Sharjah (/ˈʃɑːrdʒə/; Arabic: الشارقة‎ aš-Šāriqah; Gulf Arabic: aš-šārja[1]) is the third largest and third most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, forming part of the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. It is located along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula.

Sharjah is the capital of the emirate of Sharjah. Sharjah shares legal, political, military and economic functions with the other emirates of the UAE within a federal framework, although each emirate has jurisdiction over some functions such as civil law enforcement and provision and upkeep of local facilities. Sharjah has been ruled by the Al Qasimi dynasty since the 18th century.

The city is a centre for culture and industry, and alone contributes 7.4% of the GDP of the United Arab Emirates.[2] The city covers an approximate area of 235 km² and has a population of over 800,000 (2008). The sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages is prohibited in the emirate of Sharjah without possession of an alcohol licence and alcohol is not served in Sharjah hotels, restaurants or other outlets due to the Muslim majority in the area. This has helped Sharjah increase the number of Islamic tourists who visit the country.[3] Sharjah has been officially named as a WHO healthy city.[4] The 2016 edition of QS Best Student Cities ranked Sharjah as the 68th best city in the world to be a university student.[5] Sharjah is regarded as the cultural capital of the UAE,[6] and was the Islamic culture capital in 2014.[7]