As a result of the oil boom, less than 50% of the inhabitants of the UAE are Arabs. There are large groups of Indians, Pakistanis, Iranians and Southeast Asians. The population is, however, 95% Muslim. The capital is Abu Dhabi and the second most important city is Dubai. In the UAE, six years of primary education is free and compulsory. Because of the income from petroleum, health services and social services are provided virtually free.
The people of the UAE are Arab, descended from the tribal confederations dominating the peninsula since before recorded history. Arabic is of course the official language but English is widely spoken and so are Urdu, Malayalam and Tagalog from the Philippines. All these groups add to the diversity of the UAE's cosmopolitan society.