Qatar

The National name of Qatar is Dawlat Qatar. Official name of the country is State of Qatar. The country is an Arab emirate, located in Southwest Asia. Qatar Peninsula is situated on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Persian Gulf bounds the country around. It shares its border with Saudi Arabia to the south. The capital city Doha, is located at 25 17 N, 51 32 E.


Qatar had been the headquarters and one of the main launching sites of the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. Qatari living standard is very high. Qatar’s The Aspire Tower, built for the Asian Games, is visible across Doha. Qatar has also set up an education city, which comprises international colleges. The country also aspires to build an entertainment city in near future. Qatar’s main future plans include the aim to turn up to be the role model for economic and social transformation in the Middle East. Al Jazeera, a leading English and Arabic news channel, was originated in Qatar.


HISTORY:- Qatar had the legal status of a dependency, as it was once controlled by the absentee sheikhs of Bahrain until 1867. The people of Qatar declared war against them.

Muhammad ibn Thani al-Thani was announced the ruler of Qatar by the British to restore peace in the region. In 1916 Qatar became a British protectorate. After World War II, British power started diminishing. After British declaration that it would loosen its hold in politics in the Persian Gulf, Qatar joined in a federation with Bahrain and seven other Trucial coastal regions. Soon after the merger, Qatar and Bahrain came out if it. On 3rd September 1971, Qatar declared independence. In 1991, Qatar played a prominent role in Gulf war when in the Battle of Khafji, it rolled tanks through the streets for helping Saudi Arabian National Guard troops to fight against Iraqi troops. Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani was crowned, overthrowing his father Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani in 1995.

 

GEOGRAPHY:- The geographic location of Qatar is Southwest Asia (25 30 N, 51 15 E). The total area of the land is 11,437 sq km, in which water is 0 sq km. The coastline is 563 km long along with the Persian Gulf. The highest point of Qatar is Qurayn Abu al Bawl (103 m) and the lowest point is Persian Gulf (0 m). The peninsula of Qatar is mostly formed of flat and barren desert with loose gravelled sand. Haze, dust storms, sandstorms cause natural disasters sometimes. The Jebel Dukhan possesses Qatar’s main onshore oil reserves. The northwestern region of Qatar has the natural gas fields.

 

CLIMATE:- Qatar has temperate, pleasant winters and burning, humid summers. Although at an average, arid climate is predominant all over the country.

 

GOVERNMENT:- Qatar is a Constitutional Monarchy. The constitution was approved by popular vote in 2003, endorsed by Emir in 2004 and came into effectiveness since 9th June 2005. Three braches and their offices are as follows:

Executive branch comprises Emir (chief of state), Prime Minister (head of government), Council of Ministers.

Legislative branch comprises Advisory Council (35seats).

Judicial branch comprises Courts of First Instance, Appeal, and Cassation courts, an Administrative Court and a Constitutional Court.

There is no existence of any political party. Suffrage is universal at 18 since 1999.

Emir   Hamad bin Khalifa

Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabr Al Thani

 

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS:- Qatar is divided into 10 municipalities:

Ad Dawhah, Al Ghuwariyah, Al Jumaliyah, Al Khawr, Al Wakrah, Ar Rayyan,

Jariyan al Batnah, Ash Shamal, Umm Salal, Mesaieed

CULTURE:- Bedouin poetry, song and dance are the essence of Qatari culture. Traditional dances are performed on Friday afternoons in Doha. Other popular dance forms include Ardah, tambourine and cymbals. Musical instruments like the oud, rebaba, the Arabian flute are popular. Fann at-Tanbura is a genre of spiritual music.

Gulf Folklore Center of Qatar is the origin of the folk music of the Persian Gulf.

 

ECONOMY:- Qatar is the wealthiest country in the world per capita. Qatar faces an economic boom with huge production of  natural gas and oil.

GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $68.87 billion; per capita $75,900.

Real growth rate: 7.8%.

Inflation: 7.8%.

Unemployment: 0.7% (2007).

Arable land: 1.64%. Agriculture: fruits, vegetables; poultry, dairy products, beef; fish.

Labor force: 638,000 (2007 est.).

Industries: crude oil production and refining, ammonia, fertilizers, petrochemicals, steel reinforcing bars, cement, commercial ship repair.

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, fish.

Oil reserves: 15 billion barrels

Exports: $33.28 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.): liquefied natural gas (LNG), petroleum products, fertilizers, steel.

Imports: $15.32 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.): machinery and transport equipment, food, chemicals.

Major trading partners: Japan, South Korea, Singapore, India, France, U.S., Saudi Arabia, UAE, Germany, UK (2004).

Budget:  

Revenues: $23.5 billion

Expenditures: $19.61 billion (2007 est.)

Public debt: 23.2% of GDP (2007 est.)

Monetary unit: Qatari riyal

 

LANGUAGE:- Arabic is the official language. English is a common second language.

 

CITIES:- The capital and largest city is Doha. Other large cities are Messaieed, Al-Khor, Dukhan, Ruwais.

 

POPULATION:- Qatari population is 907,229 with a growth rate of 2.4%.

Density per sq mi: 214

Literacy rate: 89% (2004 census)

RACE:-

Arab 40%

Pakistani 18%

Indian 18%

Iranian 10%

Other 14%

 

RELIGION:-

Religion Muslim 77.5%

Christian 8.5%

Other 14% (2004 census)

 

HEALTH:- 

Birth rate: 15.56 births/ 1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 4.94 deaths/ 1,000 population (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 16.88 deaths/ 1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 74.38 years

Total fertility rate: 2.7 children born/ woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

Total expenditure on health per capita (Intl $, 2005): 1,283

 

UNICEF:- UNICEF in Qatar mainly focuses on health, education and protection. UNICEF has developed health care centers with the main objective to promote breastfeeding. It has campaigned for healthy lifestyle and choosing healthy foods all over Qatar.

UNICEF has successfully helped to improve teacher’s skills by providing psychological guidance to them. UNICEF also carries out counselling to improve family bonding by avoiding divorce or separation. It fights against psychological abuse, and drug consumption.

 

TRANSPORTATION:-

Railways: 0 km.

Highways: total: 1,230 km; paved: 1,107 km; unpaved: 123 km (1999 est.).

Ports and harbors: Doha, Halul Island, Umm Sa\'id (Musay\'id).

Airports: 5 (2007).

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