‚The people of the UAE, both expatriates and nationals, are unified by ambition… they are unique from consumers in other major economic and cultural centers, where place typically has the upper hand in shaping the individual…in the UAE, it’s the other way around.‛

CEO of Fallon North America Chris Foster, after working on an advertising campaign for Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank

TOTAL POPULATION Of 4.8 Million, only 15% are nationals 2/3rds under the age of 30 POPULATION GROWTH 6.9% from 2007 to 2008

Expected to drop 20% over the next

2 years due to economic crisis

ETHNIC COMPOSITION 34% Arab 8% Iranian 50% South Asian 8% Western Ex-pats Wealth & power in the hands of the Western & Arabic population

RELIGIOUS STATISTICS Islam 76% Buddhist 5.9% Protestant 5% OFFICIAL LANGUAGE Arabic, but large portion speak English, Hindi & Mandarin Chinese

LIFESTYLE Life Expectancy: 77 years (men), 81 years (women) (UN) GNI per capita: $23,770 GDP per capita: $45, 461 *Less than 0.2% of the country controls 90% of the population’s wealth

LIFESTYLE UNEMPLOYMENT 4% FEMALE FERTILITY 2.23 children/woman INFANT MORTALITY 8.71%

WOMEN 40% of total population (as of 2007) 77% in higher education (highest rate in the world) 33% of economic contribution 60% of government employees 18% of electoral college

PRIMARY SCHOOL ENROLLMENT Total - 91% Females – 48% LITERACY RATE All - 90% Female – 81.7% Male – 76.1% 59.5% read the newspaper

UAE according to Hofstede High Power Distance

High Uncertainty Avoidance High Context

Medium Media Independence High Collectivism

Short-term Time Orientation

Economy

Capitalist Currency – Emirati Dirham 100 Dollars = 367.25 Dirham

The most expensive country for expatriates One of the fastest growing economies in the world

Economy

One of the most developed countries in the world Per capita GDP 14th in the world, 3rd in the Middle East

Petroleum and natural gas exports play an important role in the economy

require at least 51% local citizen ownership in all businesses

Economy

currently $350 billion worth of active construction projects World’s largest artificial islands World’s tallest building World’s most extensive airport World’s largest shopping mall

Economy

Weakening along with the rest of the world Influx of conservative Muslim money slowing

growth and changing formerly liberal atmosphere Announced in November of 2009 inability to pay foreign loans

Owe 50 Billion over the next 3 years May have significant impact on world economy

Political Structure

Restricted democracy Federation of 7 absolute monarchies De facto hereditary presidency and premiership 3 branches of government

Political Structure

President & Ruler of Abu Dhabi - Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Vice President & Ruler of Dubai - Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum Consider themselves a democracy, but refer to leaders as ‚rulers‛ Citizens have no right to change their government Law does not distinguish between church affairs and state affairs

Media

Editors practice self-censorship Criticism of Islam, the government, ruling families

or UAE citizens punishable by imprisonment rarely bash the U.S. because of efforts

toward UAE as a westernized nation Broadcast & publish in English and Arabic

Most channels owned by government

Media

Bloggers report reprimands for writing posts critical of the government or society

Forbids use of Flickr, YouTube and Skype Moving to prohibit MySpace

and Facebook

Infrastructure

20th busiest airport in the world 7th busiest port in the world

Opened Dubai Metro on September 30, carries 27k passengers per hour on 42 trains

Primary mode of transportation: airplanes Road networks connecting all major towns and cities

Two telecom operators: Etisalat & Du, hold 80 and 20% of the market respectively

Influx of one-way ticket purchases as of 2009

Social Structure

class-based society, with migrant workers in the lower classes (largely Asian)

rare ethnic tension, but usually between expatriates Society revolves around Islam

More liberal than Arabic neighbors Ranked third in ‘promoting gender

equality and empowerment of women

Human Rights Issues Human Trafficking Drug Conduit Work Conditions for foreign labor

Fashion Western-style clothing fairly popular among the youth Traditional Adults still wear white kandouras and black dishdasha but with more

decorations than the other more conservative Arab nations

Fashion

Foreigners wearing traditional Arab clothing considered offensive When visiting: Men should wear long-sleeves and long pants, a suit and tie for business Women should wear shapeless clothes with high necklines, low hemlines, no pants and carry a scarf just in case

SPORTS: Cricket (root for Pakistan) Formula One racing – called F1 Soccer

BEHAVIOR

Left hand is considered unclean, so gesture with right hand ‚Thumbs up‛ is offensive

Do not discuss women or Israel Ask permission before photographing people in general

Alcohol is reserved to hotels and bars (mostly tourist locations) Eat with right hand

BEHAVIOR

Remove your shoes before entering a building Men walking hand-in-hand is a sign of friendship

Showing the bottom of your feet is offensive Traditional greeting between men involves grasping each other’s

right hand, placing the left hand on the other’s right shoulder and exchanging kisses on each cheek

COMMUNICATION NUANCES Raised voice not a sign of anger

Short attention span Enjoy long visits and

conversations Normal to interrupt

Expect a personal touch &

praise Enjoy talking one-on-one Less worried about logical

arguments, than being persuaded

COMMUNICATION NUANCES Respond well to frequent

religious references More important to foster

personal relationships and sell your personal values than your company’s mission

Like to talk about family & connections

Sit and stand closer than westerners

RELIGION The majority of the population practices Islam, the religion’s rules and beliefs create the basis for the UAE’s culture, laws and government.

Therefore knowledge of Islam’s beliefs is essential to communicators.

RELIGION ‚Islam‛ means peace, love and a devotion to god ‚A true Muslim is one whose actions

and words do not hurt his fellow man‛ When Muslims greet each other they say

‚May peace be upon you and may God's blessings be with you‛ Prohibited from consuming pork products,

blood, carrion, and alcohol

5 PILLARS OF ISLAM (1) Say Salah, ritual prayer, 5 times a day

(2) Shahadah – testament that Allah is the only god worthy of worship and Mohammed is his messenger

(3) Zakat – alms-giving based on accumulated wealth (4) Sawm – fasting during Ramadan, no eating or drinking from dawn to

dusk while thinking of one’s sins (5) Hajj – Pilgrimage to Meccca, must be made once in a lifetime

Holidays: Eid al-Fitr – Festival marking the end of Ramadan Eid al-Adha – All meet for ritual prayer in public before sacrificing an

animal, distribute meet among the poor Ramadan – month of fasting, must refrain from eating, drinking,

smoking, meant to teach patience, modesty and spirituality

CULTURAL METAPHORS Real estate Extravagance Clothing

(Kandoura & Dishdasha)

NATIONAL ANTHEM

Live my country, the unity of our Emirates lives You have lived for a nation

Whose religion is Islam and guide is the Qur’an I made you stronger in God's name, oh homeland

My country, My country, My country, My country God has protected you from the evils of the time

We have sworn to build and work Work sincerely, work sincerely

As long as we live, we will be sincere The safety has lasted and the flag has lived oh our Emirates

The symbol of Arabism We all sacrifice for you, we supply you with our blood

We sacrifice for you with our souls oh homeland

‚Emiratization‛

New code of conduct for clothing, public behavior Forbids music, dancing, insults, rude gestures

5 – 20% of employees must be Emirati Expatriates must be laid off first

Expatriates must pass ‘a local culture’ test to obtain a visa

WHAT THIS ALL MEANS FOR COMMUNICATION It’s okay to be modern, extravagant and westernized, but make sure to not offend the traditional, conservative Arab population.