The United Arab Emirates Case of Economic Success

Figure 14. Aerial view of Abu Dhabi during the early 1960's 
Source: Langton, 2013 
The UAE economy was witnessing the very modest beginnings of a transitioning 
phase propelled by the discovery of oil. Nonetheless, the country was still heavily 
marked by its subsistence economy which was characterized by subsistence 
agriculture, pearling extraction, fishing and trading. The UAE still faced poverty 
and presented several deficiencies within its seven emirates (Al Abed, 2001). It 
was in light of such a scenario that during the 1960’s the former Trucial States 
received financial support from Great Britain, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi 
Arabia in order to begin its socio-economic development (Hawley, 1970). On the 
outskirts of its establishment as a Federation in 1971, the UAE had indeed little 
prospects of survival as a viable State (Al Abed & Hellyer, 2001). If the Emirates 
faced the risk of not being a viable nation, how could they be a viable economy? 
More than 40 years later, by undergoing an impressive economic transformation, 
the UAE achieved «…record-breaking rates of growth in all fields, which has 
placed it at the top in terms of global competitiveness.» (Wam, 2014). 

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Furthermore, the UAE has earned the status of one of the most developed 
countries in the world, with sustainable growth in the several sectors and fields 
that constitute its economy, such as trade, investment, tourism, infrastructure 
and human and social development (Wam, 2014). As Anderson et al. (2015) 
suggest «…the UAE is today a politically stable country that has achieved high-
income status and plays an active role shaping regional and global affairs». 
As of 2015 the UAE presents the following characteristics: 
Table 2. UAE - General Country Information 
Source: AICEP, 2016; IMF, 2016