11 interesting facts about Dubai 

1. Dubai was mostly a desert 30 years ago

Dubai, founded in 1833 by Sheikh Maktoum, is one of the fastest growing cities in the world. In 1966, small pockets of oil were discovered then just 3 years later, Dubai starting exporting oil. In 1974, plans for Dubai International Airport were launched and in 1985 Emirates Airline (as we know it) was introduced. Then after 1999, 73 buildings over 200m were completed. It's now home to 108 buildings higher than 180m.  

2. Dubai has the tallest building in the world

The Burj Khalifa is the worlds tallest building; it took six years to build, work started in January 2004 and the Burj was opened on January 4, 2010. It's 828m tall, containing 163 floors. The average male is 1.77m tall, so imagine that's 467 people stood on top of one another or to put it into perspective it's three times as tall as the Eiffel Tower, it's ginormous!

3. Number Plate Status - it's a thing

Basically, the shorter your number plate the richer you look in Dubai - it's crazy right!? The worlds most expensive number plate was recently sold in Dubai for a whopping £12,000,000. Yes, you read that right, the number plate read 'P 7' which in Dubai is shown as '7' because of the layout of the number plate. The auction took place in the Four Seasons Hotel located in Dubai on April  9th 2023. Amazingly, the money was donated to charity to support efforts to combat global hunger.

4. They use robot jockeys for camel races

Camel Racing is a million dollar industry in Dubai. Unfortunately, children used to be illegally sold for the use of camel racing many years ago. However in the UAE in 2001, it became illegal to use children in camel racing, so this industry had to think of an innovative way to keep the sport going. They then developed an idea of robots riding the camels in 2004, these robots are controlled with a remote by operators driving alongside the race track, they even have features such as remote controlled whips.

5. The most water consumption is from Dubai

Out of all the Emirates, Dubai has the most water consumption. In the residential areas, recent studies show that more than 79.6 billion gallons of water was consumed in 2022. Which is unsurprising in temperatures reaching almost 50 degrees celsius.  

6. There are 7 times more foreigners than locals in Dubai

Dubai is one of the most welcoming cities in the world for foreigners. Recently, Dubai has made it easier than ever to start a life out in this beautiful city. Known as the 'City of Gold', with plenty of working opportunities and tax free incomes, you'd be lying if you said you didn't want to move out here. Only 1.15 million people are local Emiratis compared to 8.84 million foreigners in the UAE. 

7. The Palm Jumeirah is one of the largest man-made islands ever built

Built in 2007, the Palm Jumeirah is an artificial Island in Dubai, built as you guessed it, in the shape of a Palm tree. It houses private residences, hotels and shops. The outer layer of the Palm also known as the crescent is 10.5 miles long from one tip to the other.

8. They have ATM's for gold

Yes, this is actually true. Dubai has 2 ATM machines filled with gold, one located in the Atlantis the Palm hotel and the other located in the Souk Madinat. This ATM has products such as watches, heart shaped bars and standard bars all made from pure gold. The price is updated every minute to reflect changes in the international price of gold.

9. Dubai currently has 339 Guiness World Records

From the worlds largest Airport terminal to the fastest police car, Dubai has the worlds 'best' of everything! Things such as the worlds largest building, the worlds tallest chocolate sculpture, the worlds largest vertical maze, the worlds longest gold chain, Dubai really is the city of innovation. 

10. There was only one skyscraper in 1991

How crazy does that sound? Dubai just having one skyscraper only 30 years ago, well they now build at least 10 skyscrapers a year. In 2007, they finished 41 buildings taller than 100m. Dubai is now ranked 4th on the 'Top 10 cities with the most Skyscrapers' behind Hong Kong, Shenzen and NYC. 

11. UAE performs around 1000 hours of cloud seeding a year

Cloud Seeding is a technique used by the UAE government to address water challenges. Cloud Seeding is a type of weather modification which improves a clouds ability to produce rain or snow. This is done by airplanes sprinkling particles into the clouds and modifying them which can induce rain. Since 2015, the UAE have spent £14 million on cloud seeding. 

If these 11 interesting facts don't give you a reason to visit Dubai, then we're not sure what will! Check out our YouTube video below and subscribe for more updates!