The smallest of the seven emirates is Ajman with an era of just 260 square kilometers. Most of this located on the Arabian Gulf coast immediately north of Sharjah. However, it also includes two tiny enclaves inland in the Hajar Mountains: Masfut and Manama.

Archaeological excavations show that Ajman, which was once an important Bronze Age settlement, is now more of a fishing village since recent centuries. With unification as the United Arab Emirates, Ajman has benefited from the development in Sharjah and Dubai, which has pushed towards this tiny emirate. Many people working in the cities have found Ajman to be a quiter and less expensive place to live

Ajman has not yet been successful in the search for oil and natural gas resources. This has limited its ability to develop on a grandiose scale scale but it has been working towards development of light industry and houses an important dockyard.

But the charm of Ajman is its slow, quiet pace. It is home to the Ajman Museum, a local history and heritage museum, housed in the residence of the ruler. It is best known for being the largest ocean-going dhow construction center. Here dhows are still built using time-honoured techniques along the shore, providing an insight for the visitors into a bygone era.