Dubai has been one of the most exciting and volatile economic stories of the 21st century.
It's global, glitzy, and growing like crazy.
It also has a red-hot property market that has experts warning of a collapsing bubble. Related concerns have been tied to recent crashes in Dubai's stock market.
Still, the tiny economy has developed into a world city that is a business and cultural focal point in the Middle East, and it has the attention of the world.
Tourism and real estate drive the economy, and there seems to be a never-ending development of innovative and over-the-top projects.
One out of every 4 cranes on Earth is located in Dubai.
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Dubai's real estate is growing so fast, that 24% of the the cranes on Earth are located in Dubai.
Source: Gulf News
Dubai's artificial Palm Islands imported enough sand to fill 2.5 Empire State Buildings.
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The construction of Dubai's Palm Islands required 94 million cubic meters of sand.
The Empire State Building is 37 million cubic meters.
Source: Palm Islands Impact
The Burj Al Arab uses enough gold inside to cover 46,265 Mona Lisa paintings.
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The interior of the Burj Al Arab is decorated with approximately 1,790 square meters of 24-carat gold leaf. The surface area of the Mona Lisa is 0.3869 square meters.
Source: Burj Al Arab, Jemeirah
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