KNIGHT FRANK UAE
Dubai’s evolution
Discover Dubai’s phenomenal rise from a simple fishing community to a distinguished global metropolis.
The UAE celebrated 50 years since its inception in 2023, growing from an emerging port into one of the world’s leading financial, business and tourism hubs in just half a century.
A record AED196bn three-year government spending plan was announced in 2020, showing a clear ambition to propel Dubai’s boundless progress for decades to come.
The evolution of Dubai
1833 to 1970s
- Dubai's first settlement was created in what is now Dubai Creek in 1833.
- Throughout the 19th century, the creek was Dubai’s commercial heart, injecting life into the fishing, pearling and maritime industries.
- In the 1950s, Dubai's leader Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum sought financial assistance from the Emir of Kuwait to dredge the creek to accommodate increasing cargo traffic.
- Port Rashid opened in 1972, the year the remainder of the seven emirates joined its neighbours to form the UAE.
- Just a few years before the emergence of this new nation, Dubai struck oil and began producing it by the end of the 1960s.
1970s to early 2000s
- Sheikh Rashid wanted to ensure the longevity of this financial growth so directed the income to developing Dubai’s economy.
- He established Jebel Ali Port in 1979 and the Jebel Ali Free Zone around it in 1985, the same year Emirates Airline helped open up travel between Dubai and the world.
- Within a decade, Dubai welcomed a million tourists per year, and the city’s airport became the busiest in the world by 2016.
- Dubai Investment Park, Dubai Airport Free Zone, Dubai Airport’s second terminal and the iconic Burj Al Arab were created in Sheikh Maktoum's first decade in charge in the 1990s.
- Dubai’s global appeal flourished under Sheikh Maktoum, who implemented the foreign ownership decree in 2002, allowing expats to own property in designated locations.
Early 2000s and beyond
- Sheikh Mohammed continued his brother's work cementing Dubai's financial, business and tourism credentials, utilising its proximity to world-leading cities within an eight-hour flight.
- Landmark projects like the Dubai Metro, the Burj Khalifa, and the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre express the ambition of its leaders to showcase Dubai as the embodiment of endeavour and progression.
- The UAE’s 50th anniversary celebration coincided with the extension of the Al Maktoum International Airport, now handling 120m passengers, rising to a potential 200m by 2050.
- With laws allowing 100% onshore foreign business ownership for 122 activities across 13 sectors, and relaxed visa regulations for high-net-worth over 55s, the emirate continues to be a world-leading, welcoming destination.
- It’s likely Dubai will be at the forefront of the next major global development, forging a historic path as its ancestors did when exploring a little-known creek less than 200 years ago.
