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Dubai is situated on the PersianGulf coast of the United Arab Emirates and is roughly at sea level(16 m/52 ft above). The emirate of Dubai shares borders with AbuDhabi in the south, Sharjah in the northeast, and the Sultanate of Oman in thesoutheast. Hatta, a minor exclave of the emirate, is surrounded on three sidesby Oman and by the emirates of Ajman (in the west) and Ras Al Khaimah (in thenorth). The Persian Gulf borders the western coast of the emirate. Dubai caneither refer to an emirate (one of seven) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) inthe eastern Arabian Peninsula, or that emirate's main city, sometimes called"Dubai city" to distinguish it from the emirate.

Dubai lies directly within the ArabianDesert. However, the topography of Dubai is significantly different from thatof the southern portion of the UAE in that much of Dubai's landscape ishighlighted by sandy desert patterns, while gravel deserts dominate much of thesouthern region of the country. Dubai has a hot and, at times, humid climate(drier during extreme heat) with many months recording temperatures of over40 °C (104 °F).

Dubai has the largest populationand is the second largest emirate by area, after Abu Dhabi. A majority of theemirate's revenues are from trade, manufacturing and financial services.Revenues from petroleum and natural gas contribute less than 6% (2006) ofDubai's US$ 37 billion economy (2005). Dubai has attracted world-wideattention through innovative real estate projects and sports events. This increasedattention, coinciding with its emergence as a world business hub, has alsohighlighted human rights issues concerning its largely foreign workforce.

Dubai's gross domestic product asof 2005 was US$37 billion. Although Dubai's economy was built on the back ofthe oil industry, revenues from oil and natural gas currently account for lessthan 6% of the emirate's revenues. It is estimated that Dubai produces 240,000 barrelsof oil a day and substantial quantities of gas from offshore fields. The emirate'sshare in UAE's gas revenues is about 2%. Dubai's oil reserves have diminishedsignificantly and are expected to be exhausted in 20 years. Trade (16%), entrepôt (15%) and financial services (11%) are the largestcontributors to Dubai's economy. Dubai's top re-exporting countries include Iran(US$ 790 million), India (US$ 204 million) and Saudi Arabia (US$ 194 million).The emirate's top importing countries are Japan (US$ 1.5 billion), China (US$1.4 billion) and the United States (US$ 1.4 billion).

The Dubai Financial Market (DFM)was established in March 2000 as a secondary market for trading securities and bonds,both local and foreign. As of fourth quarter 2006, its trading volume stood atabout 400 billion shares, worth US$ 95 billion in total. The DFM had a marketcapitalization of about US$ 87 billion. The government's decision to diversifyfrom a trade-based, but oil-reliant, economy to one that is service andtourism-oriented has made real estate more valuable, resulting in the propertyappreciation from 2004–2006. Large scale real estate development projects haveled to the construction of some of the tallest skyscrapers and largest projectsin the world such as the Emirates Towers, the Burj Dubai, the Palm Islands andthe world's tallest, and most expensive, hotel the Burj Al Arab.