Here's Dubai In 1990 Vs. 2013

In 1990, the United Arab Emirates' total GDP stood at $50.7 billion.

It was basically a backwater in the desert.

Today its GDP is more than $360 billion.

Seeing a GDP growth chart would

But reddit user Safwanish has posted an image that captures this insane growth even better. It shows what the main road in Dubai, the E-11, looked like in 1990, and what it looks like today.

Check it out:

It appears the "before" photo may be from an outer stretch. Here are three more views of the city from an '80s documentary that show a bit more development, but still pretty dusty: