The third-largest emirate in the UAE after Abu Dhabi and Dubai, Sharjah stands as a prime manufacturing, cultural and education destination in the country. It is home to two amphitheatres, 16 museums, a variety of year-round festivals and University City of Sharjah, with more than 22 colleges and universities – all of which contribute to its distinct identity.
Sharjah has a robust and diversified economy, where nearly 96% of economic activity is non-oil based and no single industry exceeds 20% of GDP. With six specialised free zones, flexible investment options and advanced infrastructure, Sharjah is well positioned in manufacturing, commerce and creative industries. As it continues to foster diversity, establish new partnerships and leverage modern technology for development, it aims to solidify its place on the world’s investment map.
Geography
Situated in the north-eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula, Sharjah is the only constituent emirate of the UAE with coastlines on both the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Covering an area of 2590 sq km, the emirate includes the regional towns of Al Dhaid and Al Badayer, as well as three exclaves on the Gulf of Oman: Khorfakkan, Kalba and Dibba Al Hisn. Sharjah is also home to one of two counter-enclaves in the world – Nahwa, a village located inside the Omani enclave of Madha. Al Dhaid, the third-largest town, is a centre for fruit and vegetable production, while Kalba has a rich historical heritage. Dibba Al Hisn is known for its beaches, whereas Al Badayer is home to expansive deserts. On the eastern coast, Khorfakkan, Sharjah’s largest coastal town, has the Khorfakkan Container Terminal – the only natural deepwater port in the region and the only UAE container port on the Gulf of Oman. Sharjah City, the emirate’s primary population centre and home to 85% of its residents, is located some 170 km from the UAE’s capital, Abu Dhabi City, and around 27 km from downtown Dubai.
Sharjah shares borders with all six other emirates: Dubai and Abu Dhabi to the south, Umm Al Quwain and Ajman to the north, and Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah to the north-east. Inland, Sharjah’s landscape is dominated by the oasis town of Al Dhaid, where water channelled from the adjacent Hajar Mountains irrigates extensive date palm plantations. Despite its desert surroundings, Sharjah is rich in flora and fauna, with around 3500 endemic plants, more than 100 species of birds and a diverse range of wildlife, including the Arabian oryx, as well as a wide variety of insects and reptiles. To help celebrate this, Sharjah Safari, the largest safari outside Africa, was established in 2022.
Climate
Winters are generally mild, with temperatures ranging between 14°C and 23°C. Like the rest of the UAE, Sharjah experiences hot and humid conditions along its coastal areas between May and October, with temperatures exceeding 46°C and humidity levels of up to 100%. The inland regions, for their part, are characterised by a desert climate, featuring hot and dry summers and cooler winters.
History
Archaeological evidence of early stone tools reveals human activity in Sharjah around 130,000 years ago. The emirate’s modern history, however, began in 1727, when the Al Qasimi tribe gained control of the area and declared Sharjah’s independence.
Early interactions with European powers, especially the British Navy, were fractious and marked by maritime conflicts. However, in 1820 a peace accord made Sharjah a British protectorate in an effort to avoid interference from the Ottoman Empire. In 1853 Sharjah became a member of the Trucial States – the collective name given to the emirates at that time – and during the late 19th and early 20th centuries it enjoyed prosperity as a significant pearl-fishing port. Between 1823 and 1954 Sharjah was the base for Britain’s only political representative on the Trucial Coast, demonstrating its importance to the colonial power.
The emirate also emerged as a strategic transport centre during this period. The construction of Sharjah’s airport in 1932, initially serving as a staging ground for Imperial Airways flights between England and India, was the first airport in the emirates and its runway is still in use as a main road. This connection to the outside world helped offset the decline of the pearl trade in the 1930s, as well as the subsequent contraction of maritime trade stemming from the silting up of Sharjah Creek.
In the 1970s the emirate entered a new era of development, joining the UAE as a founding member in 1971 and gaining a new leader in 1972 with the succession of Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi. That same year the emirate struck oil in the Mubarak field, located 80 km offshore, and within two years Sharjah was producing 35,000 barrels per day. Under the stewardship of Sheikh Sultan, the emirate grew in both population and prosperity in the intervening years, while at the same time maintaining strong links to its cultural heritage.
Government
Sharjah is a constitutional monarchy and one of seven members of the UAE, a federation of hereditary monarchies. The highest level of government in the country is the Federal Supreme Council, made up of the rulers of Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah and Umm Al Quwain.
Although the president and the prime minister of the UAE are electable by the Federal Supreme Council, custom dictates that the ruler of Abu Dhabi holds the presidency, while Dubai’s ruler fills the post of prime minister. Since 2006 a half-elected federal National Council – made up of 40 members drawn from all seven emirates – has played a consultative role in government.
At the local level, Sharjah Municipality is responsible for providing civic services. First established in 1927, the municipality was granted its modern mandate in 1971. Many of its functions have moved online following the opening of the Sharjah eGovernment Portal. With this development, local citizens and residents can access popular services, such as passport issuance, parking permits, home care services for seniors, and requests for assistance with marital and familial disputes.
Demographics
The latest official census figures show that Sharjah is home to a population that is young, urban, employed or studying, and predominantly expatriate. According to the 2022 census carried out by the Department of Statistics and Community Development, Sharjah’s population has grown by 22% since 2015, reaching 1.8m in 2022, with 1.6m expatriates and 208,000 Emirati citizens. This builds on a jump of 77% over the previous decade, from over 793,500 in 2005 to 1.4m in 2015. The expatriate population is over twothirds male, with 1.1m males outnumbering the female expatriate population by more than 600,000. The gender ratio among Emirati citizens is more balanced, with slightly more females (105,000) than males (103,000).
The emirate’s age profile also skews relatively young, with a median age of 32.6. Individuals aged between 20 and 39 years make up the emirate’s largest segment, accounting for 51% of the total population, followed by 40 to 59 years (24%), 19 years and younger (22%), and those over 60 years of age (3%). Sharjah’s workforce comprises 61% of the population, with a 22% increase since the last census in 2015, totalling 1.1m in 2022. The emirate has also solidified its role as an education centre, with a 23% increase in students since the 2015 census, from 253,000 in 2015 to 310,000 as of 2022.
South Asian countries account for a large proportion of the expatriate population, with India, Pakistan and Bangladesh among the most common countries of origin. Many Sharjah residents commute to the neighbouring emirate of Dubai to work. This is largely attributable to the more affordable real estate and lower cost of living in Sharjah, as well as good road connections between the two emirates.
Language & Religion
Arabic is the official language of Sharjah, as in the rest of the UAE. Nevertheless, English is widely spoken and commonly used for business communications and public affairs. The emirate’s large South Asian population means that Hindi and Urdu are also prevalent among a sizeable portion of the expatriate demographic. While Islam is the official religion of the UAE, religious freedom is enshrined in the constitution, leading to a diverse range of religions practised by the large expatriate population. In addition to Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism and other faiths are represented.
Economy
The discovery of oil in Sharjah led to an economic boom, but even in its early stages the emirate’s leadership understood the importance of developing a non-oil economy. The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry was created in 1970 to broaden the range of economic activities taking place in the emirate. Since then it has overseen the development of a diversified industrial base, including petrochemicals, textiles and leather, basic non-metals, foodstuffs and wood industries. Sharjah has demonstrated economic resilience, rebounding from the Covid-19 pandemic with significant expansion, expanding by 4.8% in 2021 and 5.2% in 2022, when GDP surpassed Dh137bn ($37.3bn). This performance was led by accommodation and food services (18%), human health and social work (7.9%), public administration and defence (6.6%), and agriculture, forestry and fishing (6%). In terms of the largest contributors to Sharjah’s GDP, wholesale and retail trade, and the repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (24%) topped the list, followed by manufacturing (16.7%), real estate (9.7%), construction (9%), and public administration and defence (7.5%).
Initiatives
Over the past decade Sharjah has launched various initiatives aimed at developing the emirate’s domestic economy and encouraging greater levels of inward investment. These include start-up support for small and medium-sized enterprises and the 2009 establishment of the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority – known as Shurooq – as an independent body that oversees social, cultural, environmental and economic development in line with Sharjah’s Islamic identity. As the only emirate in the UAE with ports on both the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, in addition to the country’s strategic location between Europe and Asia, Sharjah is well positioned to be a central player in international trade and logistics.
Along with building competitive underlying transport infrastructure – from the Khorfakkan Container Terminal on the Gulf of Oman, to Sharjah International Airport – the emirate has developed a network of free zones and industrial zones to solidify its position as an exporter and re-exporter. As part of its focus on industrial development, Sharjah has established a total of six free zones since the first two – Hamriyah Free Zone and Sharjah Airport International Free Zone – launched in 1995. The four other free zones are Sharjah Publishing City, Sharjah Media City, Sharjah Healthcare City, and Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park (see Construction & Real Estate chapter).
Tourism is another crucial element of the ongoing diversification drive, with Sharjah holding a 10% share of the UAE tourism economy as of 2019. Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority’s Vision 2021 initiative aimed to attract 10m annual visitors by that year – a goal which was postponed to 2022 due to the pandemic. The strategy, launched in 2015, sought to develop the emirate into a top regional destination for family tourism by investing in a range of ecotourism and cultural attractions. The initiative has contributed to an increase in investment in tourism and supporting infrastructure, including a Dh2.4bn ($653m) expansion of Sharjah International Airport that is set to boost annual passenger-handling capacity from 8m to more than 20m by 2026. The airport achieved a growth of 84.7% in passenger traffic to 13m in 2022, reaching pre-pandemic levels (see Transport chapter).
Culture
In addition to economic development, Sharjah’s leadership has nurtured a strong cultural identity in the emirate. In 1998 UNESCO recognised this achievement by naming Sharjah the Cultural Capital of the Arab Region. Further international recognitions followed, including the title of Islamic Culture Capital in 2014 from the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, and the designation as UNESCO World Book Capital in 2019. The Sharjah Museums Authority oversees operations of 16 museums, including the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation, the Sharjah Archaeology Museum and the Sharjah Heritage Museum. Many of these are built into Sharjah City’s Heritage Area, a district in the centre of the city characterised by well-preserved or restored buildings showcasing the region’s traditional architecture.
Events
This emphasis on heritage is complemented by the emirate’s long-established role as a centre for arts and culture. Since 2009 the Sharjah Art Foundation has brought a range of art and cultural programmes to the communities of Sharjah, the UAE and the wider region. The emirate is also home to the Sharjah Biennial, a contemporary art event that was inaugurated in 1993 and has become a fixture in the Middle East’s cultural calendar and one of the most respected contemporary art events in the region. The 15th edition ran between February and June 2023, and united 150 artists and collectives from over 70 countries.
As an indicator of the emirate’s long-standing focus on promoting culture and the arts, Expo Centre Sharjah was established in 1977 as the first exhibition venue in the country, and it moved to its current location in 2002. The 128,000-sq-metre exhibition hall hosts the annual Sharjah International Book Fair, which typically attracts hundreds of local and international publishers, thousands of titles and leading authors. Another annual cultural attraction in the emirate is the Sharjah Light Festival, a nightly art exhibition that takes place during February and sees a number of Emirati and foreign artists make use of the latest graphics and lighting techniques for their installations. In 2023 the 12th edition of the 10-day festival took place across 13 locations, including some of the emirate’s most prominent buildings, such as the Al Noor Mosque, University City Hall and the Khalid Lagoon.
Sharjah is one of the most pedestrian-friendly emirates in the UAE. Residents frequent popular public spaces such as Al Qasba, Flag Island and Noor Island, while traditional Gulf architecture is preserved in Sharjah City’s Heart of Sharjah, a preservation and restoration project funded by the Sharjah Art Foundation.
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