Did you know? · Dubai
Dubai fun facts
Things you might not know about Dubai. Every fact comes from an official or primary source, named alongside it.
Updated October 2026
The tallest building
Burj Khalifa is 828 metres tall and opened in 2010. Its design is based on an abstraction of the Hymenocallis desert flower; its facade has 26,000 hand-cut glass panels, and cleaning the whole building takes three months (visitdubai.com).
Guinness World Records
The Link at One Za’abeel is the world’s longest cantilevered building, at 67.227 metres (1 March 2024), and the pool at Address Beach Resort, 293.90 metres up, is the world’s highest outdoor infinity pool in a building (2021) (Guinness World Records).
Pearls to towers
Pearling shaped the Gulf’s economy from the late 18th century until the trade declined in the 1930s (Dubai Culture). The UAE was formed on 2 December 1971, now National Day; Ras Al Khaimah joined on 10 February 1972 (u.ae). The Dubai Metro opened on 9 September 2009.
Two World Heritage sites
The UAE has two UNESCO World Heritage sites: the Cultural Sites of Al Ain and, since 2025, the Faya Palaeolandscape in Sharjah (UNESCO).
An island in the Gulf
Palm Jumeirah covers 560 hectares, and 1.5 million cubic metres of marine sand were added to its beaches between 2022 and 2023 (Nakheel).
A MICHELIN city
The fifth MICHELIN Guide Dubai, published on 6 October 2026, lists 122 restaurants and 38 cuisines, with two Three-Star restaurants: FZN by Björn Frantzén and Trèsind Studio (guide.michelin.com).
Questions and answers
How tall is Burj Khalifa?
828 metres (visitdubai.com).
When was the UAE formed?
On 2 December 1971 (u.ae).