Dubai

Dubai is a big city.

It sits by the sea. It is in a land called the United Arab Emirates.

Long ago, people lived there to fish and find pearls.

Now, the city has very tall buildings. One building is the tallest in the world!

Many people fly to the big airport to visit. It is a very busy place to be.

Dubai is a large city in the United Arab Emirates.

It sits by a creek on the Persian Gulf coast. Long ago, it was a small village. People lived there to fish and find pearls.

In the 1900s, Dubai became a center for trade. It became a free port to help merchants. This meant they did not have to pay taxes on goods.

Oil money helped the city grow very fast. Now, the city has a very thick skyline of tall buildings. One building, the Burj Khalifa, is the tallest in the world.

Dubai is also a place for many travelers. It has a very busy airport. In 2024, over 92 million people used it. Many people live in Dubai, but most are not from there. They move there from other countries to work. The city is famous for tourism and big shops.

It is a very busy and modern place to visit.

Dubai is a very large and busy city.

It is located in the United Arab Emirates. The city sits on a creek along the coast of the Persian Gulf.

Many people live there today. As of 2025, the population is about 4 million people. Most of these people, about 92 percent, are expatriates. This means they moved there from other countries to live and work.

How did Dubai become so big? It started as a small village for fishing and pearling.

In 1901, Dubai became a free port. This meant merchants did not have to pay taxes on things they brought in or sent out. Later, the city found oil. This money helped the city grow from the 1960s to the 1990s. Now, the city does not rely on oil as much. In 2018, oil was less than 1 percent of the city's economy. Today, the city makes money through trade, tourism, and many other services.

The history of this area goes back a very long time. Long ago, people traded goods between the Indus Valley and Mesopotamia. Archaeologists found old items like bronze daggers at sites like Saruq Al Hadid. In the early 1800s, the town was very small. A British surveyor saw a town with only about 1,000 people. It was surrounded by a mud wall. You could see goats and camels walking around the streets. The people lived in simple houses made from palm fronds.

Dubai is famous for its amazing buildings and huge projects.

The city has one of the densest skylines in the world. It is home to the Burj Khalifa, which is the tallest building on Earth.

People have even built new land in the ocean. These are called land-reclamation projects. This has added a lot of new coastline to the city. You can see these shapes from the air, like the Palm Jumeirah.

Traveling to Dubai is very easy because it is a global hub. Dubai International Airport is the busiest airport in the world for international passengers. In 2024, more than 92 million people traveled through it.

The city is also a top place for visitors to explore. In 2024, it was the seventh most-visited city in the whole world. People come to see the big shops and the beautiful sights. It is a place where the old history meets a very modern future.

Dubai is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates.

It serves as the capital of the Emirate of Dubai. The city is located on a creek along the southeastern coast of the Persian Gulf.

As of 2025, the population is approximately 4 million people. A very large majority, 92 percent, are expatriates. These are people living there from other countries. The wider urban area includes Sharjah and has 5 million people. The larger metropolitan area reaches 6 million residents.

The history of this region is incredibly deep and complex. Archaeological sites like Saruq Al Hadid show human activity through many periods. Experts have found items from the Ubaid and Hafit periods. They have also found traces from the Umm Al Nar and Wadi Suq periods. The area was once known as Magan by the Sumerians. It was a major source of metallic goods like copper and bronze. About 5,000 years ago, the coast retreated and covered the area in sand.

Modern Dubai began as a small fishing and pearling settlement. It was established in the early 18th century. By 1822, it was a town of about 700 to 800 Bani Yas tribe members. A British surveyor saw an oval town surrounded by a mud wall.

Goats and camels wandered through the streets. In 1833, the Al Bu Falasah tribe moved to Dubai. This created the Maktoum dynasty that leads the emirate today. The town faced many hardships, including a smallpox epidemic and large fires. In 1896, a fire destroyed half of the houses in Bur Dubai.

Dubai changed significantly due to specific economic policies. In 1901, Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum declared Dubai a free port. This meant there were no taxes on imports or exports. This policy attracted many merchants to the area. The port grew so much that it replaced Lingeh as a chief trading hub. The pearling industry was also vital until it eventually collapsed. This collapse led to a deep economic depression for the residents. Later, oil was discovered, but it was not struck until 1966.

The city used oil revenue to build modern infrastructure. Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum led this development starting in 1958. He used trade revenue and loans to build essential services. This included electricity, telephone networks, and water pipelines. In 1960, an architect named John Harris created a major town plan.

This plan helped organize the growing street system. The city also built its first airport terminal in 1960. These steps helped Dubai transition into a modern global city.

Today, Dubai has a very diverse and massive economy. It no longer relies heavily on oil for wealth. In 2018, oil contributed less than 1 percent to the GDP. The economy now focuses on trade, tourism, and aviation. The Dubai International Financial Centre is a major global hub. Aviation is also a massive part of the city's success. Dubai International Airport is the world's busiest for international passengers. In 2024, it handled over 92 million people.

The skyline of Dubai is one of the densest in the world. It features many famous landmarks and massive construction projects. The Burj Khalifa is the tallest building on Earth.

The city also uses land-reclamation to expand its territory. This process adds artificial coastline to the area. One famous example is the Palm Jumeirah.

These projects have changed the physical shape of the coast. Dubai continues to be a leader in real estate and luxury development.