Urban Areas

The population of the UAE is overwhelmingly urban, with more than 90 percent of the people living in cities. Abu Dhabi, the federal capital, had an estimated population of 1,000,000 in 2002. Dubai, the second largest city and the UAE's main port and commercial center, had an estimated population of 860,000 in 2002.

The residential neighborhoods along the Persian Gulf coast north of the center of Dubai were contiguous with those of the city of Sharjah (estimated population of 130,000). Sharjah in turn flowed into the city of Ajman (estimated population of 30,000). About fifty kilometers north of Ajman is the city of Ras al Khaymah (estimated population of 45,000). The largest inland population concentration is in the contiguous villages and residential developments at Al Ayn (estimated population of 105,000) in Abu Dhabi's Al Buraymi Oasis.