Ras Al Khaimah رَأْس ٱلْخَيْمَة | |
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    Clockwise from top: Mangroves are seen from Al Qawasim corniche flagpole, Ras Al Khaimah creek, Rotana resort in Ras Al Khaimah, Ras Al Khaimah fort museum | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
  Ras Al Khaimah Location of RAK City within the UAE Show map of United Arab Emirates Ras Al Khaimah Ras Al Khaimah (Persian Gulf) Show map of Persian Gulf Ras Al Khaimah Ras Al Khaimah (Middle East) Show map of Middle East Ras Al Khaimah Ras Al Khaimah (West and Central Asia) Show map of West and Central Asia | |
| Coordinates:25°46′N55°57′E / 25.767°N 55.950°E /25.767; 55.950 | |
| Country |  United Arab Emirates |
| Emirate |  Ras Al Khaimah |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipality |
| • Sheikh | Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi |
| Area | |
• Total | 373 km2 (144 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 40 m (130 ft) |
| Population (2025)[1] | |
• Total | 191,753 |
| • Density | 514/km2 (1,330/sq mi) |
| GDP | |
| • Metro | US$ 15 billion (2025) |
| • Per capita | US$ 32,500 (2025) |
| Time zone | UTC+4 (UAE Standard Time) |
| Website | RAK.ae |
Ras Al Khaimah (Arabic:رَأْس ٱلْخَيْمَة;/raʔs͜ɪlˈxajma/,Emirati Arabic :[räːs͜ɪlχe̞ːmɛ] ), often referred to its initialsRAK, is an industrial port city[3] and the largest city and capital of theEmirate of Ras Al Khaimah in theU.A.E. The city had a population of 191,753 people in 2025,[4] and is thesixth-most populous city in UAE afterDubai,Abu Dhabi,Sharjah,Al Ain andAjman. The city is divided by a creek into two parts: old town in the west andAl Nakheel in the east.[5] The town is the successor to the Islamic era port and trading hub ofJulfar.
Ras Al Khaimah translates to "Headland of the Tent".[6] The Arabic wordKhaimah (خَيْمَة) means 'tent', but also refers to the palm frond orareesh houses that were common in the area.[7]
Ras Al Khaimah has been the site of continuous human habitation for 7,000 years, with archaeological finds dating back to theNeolithic.[8] The northern area of the city today known as Ras Al Khaimah was previously the location of the important Islamic era settlement and port ofJulfar.[9] Although Julfar and Ras Al Khaimah are often placed together, they are in fact two different settlements with distinctive histories. Julfar was abandoned in the early 17th Century as Ras Al Khaimah rose. Julfar itself had a predecessor settlement,Kush, today located in suburbs to the north of the city.[10]
One of Ras Al Khaimah's most celebrated sons,Ibn Majid, was a hugely influential seaman, navigator and cartographer,[11][12] and there is evidence in his writing that the town he came from was at that time known as Ras Al Khaimah,[6] that town having eclipsed Julfar as the principal port and settlement of the Shimal coast.
In the early 18th century, theQawasim (singular Al Qasimi) established themselves in Ras Al Khaimah andSharjah on theArabian Peninsula, growing to become a significant maritime force with holdings on both the Persian and Arabian coasts that frequently came into conflict with British flagged shipping.[13]
In the aftermath of a series of attacks against shipping sailing under Omani flags and following 1809 monsoon season, the British mounted thePersian Gulf campaign of 1809 against Ras Al Khaimah, in which the Al Qasimi fleet was largely destroyed. The British operation continued toLingeh on the Persian coast which was, like theGreater and Lesser Tunbs islands, administered by the Al Qasimi.[13][14]
By the morning of 14 November, the military expedition was over and the British forces returned to their ships, having suffered light casualties of five killed and 34 wounded. Arab losses are unknown, but were probably significant, while the damage done to the Al Qasimi fleets was severe: a significant portion of their vessels had been destroyed.[15]
Following the 1809 campaign, an 1815 arrangement was made between the British and the Al Qasimi.[16] However, by 1819 it was clear the arrangement had broken down and so in November of that year, the British embarked on asecond expedition against the Al Qasimi at Ras Al Khaimah, led by Major-GeneralWilliam Keir Grant.[17]
The force gathered off the coast of Ras Al Khaimah on 25 and 26 November and, on 2 and 3 December, troops were landed south of the town and set up batteries of guns and mortars and, on 5 December, the town was bombarded from both land and sea for a period of four days, until, on 9 December, the fortress and town of Ras Al Khaimah were stormed and found to be practically deserted. On the fall of Ras Al Khaimah, three cruisers were sent to blockade Rams to the North and this, too was found to be deserted and its inhabitants retired to the 'impregnable' hill-topfort of Dhayah.[18]
TheBritish landed a force at Rams on 18 December, which fought its way inland through date plantations to Dhayah Fort on the 19th. There, 398 men and another 400 women and children held out, without sanitation, water or effective cover from the sun, for three days under heavy fire from mortars and 12-pound cannon.[19]
The two 24-pound cannon fromHMS Liverpool which had been used to bombard Ras Al Khaimah from the landward side were once again pressed into use and dragged across the plain from Rams, a journey of some four miles. Each of the guns weighed over 2 tonnes. After enduring two hours of sustained fire from the big guns, which breached the fort's walls, the last of the Al Qasimi surrendered at 10.30 on the morning of 22 December.[19]
In January 1820, the British imposed theGeneral Maritime Treaty of 1820 signed bySheikh Sultan Bin Saqr Al Qasimi of Sharjah who was reinstated by the British in Ras Al Khaimah after the deposition ofHassan bin Rahma Al Qasimi.[20] The treaty stipulated the end of piracy and slavery, and laid the foundation for theBritish protectorate over theTrucial States that lasted until December 1st 1971.
A British protectorate from this point forward, as one of theTrucial States, in 1869, Ras Al Khaimah became fully independent from neighbouringSharjah. From September 1900 to 7 July 1921, it was re-incorporated into Sharjah; the last governor became its next independent ruler.[21]
The last of the Trucial States to join the newly independent United Arab Emirates, on 10 February 1972, Ras Al Khaimah, under the leadership of SheikhSaqr bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, joined the United Arab Emirates following the Iranianseizure of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs.[22]
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| Climate data forRas Al Khaimah International Airport (1991–2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 32.2 (90.0) | 39.7 (103.5) | 42.9 (109.2) | 44.7 (112.5) | 48.5 (119.3) | 49.0 (120.2) | 48.6 (119.5) | 48.3 (118.9) | 47.6 (117.7) | 43.6 (110.5) | 37.8 (100.0) | 34.0 (93.2) | 49.0 (120.2) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 25.2 (77.4) | 27.0 (80.6) | 30.3 (86.5) | 35.8 (96.4) | 40.9 (105.6) | 42.0 (107.6) | 43.3 (109.9) | 43.0 (109.4) | 41.1 (106.0) | 37.5 (99.5) | 32.0 (89.6) | 27.4 (81.3) | 35.5 (95.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 18.6 (65.5) | 20.2 (68.4) | 23.0 (73.4) | 27.5 (81.5) | 32.1 (89.8) | 34.4 (93.9) | 36.2 (97.2) | 35.9 (96.6) | 33.1 (91.6) | 29.2 (84.6) | 24.5 (76.1) | 20.4 (68.7) | 28.0 (82.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 12.2 (54.0) | 13.6 (56.5) | 16.2 (61.2) | 19.7 (67.5) | 23.8 (74.8) | 26.7 (80.1) | 29.7 (85.5) | 29.4 (84.9) | 26.0 (78.8) | 21.7 (71.1) | 17.5 (63.5) | 13.8 (56.8) | 20.9 (69.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 4.8 (40.6) | 4.6 (40.3) | 6.8 (44.2) | 11.6 (52.9) | 15.6 (60.1) | 19.6 (67.3) | 23.4 (74.1) | 23.2 (73.8) | 18.3 (64.9) | 10.9 (51.6) | 10.2 (50.4) | 5.0 (41.0) | 4.6 (40.3) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 28.2 (1.11) | 19.9 (0.78) | 30.3 (1.19) | 6.6 (0.26) | 0.1 (0.00) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.7 (0.03) | 0.2 (0.01) | 0.2 (0.01) | 1.7 (0.07) | 7.6 (0.30) | 20.2 (0.80) | 115.5 (4.55) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1 mm) | 3.3 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 3.0 | 23.6 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 71 | 69 | 64 | 54 | 46 | 50 | 51 | 51 | 58 | 61 | 65 | 70 | 59.2 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 229.2 | 221.0 | 248.0 | 285.5 | 335.6 | 318.3 | 292.0 | 299.4 | 293.1 | 296.3 | 262.4 | 232.6 | 3,313.3 |
| Source:NOAA (humidity 1981-2010)[24][25][26] | |||||||||||||
The population of the city is around 115,949 (2021), and it is the largest city in theEmirate of Ras Al Khaimah. It is the6th most populous city in the UAE.[citation needed]
Other than Arabic government-funded schools, the city is home toRas Al Khaimah Academy,Wellspring School, and other Indian schools.[27] Higher education institutions in the city include theHigher Colleges of Technology,Ras Al Khaimah Medical and Health Sciences University, American University of Ras Al Khaimah[28] and many other colleges.
TheRas Al Khaimah Transport Authority currently serves the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah and surrounding areas.
Ras Al Khaimah International Airport serves the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah.
The city of Ras Al Khaimah is home to theRas Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ) that helps connect investors and international markets. It operates an online client portal called Portal 360.[29] The zone services businesses ranging from freelancers toSMEs and start-ups across 50 industries. RAKEZ is divided into six dedicated zones:[30][31]
The city is the headquarters ofRAK Ceramics, a global ceramics manufacturer. The company produces 123 million square meters of tiles and 5 million pieces of sanitaryware every year.[32] It has 12,000 employees and is listed on theAbu Dhabi Securities Exchange in theUnited Arab Emirates and on theDhaka Stock Exchange inBangladesh.[33] Its annual turnover is estimated at $1 billion.[34][35]
Gulf Pharmaceutical Industries is a pharmaceutical manufacturer operating in theMENA region and headquartered in the city of Ras Al Khaimah.[36] The company, also known under the name ofJulphar, employs 5,000 people and distributes its products to 50 countries.[37] It divides its activities between three units: Julphar Diabetes Solutions, General Medicines and Julphar Life. The company became a producer of raw ingredients forinsulin in 2012.[38][39]
In 2022, Ras Al Khaimah announced a $3.9 billion project,Wynn Al Marjan Island, which is scheduled to open in 2027. The integrated resort is being established byWynn Resorts, whose CEO Craig Billings confirmed that it will include a 224,000 sq. ft. “casino component”. For its 40% stake, Wynn Resorts contributed $900 million, while the remaining amount was financed by the Ras Al Khaimah government. The UAE has no laws to legalize gaming or gambling equipment. However, the country established the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA), in September 2023. The GCGRA granted a “Commercial Gaming Facility Operator” license to Wynn Resorts, in October 2024. Given the country’s Sharia laws, gambling is completely prohibited for local citizens. But, the project was quietly progressing to target foreign travelers and reshape the region’s tourism.[40][41][42]
The city is home tofootball teamsEmirates Club andRas Al Khaimah Club, which have both competed in theUAE Top Division.
Notable people from Ras Al Khaimah include
Ahmed bin Majid was a navigator, poet and scholar of such respect that he is known among mariners as "the Lion of the Sea" more than five centuries after his death.
Media related toRas Al Khaimah at Wikimedia Commons| Cities | | |
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| Settlements | ||
| Mountains | ||
| Major cities of theUnited Arab Emirates | |
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| Abu Dhabi | |
| Dubai | |
| Sharjah | |
| Ajman | |
| Umm Al Quwain | |
| Ras Al Khaimah | |
| Fujairah | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
