
- CIA World Factbook, checked October 8, 2026
- REST Countries data (mledoze/countries), checked October 8, 2026
- Flag artwork: flag-icons (MIT), checked October 8, 2026
Facts are compiled from these open sources and rewritten in our own words. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.