this post was submitted on 03 Jun 2025
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Oil makes up 30% of UAE’s GDP and an even smaller percentage of Dubai’s: only 1% according to this Wikipedia article. Dubai is one of seven emirates that make up the UAE. Dubai has existed prior to the discovery of oil as a fishing and trade port, and has been rich before due to pearl diving. It was a major source of pearls before the Japanese invented cultured pearls.
The following map shows Bronze Age trade routes in purple:
Source: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/roads-of-arabia-presents-hundreds-of-recent-finds-that-recast-the-regions-history-127324646/
There are good reasons to hate the UAE such as hosting US soldiers and normalizing with Israel. No need to lie about their history and origin.
Yeah, I don't think pearls or trade is making Dubai that rich anyhow any more. Especially after the Suez and like you said "cultured pearls.”
Neither is oil. The experience of losing pearl money and going poor for some years before oil was discovered is what motivated them to plan moving away from oil decades ago.
They are rich from trade though.
Are they trading slaves for money?
No, when people accuse the UAE of slavery they mean the oppressive and exploitive working conditions that abuse the class and wealth hierarchy, into a form akin to slavery. Not actual slavery where people are being sold outright, that is actually outlawed. In the same sense when people say prison labour, and undocumented migrant labour in some highly developed countries is a form of slave labour. It is not slavery in the traditional sense but still a grave abuse of human rights.
Some progress is being made on the matter, and there's still a long way ahead. India-UAE Progress on Migration Agreements and Mobility Pacts. India’s Labour Agreements with the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries: An Assessment.
Trade makes up 26% of it's GDP. That's the largest contributor.
Trade in what, that makes no sense... Oil and gas exports make up 85% of its economy
Once a city gets big enough it can be self sustaining from the people that live there and tourism even if manufacturing or resource extraction dies.