What is the population of Dubai?
According to the Dubai Statistics Centre, the current population of Dubai is 1.77 million. This figure is for the end of 2009 / start of 2010. The figure for the previous year was 1.65 million. Depending on which measure is used estimates can vary wildly, with some adding at least a million extra residents to this [...]
Dubai in the twentieth century
Dubai’s proximity to India made it an important port of call for foreign tradesmen, mainly Indian, many of whom eventually settled in the town. Until the 1930s Dubai was known for its pearl exports, but the First World War and then the Great Depression damaged the industry irreparably resulting in a mass exodus to other [...]
The rise, fall and salvation of Dubai
The First Post has a great background piece on the rise and, much exaggerated, fall of Dubai. It features a potted history of how Dubai became so wealthy and why the emirate chose to take the direction it did – because its oil resources were predicted to be exhausted by the 2020s for those who [...]
Why are there so few Americans in Dubai?
You would think that Dubai would be an American’s dream, like a cross between Vegas and New York everything is bigger, grander, gaudier than anywhere else. It has McDonalds, Pizza Hut and all the usual multi-nationals to make them feel at home, yet there are only 19,000 Americans amongst the 1.2 million expat population. It’s [...]