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The education sector of Dubai is shaped by a population that was 3.2m in early 2019 and around 90% expatriate, making it multinational, multi-ethnic and multicultural. In the 2017/18 academic year, Dubai’s student body included 182 nationalities, with students from India comprising around 33.9% of the total, followed by those from the UAE (11.7%), Pakistan (8%), Egypt (5.5%) and the UK (4.7%), while the emirate’s most diverse school included 114 different ethnicities. Legislation reserves public school seats for Emiratis, meaning that this large percentage of foreign students attend private schools and colleges, which offer a variety of opportunities and incorporate 16 different national curricula.

One of the most rapidly expanding markets in the region in recent years, Dubai’s health care sector is set for further growth, driven by an expanding and ageing population, changing medical needs and a determination by the government to provide all citizens with the best possible health care. Both inpatient and outpatient markets are widely forecast to see double-digit expansion in the run-up to 2022, while subsectors such as medical tourism continue to gain momentum. At the same time, investment in new technologies is gathering pace, with Dubai seek¬ing to become a global leader in high-tech medical applications and digital services, like telemedicine. This chapter contains an interview with Humaid Al Qutami, Director-General, Dubai Health Authority.

Although Dubai’s growth and prosperity have been fuelled by its proximity to oil, its own modest hydrocarbons endowment accounted for just 1.3% of the emirate’s GDP in 2016. Energy’s contribution to national GDP in recent years has averaged around 45% for the UAE as a whole, but only about 5% in Dubai. Still, Dubai operates as a centre for oil and gas trade. The emirate has diversified activities to become a global financial and trading hub, and hydrocarbons continue to have a major impact on economic activity. At the same time, Dubai is right at the forefront of what might be called the new emerging cleaner energy world, by developing and promoting disruptive technologies. This chapter contains interviews with Saif Humaid Al Falasi, Group CEO, Emirates National Oil Company; and Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Managing Director and CEO, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority.

There are few destinations more closely identified with retail than Dubai. Indeed, its duty-free and low-tax shopping is one of the hallmarks of the emirate. Dubai is home to some of the world’s largest malls, most diverse retail outlets and most value-added shopping experiences, with everything from giant aquariums to ski-slopes adorning its air-conditioned retail spaces. Various substantial projects are set to come on-stream in 2019, with established centres also seeing new extensions and refits. Meanwhile, a range of special events, such as Black Friday, White Thursday and Cyber Monday, have extended the shopping calendar far beyond the original Dubai Shopping Festival, which will also extend its running time from four to five weeks in 2019. This chapter contains an interview with Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice-Chairman and CEO, Dubai Duty Free.

Dubai enjoys a global profile as a major destination for both business and leisure, and today boasts some of the world’s leading offerings for hotels, conference centres, entertainment facilities and shopping malls. It is within close flying distance of some of the world’s most dynamic tourism source markets, and the emirate also remains a popular destination for its neighbours in the Gulf. The sector faces mounting challenges: competition is fierce, and low oil and gas prices have dampened the economy. Dubai has also widened its appeal to the mass market, which is more price conscious and careful with its spending. Nevertheless, signs of recovery are now easily recognisable, and it appears that the ability to stay strong in tough market environments will result in future rewards.