WikiPedia Information About Qatar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Export/Qatar
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{{Infobox Country
native_name= ???? ???
''{{Unicode
Dawlat Qa?ar}}''
conventional_long_name=State of Qatar
common_name=Qatar
image_flag=Flag of Qatar.svg
image_coat=Coat of arms of Qatar.svg
image_map=LocationQatar.png
national_motto=
national_anthem=''As Salam al Amiri''
official_languages=Arabic
demonym=Qatari
capital=Doha
latd=25
latm=18
latNS=N
longd=51
longm=31
longEW=E
largest_city=capital
government_type=Emirate
leader_title1=Emir of Qatar
Emir
leader_name1=Hamad bin Khalifa
H.H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani
leader_title2=List of prime ministers of Qatar
Prime Minister
leader_name2=Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani
sovereignty_type=Independence1
established_event1=current ruling family came to power
established_date1=
December 18, 1878
established_event2=Termination of special treaty with the United Kingdom
established_date2=
September 3, 1971
area_rank=164th
area_magnitude=
area_km2=11,437
area_sq_mi=4,416
percent_water=negligible
population_estimate=1,409,000
population_estimate_year=2009
p opulation_census=744,029[http://www.plann ing.gov.qa/Qatar-Census-2004/pubulation-eng/Tabels/Pubulation/T01.htm]
population_census_rank=159th
population_census_year=2004
population_density_km2=123ǎ
population_density_sq_mi=319Ǎ
population_density_rank=123rd
GDP_PPP=$94땄 billion[{{cite web]
url=http://www.imf.o rg/external/pubs/ft/weo/2009/02/weodata/weorept&# 46aspx?sy=2006&ey=2009&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country& ds=.&br=1&c=453&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a=&pr.x=32&pr.y=12
title=Qatar
publisher=International Monetary Fund
accessdate=2009-10-01}}
GDP_PPP_rank=65th
GDP_PPP_year=2008
GDP_PPP_per_capita=$86,008[
]
GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank=1st
GDP_nominal=$102듞 billion[
]
GDP_nominal_rank=56th
GDP_nominal_year=2008
GDP_nominal_per_capita=$93,204[
]
GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank=3rd
HDI={{increase}} 0뜾[{{cite web]
url=http://hdrstats.undp&# 46org/en/countries/country_fact_sheets/cty_fs_QAT.html
title=Human Development Report 2009: Qatar
publisher=The United Nations
accessdate=2009-10-18}}
HDI_rank=33rd
HDI_year=2007
HDI_category=very high
currency=Qatari riyal
Riyal
currency_code=QAR
country_code=0974
time_zone=AST
utc_offset=+3
time_zone_DST=(not observed)
utc_offset_DST=+3
drives_on=right
cctld=.qa
calling_code=974
ISO_3166-1_alpha2=QA
ISO_3166-1_alpha3=QAT
ISO_3166-1_numeric=634
sport_code=QAT
vehicle_code=Q
}}
'''Qatar''' (Standard Arabic: {{IPA-ar
'q?t??r
}}; {{IPA-en
k?'t?r}} {{respell
k?-TAR}};[[ http://www.speech.cs.cmu.edu/cgi-bin/cmudict?stress=-s&in=QATAR CMU Pronouncing Dictionary]][{{cite web ]
url=http://www.slate.com/id/2074824/
title=How Do You Pronounce "Qatar"?
last=Koerner
first=Brendan I
work=Slate
date=Dec.
3, 2002}} "The most accurate English estimate is something halfway between 'cutter' and 'gutter.' It's not 'KUH-tar,' the pronunciation that has become the standard among overseas TV and radio newscasters." Gulf Arabic
local pronunciation: {{IPA-all
git?ar
}}[Johnstone, T.M.]
"{{unicode
Ka?ar}}." Encyclopaedia of Islam.
Edited by: P.
Bearman , Th.
Bianquis , C.E.
Bosworth , E.
van Donzel and W.P.
Heinrichs.
Brill, 2008.
Brill Online.
04 April 2009 [http://www.brillonline.nl/subscriber/entry?entry=islam_SIM-4018]), also known as the '''State of Qatar''' or locally '''{{Unicode
Dawlat Qa?ar}}''', is an Arab emirate in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the larger Arabian Peninsula.
It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south; otherwise the Persian Gulf surrounds the Sovereign state
state.
A strait of the Persian Gulf separates Qatar from the relatively nearby island nation of Bahrain.
Qatar is an oil- and gas-rich nation, with the List of countries by natural gas proven reserves
third largest gas reserves[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/t he-world-factbook/rankorder/2179rank.html] and the second highest GDP per capita in the world.[{{cite web
]
title= Middle East :: Qatar
url = https://www.ci a.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/qa.html
publisher = Central Intelligence Agency
work =CIA World Factbook
accessdate = 2009-08-12}} An absolute monarchy, Qatar has been ruled by the al-Thani family since the mid-1800s and has since transformed itself from a poor British protectorate noted mainly for pearl hunting
pearling into an independent state with significant oil and natural gas revenues.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Qatari economy was crippled by a continuous siphoning off of petroleum revenues by the Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani
Emir, who had ruled the country since 1972.
His son, the current Amir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, overthrew him in a bloodless coup in 1995.
In 2001, Qatar resolved its longstanding border disputes with both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Etymology
The name may derive from "Qatara", believed to refer to the Qatari town of Zubara, an important trading port and town in the region in ancient times.
The word "Qatara" first appeared on Ptolemy's map of the Arabian Peninsula.
{{Fact
date=July 2008}}
In Standard Arabic the name is pronounced {{IPA-ar
'q?t??r
}}, while in the local dialect it is {{IPA-all
git?ar
}}.[Johnstone, T.M.]
"{{unicode
Ka?ar}}." Encyclopaedia of Islam.
Edited by: P.
Bearman , Th.
Bianquis , C.E.
Bosworth , E.
van Donzel and W.P.
Heinrichs.
Brill, 2008.
Brill Online.
04 April 2009 [http://www& #46brillonline.nl/subscriber/entry?entry=islam_SIM-4018] In English-language broadcast media within Qatar—for example, television commercials for Qatar Airways and advertisements concerning economic development in Qatar—the name is pronounced "KA-tar", with a distinct differentiation between the syllables from the forming of the 't' sound.
History
{{main
History of Qatar}}
Image:Zubara Fort.jpg
left
thumbnail
250px
Zubara fort
Recent discoveries on the edge of an island in the West of Qatar indicate early human presence in pre-historic Qatar.
Discovery of a 6th millennium BC site at Shagra, in the South-east of Qatar revealed the key role the sea (Gulf) played in the lives of Shagra’s inhabitants.
Excavation at Al-Khore in the North-east of Qatar, Bir Zekrit and Ras Abaruk, and the discovery there of pottery, flint, flint-scraper tools, and painted ceramic vessels there indicates Qatar’s connection with the Al-Ubaid civilization which flourished in the land between the Tigris and the Euphrates during the period of 5th –4th millennium BC.
There had also been a barter-based trading system between the settlements at Qatar and the Ubaid Mesopotamia, in which the exchanged commodities were mainly pottery and dried fish.< ref>http://www.diwan.gov.qa/english/qatar/qatar_history.htm
Islam swept the entire Arabian region in the 7th century.
With the militaristic spread of Islam in Qatar, Muhammad sent his first envoy Al Ala Al-Hadrami to Al-Mundhir Ibn Sawa Al-Tamimi, the ruler of Bahrain, which extended from the coast of Kuwait to the south of Qatar, including al-Hasa and Bahrain Islands, in the year 628, "inviting" him to accept Islam as he had invited other kingdoms and empires of his time such as Byzantium and Persia.
Mundhir, responding to the Prophet’s call, announced his conversion to Islam, and all the inhabitants of Qatar became Muslim, heralding the beginning of the Islamic era in Qatar.
In medieval times, Qatar was more often than not independent and a participant in the great Persian Gulf–Indian Ocean commerce.
Many races and ideas were introduced into the peninsula from Africa, South and Southeast Asia, as well as the Malay archipelago.
Today, the traces of these early interactions with the oceanic world of the Indian Ocean survive in the small minorities of races, peoples, languages and religions, such as the presence of Africans and Shihus.
Although the peninsular land mass that makes up Qatar has sustained humans for thousands of years, for the bulk of its history the arid climate fostered only short-term settlements by nomadic tribes.
The British initially sought out Qatar and the Persian Gulf as an intermediary vantage point ''en route'' to their Colonialism
colonial interests in India, although the discovery of Petroleum
oil and other hydrocarbons in the early twentieth century would re-invigorate their interest.
During the nineteenth century, the time of Britain’s formative ventures into the region, the Al Khalifa clan reigned over the Northern Qatari peninsula from the nearby island of Bahrain to the west.
Although Qatar had the legal status of a Dependent territory
dependency, resentment festered against the Bahraini Al Khalifas along the eastern seaboard of the Qatari peninsula.
In 1867, the Al Khalifas launched a successful effort to squash the Qatari rebels, sending a massive naval force to Al Wakrah.
However, the Bahraini aggression was in violation on the 1820 Anglo-Bahraini Treaty.
The diplomatic response of the British to this violation set into motion the political forces that would eventuate in the founding of the state of Qatar on December 18, 1878 (for this reason the date of December 18 is celebrated each year as the National Day of Qatar).
In addition to censuring Bahrain for its breach of agreement, the British Protectorate (per Colonel Lewis Pelly) asked to Negotiation
negotiate with a representative from Qatar.
The request carried with it a tacit recognition of Qatar’s status as distinct from Bahrain.
The Qataris chose as their negotiator the respected entrepreneur and long-time resident of Doha, Muhammed bin Thani.
His clan, the Al Thanis, had taken relatively little part in Persian Gulf politics, but the diplomatic foray ensured their participation in the movement towards independence and their hegemony as the future ruling family, a dynasty that continues to this day.
The results of the negotiations left Qatar with a new-found sense of political selfhood, although it did not gain official standing as a British protectorate until 1916.
= 20th century
=
Image:Doha Palace.jpg
thumb
250px
Diwan Al-Emiri
The reach of the British Empire diminished after the Second World War, especially following Indian Independence movement
Indian independence in 1947.
Pressure for a British withdrawal from the Arab emirates in the Persian Gulf increased during the 1950s, and the British welcomed Kuwait's declaration of independence in 1961.
When Britain officially announced in 1968 that it would disengage politically (though not economically) from the Persian Gulf in three years' time, Qatar joined Bahrain and seven other Trucial States in a federation.
Regional disputes, however, quickly compelled Qatar to resign and declare independence from the coalition that would evolve into the seven-emirate United Arab Emirates.
On September 3, 1971, Qatar became an independent sovereign state.
In 1991, Qatar played a significant role in the Persian Gulf War, particularly during the Battle of Khafji in which Qatari tanks rolled through the streets of the town providing fire support for Saudi Arabian National Guard units which were fighting against units of the Iraqi Army.
Qatar also allowed Coalition troops from Canada to use the country as an airbase to launch aircraft on CAP duty.
{{As of
2005
alt=Since 1995}}, Emir Hamad bin Khalifa
Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani has ruled Qatar, seizing control of the country from his father Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani while the latter vacationed in Switzerland.
Under Emir Hamad, Qatar has experienced a notable amount of sociopolitical liberalization, including the endorsement of women's suffrage or right to vote, drafting a new constitution, and the launch of Al Jazeera, a leading English and Arabic news source which operates a website and satellite television news channel.
The International Monetary Fund states that Qatar has the highest GDP per capita in the world, followed by Liechtenstein.
The World Factbook ranks Qatar at second, following Liechtenstein.
Qatar served as the headquarters and one of the main launching sites of the US invasion of Iraq[[http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5437.htm]] in 2003.
In March 2005, a Suicide attack
suicide-bombing killed a British teacher at the Doha Players Theatre, shocking for a country that had not previously experienced acts of terrorism.
The bombing was carried out by Omar Ahmed Abdullah Ali, an Egyptian residing in Qatar, who had suspected ties to Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.[{{cite news]
author=Coman, Julian
title=Egyptian Suicide Bomber Blamed for Attack in Qatar
publisher=The Independent
date=March 21, 2005}}[{{cite news]
url=htt p://www.forbes.com/2005/03/25/cz_0325oxan_qatarattack.html
title=The Advent of Terrorism in Qatar
date=March 25, 2005
publisher=Forbes}}
Government and politics
{{main
Politics of Qatar}}
Qatar has an emirate government type.
Administrative divisions
{{main
Municipalities of Qatar}}
Image:Municipalities of Qatar.svg
100px
Before 2004, Qatar was divided into ten ''municipality
municipalities'' (Arabic: ''baladiyah''), also occasionally or rarely translated as ''governorates'' or ''provinces'':
#Ad Dawhah
#Al Ghuwariyah
#Al Jumaliyah
#Al Khawr (municipality)
Al Khawr
#Al Wakrah
#Ar Rayyan
#Jariyan al Batnah
#Ash Shamal
#Umm Salal
#Mesaieed
Since 2004, Qatar has been divided into seven municipalities.[[http://www.statoids.com/uqa.html Municipalities of Qatar], Statoids.com] A new municipality, Al Daayen, was created under Resolution No.
13,[[http://www.baladiy a.gov.qa/portal/page?_pageid=135,231041&_da d=portal&_schema=PORTAL&subTabIndex=5500&branchIndex=0&tabIndex=8000 AlDaayen Municipality]] formed from parts of Umm Salal and Al Khawr; at the same time, Al Ghuwariyah was merged with Al Khawr; Al Jumaliyah was merged with Ar Rayyan; and Jarayan al Batnah was split between Ar Rayyan and Al Wakrah.
Economy
{{main
Economy of Qatar}}
{{seealso
List of tallest buildings in Doha, Qatar}}
Image:Doha Sheraton.jpg
thumb
250px
Qatar's capital, Doha.
Qatar has experienced rapid economic growth over the last several years on the back of high oil prices, and in 2008 posted its eighth consecutive budget surplus.
Economic policy is focused on developing Qatar's nonassociated natural gas reserves and increasing private and foreign investment in non-energy sectors, but oil and gas still account for more than 50% of GDP, roughly 85% of export earnings, and 70% of government revenues.
Oil and gas have made Qatar the second highest per-capita income country – following Liechtenstein – and one of the world's fastest growing.
Proved oil reserves of 15 billion barrels should enable continued output at current levels for 37 years.
Qatar's proved reserves of natural gas are nearly 26 trillion cubic meters, about 14% of the world total and third largest in the world.
Before the discovery of oil, the economy of the Qatari region focused on fishing and pearl hunting.
After the introduction of the Japanese cultured pearl onto the world market in the 1920s and 1930s, Qatar's pearling industry faltered.
However, the discovery of oil, beginning in the 1940s, completely transformed the state's economy.
Now the country has a high standard of living, with many social services offered to its citizens and all the amenities of any modern state.
Qatar’s national income primarily derives from oil and natural gas exports.
The country has oil reserves of 15 billion barrels (2ǐ Cubic kilometre
km³), while gas reserves in the giant North Field (South Pars for Iran) which straddles the border with Iran and are almost as large as the peninsula itself are estimated to be between {{convert
80
Tcuft
km3}} to {{convert
800
Tcuft
km3}} (1 trillion cubic feet is equivalent to about {{convert
80
Moilbbl
m3}} of oil).
Qatar is sometimes referred to as the Saudi Arabia of natural gas.
Qataris’ wealth and standard of living compare well with those of Western European states; Qatar has the highest Gross domestic product
GDP per capita in the Arab World according to the International Monetary Fund (2006)[International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database, October 2007, for the year 2006: [http://w ww.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2007/02/weodata/weoselco.aspx?g=2001&sg=All+countries Countries]] and the second highest GDP per capita in the world according to the CIA World Factbook.
thumb
250px
Aspire Tower, built for the 2006 Asian Games, is visible across Doha Sports City
Image:West Bay Buildings.jpg
thumb
left
250px
West BayWhile oil and gas will probably remain the backbone of Qatar’s economy for some time to come, the country seeks to stimulate the private sector and develop a “knowledge economy”.
In 2004, it established the Qatar Science & Technology Park to attract and serve technology-based companies and entrepreneurs, from overseas and within Qatar.
Qatar also established Education City, which consists of international colleges.
For the 15th Asian Games in Doha, it established Doha Sports City, consisting of Khalifa stadium, the ASPIRE Academy for Sports Excellence
Aspire Sports Academy, aquatic centres, exhibition centres and many other sports related buildings and centres.
Following the success of the Asian Games, Doha kicked off an official bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics in October 2007.[{{cite news]
title=Doha 2016 bid brings wind of change
url= http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/5CB3 41CF-C302-41B2-B376-FE6A4103A3D8.htm?FRAMELESS =true&NRNODEGUID=%7b5CB341CF-C302-41B2-B376-FE6A4103A3D8%7d
format=
work=aljazeera.net
publisher=Al Jazeera
location=Doha
date=2007-10-26
accessdate=2008-03-25}} Qatar also plans to build an "entertainment city" in the future.
Qatar aims to become a role model for economic and social transformation in the region.
Large scale investment in all social and economic sectors will also lead to the development of a strong financial market.
The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) provides financial institutions with world class services in investment, margin and no-interest loans, and capital support.
These platforms are situated in an economy founded on the development of its hydrocarbons resources, specifically its exportation of petroleum.
It has been created with a long term perspective to support the development of Qatar and the wider region, develop local and regional markets, and strengthen the links between the energy based economies and global financial markets.
Apart from Qatar itself, which needs to raise capital to finance projects of more than $130 billion, the QFC also provides a conduit for financial institutions to access nearly $1nj trillion of investments which stretch across the GCC (Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf) as a whole over the next decade.
The new town of Lusail, the largest project ever in Qatar, is under construction.
Transportation
The primary means of transportation in Qatar is by road, due to the very cheap price of petroleum.
The country as a result has an advanced road system undergoing vast upgrades in response to the country's rapidly rising population, with several highways undergoing upgrades and new expressways within Doha under construction.
A large bus network connects Doha with other towns in the country, and is the primary means of public transportation in the city.
The Salwa International Highway currently connects Doha to the border with Saudi Arabia, and a causeway with both road and rail links to Bahrain at Zubarah is due to begin construction shortly.
The causeway will become the largest in the world, and will be the second to connect Bahrain to the Arabian Peninsula.
Currently, no rail networks exist in the country.
In November 2009, however, its government signed a $26 billion contract with the German company Deutsche Bahn to construct a railroad system over the next 20 years.
The network will connect the country itself, and will include an international link with neighbouring states as part of a larger rail network being constructed across the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
A railway link is also under construction between Qatar and Bahrain as part of the Qatar Bahrain Causeway.
Qatar's main airport is the Doha International Airport, which served almost 15,000,000 passengers in 2007.
In comparison, the airport served only 2,000,000 passengers in 1998.
As a result of the much larger volumes of passengers flying into an through the country today, the New Doha International Airport is currently under construction, and will replace the existing airport in 2011.
Climate
{{Main
Climate of Qatar}}
{{Infobox Weather
single_line=Yes
location = Qatar
Jan_Hi_°C =22
Feb_Hi_°C =23
Mar_Hi_°C =27
Apr_Hi_°C =32
May_Hi_°C =38
Jun_Hi_°C =41
Jul_Hi_°C =41
Aug_Hi_°C =41
Sep_Hi_°C =38
Oct_Hi_°C =35
Nov_Hi_°C =29
Dec_Hi_°C =24
Jan_Lo_°C =13
Feb_Lo_°C =13
Mar_Lo_°C =17
Apr_Lo_°C =21
May_Lo_°C =25
Jun_Lo_°C =27
Jul_Lo_°C =29
Aug_Lo_°C =29
Sep_Lo_°C =26
Oct_Lo_°C =23
Nov_Lo_°C =19
Dec_Lo_°C =15
Jan_Precip_mm =12Ǔ
Feb_Precip_mm =17ǔ
Mar_Precip_mm =15ǎ
Apr_Precip_mm =7ǒ
May_Precip_mm =2Ǒ
Jun_Precip_mm =0
Jul_Precip_mm =0
Aug_Precip_mm =0
Sep_Precip_mm =0
Oct_Precip_mm =0
Nov_Precip_mm =2Ǒ
Dec_Precip_mm =12Ǔ
source =weather.com[{{cite web ]
url=http://www.wea ther.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/wxcli matology/monthly/graph/QAXX0003?from=36hr_bottomnav_business
title=Monthly Averages for Doha, Qatar
work=weather.com
publisher=The Weather Channel
accessdate=October 26 2009}}
accessdate = 2009-10-26
}}
Environmental issues
Qatar has the highest List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions per capita
per-capita carbon dioxide emissions, at 55Ǒ metric tons per person in 2005.[[http://cait.wri.org/cait.php?page=yearly World Resources Institute Climate Analysis Indicator Tool (requires free registration)]] This is almost double the next highest per-capita emitting country, which is Kuwait at 30Ǔ metric tons (2005) and they are three times those of the United States.
Qatar has had the highest per-capita carbon dioxide emissions for the past 18 years.
These emissions are largely due to high rates of energy use in Qatar.
Major uses of energy in Qatar include natural gas processing, water desalination and electricity production.
Between 1995 and 2011 the electricity generating capacity of Qatar will have increased to six times the previous level.
The fact that Qataris do not have to pay for either their water or electricity supplies is thought to contribute to their high rate of energy use.
Despite being a desert state they are also one of the highest consumers of water per capita per day, using around 400 litres.[[h ttp://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jan/14/qatar-biofuels-energy-consumption Qatar to use biofuels? What about the country's energy consumption?] Fred Pearce guardian.co.uk Thursday 14 January 2010]
Geography
{{main
Geography of Qatar}}
Image:Desert Qatar.JPG
250px
thumb
Desert landscape in Qatar
Image:Qa-map.PNG
thumb
Map of Qatar
The Qatari peninsula juts {{convert
100
mi
km
0}} north into the Persian Gulf from Saudi Arabia and is slightly smaller than the state of Massachusetts, USA.
Much of the country consists of a low, barren plain, covered with sand.
To the southeast lies the spectacular ''Khor al Adaid'' (“Inland sea
Inland Sea”), an area of rolling sand dunes surrounding an inlet of the Persian Gulf.
There are mild winters and very hot, humid summers.
The highest point in Qatar is Qurayn Abu al Bawl at {{convert
103
m
ft}}
outcroppings running north-south from Zikrit through Umm Bab to the southern border.
The Jebel Dukhan area also contains Qatar’s main onshore Oil field
oil deposits, while the natural gas fields lie offshore, to the northwest of the peninsula.
Religion
Islam is the predominant religion, as Muslims constitute 77Ǒ% of the population.
The majority of non-citizens are from South and Southeast Asian and Arab countries working on temporary employment contracts, accompanied by family members in some cases.
Most non-citizens are Sunni or Shi'a Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, or Bahá'ís.
Most foreign workers and their families live near the major employment centers of Doha, Al Khor, Mesaieed, and Dukhan.
The Hinduism
Hindu community is almost exclusively Indian, while Buddhists include South, Southeast, and East Asians.
Most Bahá'ís come from Iran.
Religion is not a criterion for citizenship, according to the Nationality Law.
However, nearly all Qatari citizens are either Sunni or Shi'a Muslims, except for at least one Christian, a few Bahá'ís, and their respective families who were granted citizenship.
No foreign missionary groups operate openly in the country[[http://w ww.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90219.htm CIA The World Fact Book]], but in 2008 the government allowed some churches to conduct mass.
In March 2008 the Roman Catholic Church (building)
Church “Our Lady of the Rosary” was consecrated in Doha.
Population
{{main
Demographics of Qatar}}
Almost all Qataris profess Islam.
Besides ethnic Arabs, much of the population migrated from various nations to work in the country’s Petroleum industry
oil industry.
Arabic language
Arabic serves as the official language.
However, English as well as many other languages like Hindi language
Hindi, Pashto, Malayalam, Punjabi language
Punjabi, Urdu language
Urdu, Sindhi language
Sindhi, Balochi language
Balochi, Tamil language
Tamil, Telugu language
Telugu, Bengali language
Bengali, Tagalog language
Tagalog, and Persian language
Persian are widely spoken in Qatar.
Expatriates form the majority of Qatar’s residents.
The petrochemical industry has attracted people from all around the world.
Most of the expatriates come from South Asia and from non-oil-rich Arab states.
Because a large percentage of the expatriates are male, Qatar has a heavily skewed sex ratio, with 3ሦ males per female.[{{Cite web]
url=http://www. qsa.gov.qa/Eng/population_census/2009/population_census_March.htm
title=Population in Qatar
publisher=Statistics Authority
accessdate=21 April 2009}}
In July 2007, the country had a growing population of approximately 907,229 people,[{{cite web]
url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51608.htm
title=Qatar
accessdate=2008-03-25
date=2005-11-08
work=International Religious Freedom Report 2005
publisher=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor – United States Department of State}} Qatari citizens follow the dominant Hanbali branch of Islam practiced in neighboring Saudi Arabia, therefore it is considered the culturally closest Persian Gulf state to Saudi Arabia.
The majority of the estimated 800,000 non-citizens are individuals from South and South East Asian and Arab countries working on temporary employment contracts in most cases without their accompanying family members.
Most foreign workers and their families live near the major employment centers of Doha, Al Khor, Mesaieed, and Dukhan.
{
class="wikitable"
-
! Year
! Population
-
1908 est.
26,000–27,000[[http ://www.catnaps.org/islamic/population.html The population of Qatar]]
-
1939 est.
28,000
-
late 1960s
70,000[[ http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Asia-and-the-Pacific/Qatar.html Qatar - Country overview, Location and size, Population, Industry, Mining, Manufacturing, Services, Tourism]]
-
1986
369,079
-
1997
522,023[[http://www.gisqatar.org.qa/alkhabar/Spring99/census.html CGIS Home Page - Main Section]]
-
2000
744,483
-
2001
769,152
-
2002
793,341
-
2003
817,052
-
2004
840,290
-
2005
863,051
-
2006
885,359
-
2007
907,229
-
2008
824,789
-
2009
1,409,000[{{cite paper ]
u rl=http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/wpp2008/wpp2008_text_tables.pdf
title=World Population Prospects, Table AǍ
version=2008 revision
format=.PDF
publisher=United Nations
author=Department of Economic and Social Affairs
Population Division
date=2009
accessdate= 2009-03-12}}
}
Culture
{{seealso
Music of Qatar}}
Qatari culture (music, art, dress, and cuisine) is extremely similar to Culture of the Arab States of Persian Gulf
that of other Arab states of the Persian Gulf
Arab countries of the Persian Gulf.
Arab tribes from Saudi Arabia migrated to Qatar and other places in the gulf; therefore, the culture in the Persian Gulf region varies little from country to country.
Qatar explicitly uses Sharia law as the basis of its government, and the vast majority of its citizens follow Hanbali Madhhab.
Hanbali (Arabic: ????? ) is one of the four schools (Madhhabs) of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam (The other three are Hanafi, Maliki and Shafii).
Sunni Muslims believe that all four schools have "correct guidance", and the differences between them lie not in the fundamentals of faith, but in finer judgments and jurisprudence, which are a result of the independent reasoning of the imams and the scholars who followed them.
Because their individual methodologies of interpretation and extraction from the primary sources (rusul) were different, they came to different judgments on particular matters.
Shi'as comprise around 2% of the Muslim population in Qatar.
Qatari law
When contrasted with other Arab states such as Saudi Arabia, for instance, Qatar has comparatively liberal laws, but is still not as liberal as some other Arab states of the Persian Gulf like UAE or Bahrain.
Qatar is a Civil law (legal system)
civil law jurisdiction.
However, Shari'a or Islamic law is applied to aspects of family law, inheritance and certain Criminal law
criminal acts.
Women can legally drive in Qatar and there is a strong emphasis in equality and human rights brought by Qatar's [http://www.nhrc-qa.org/en/news.php?item떉 National Human Rights Committee].
Qatar also has the largest fines in the world in terms of traffic violation as per the recent change in 2010.
The country has undergone a period of liberalization and modernisation during the reign of the current Emir, Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, who came to power in 1995.
The laws of Qatar tolerate alcoholic beverage
alcohol to a certain extent.
However, the few bars and nightclubs in Qatar operate only in expensive hotels and clubs, much like in the UAE.
Also like in the UAE, Muslims are banned from drinking alcohol.
Expatriate residents in Qatar are eligible to receive liquor permits permitting them to purchase alcohol for personal use through Qatar Distribution Company, the only importer and retailer for alcohol in Qatar.
Under Qatar's Sharia, alcohol is illegal to be shown/drunk in public.
During the month of Ramadan, showing and eating food in public is strictly banned.
This also is applied in the UAE.
In common with other Persian Gulf Arab countries, sponsorship laws exist in Qatar.
These laws have been widely described as akin to modern-day slavery.[ht tp://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,,,QAT,4562d8cf2,484f9a3732,0.html] The Sponsorship system (Kafeel or Kafala) exists throughout the GCC and means that a worker (not a tourist) may not enter the country without having a kafeel, cannot leave without the kafeel's permission (an Exit Permit must first be awarded by the sponsor, or kafeel), and the sponsor has the right to ban the employee from entering Qatar within 2–5 years of his first departure.
Many sponsors do not allow the transfer of one employee to another sponsor.
Education
{{main
Education in Qatar}}
Image:WCMCQ.jpg
thumb
250px
Cornell University's Weill Medical College in Qatar
In recent years Qatar has placed great emphasis on education.
Citizens are required to attend government provided education from kindergarten through high school.[{{cite web]
url=http://english.mofa.gov.qa/details.cfm?id=80
title=Qatar constitution}} Qatar University was founded in 1973.
More recently, with the support of the Qatar Foundation, some major United States
American universities have opened branch campuses in Education City, Qatar.
These include
*Carnegie Mellon University
*Georgetown University School of Foreign Service
*Texas A&M University
*Virginia Commonwealth University
*Cornell University’s Weill Cornell Medical College
*Northwestern University
In 2004, Qatar established the Qatar Science & Technology Park at Education City to link those universities with industry.
Education City is also home to a fully School accreditation
accredited International Baccalaureate school, Qatar Academy.
Two Canadian institutions, the College of the North Atlantic and the University of Calgary, also operate campuses in Doha.
Other For-profit school
for-profit universities have also established campuses in the city [{{cite web]
url=http://www.st enden.com/en/stenden/Locations/qatar/Pages/default.aspx
title=Stenden University Qatar
accessdate=2009-05-22}}.
In 2009, the Qatar Foundation launched the World Innovation Summit for Education – WISE – a global forum that brought together education stakeholders, opinion leaders and decision makers from all over the world to discuss educational issues.
The first edition was held in Doha, Qatar from 16th to 18th November 2009.
Moreover, in 2007 the American Brookings Institution announced that it was opening the Brookings Doha Center to undertake research and programming on the socio-economic and geo-political issues facing the region.
In November 2002, the Emir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani created the Supreme Education Council.[{{cite web]
url=http://www.english.education.gov.qa/section/sec
title=About the SEC
accessdate=2008-03-25
publisher=Supreme Education Council}} The Council directs and controls education for all ages from the Nursery school
pre-school level through the university level, including the “Education for a New Era”[{{cite web]
url=http://www.english.education.gov.qa
title=Education for a New Era
accessdate=2008-03-25
publisher=Supreme Education Council}} reform initiative.
The Emir’s second wife, Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned, has been instrumental in new education initiatives in Qatar.
She chairs the Qatar Foundation, sits on the board of Qatar’s Supreme Education Council, and is a major driving force behind the importation of Western expertise into the education system, particularly at the college level.
There are currently a total of 567 schools in operation within Qatar, both in the public and the private sector.
A large number of new schools are also under construction, particularly public schools, in order to meet increased demand which arose as a result of the large increase in population that the country has seen of late.
The number of universities operating in the country are 9, serving 12,480 students.
Health care
Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) is the premier non-profit health care provider in Doha, Qatar.
Established by the Emiri decree in 1979, HMC manages four highly specialised hospitals: Hamad General Hospital, Rumailah Hospital, Women’s Hospital, Psychiatric Hospital and the Primary Health Care Centres.
These hospitals are quite sophisticated by the standards of the region, with most hosting advanced fMRI and other scanning machines.
Most of them have many patients affected by Down syndrome and other mental illness caused by the high rate of cousin marriage in the country.
According to Dr.
Ahmed Teebi, sociopathy may possibly be one such illness, but this is disputed.
Communications
{{main
Communications in Qatar}}
Qatar has a modern telecommunication system centered in Doha.
Tropospheric scatter to Bahrain; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and UAE; submarine cable to Bahrain and UAE; satellite earth stations – two Intelsat (one Atlantic Ocean and one Indian Ocean) and one Arabsat.
Callers can call Qatar using submarine cable, satellite or VoIP.
However, Qtel has interfered with VoIP systems in the past, and Skype's website has been blocked before.
Following complaints from individuals, the website has been unblocked, and Paltalk has previously been blocked.
Qtel’s ISP branch, Internet Qatar, uses SmartFilter to block websites they deem inappropriate to Qatari interests and morality.
In Qatar, ictQATAR (Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology) is the government agency regulating telecommunication.
Vodafone Qatar, in partnership with the Qatar Foundation, received the second public mobile networks and services license in Qatar on 28 June 2008 and switched on their mobile network on 1 March 2009.
They launched 07/07/09, opening their [http://www.vodafone.com.qa online store] first followed by retail and third party distribution locations throughout Doha.
Al Jazeera (Arabic: ????????, al-gazirä, [al.d?a'zi?.ra], meaning “The Peninsula”) is a television network headquartered in Doha, Qatar.
Al Jazeera initially launched as an Arabic news and current affairs satellite TV channel of the same name, but has since expanded into a network of several specialty TV channels.
Print media is going through expansion, with over three English dailies and Arabic titles.
Qatar Today is the only monthly business magazine in the country.
It is published by Oryx Advertising [http://www.omsqatar.com], which is the largest magazine publisher in Qatar.
The group also publishes several titles like Qatar Al Youm, the only monthly business magazine in Qatar in Arabic language, Woman Today, the only magazine for working women, and GLAM, the only fashion magazine.
In December 2009 Oryx launched T Qatar: The New York Times Style Magazine, which marks the entry of an international magazine into Qatar.
Human rights
{{main
Human rights in Qatar}}
Qatar is a destination country for men and women from South and Southeast Asia who migrate willingly, but are subsequently trafficked into involuntary servitude as domestic workers and laborers, and, to a lesser extent, commercial sexual exploitation; the most common offence was forcing workers to accept worse contract terms than those under which they were recruited; other conditions include bonded labor, withholding of pay, restrictions on movement, arbitrary detention, and physical, mental, and sexual abuse.
The report states that Qatari laws against forced labour are rarely enforced and that labour laws often result in the detention of victims in deportation centres, pending the completion of legal proceedings.
The report places Qatar at tier 3, as one of the countries that neither satisfies the minimum standards or demonstrates significant efforts to come into compliance.[{{cite web]
url=http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2007/82807.htm
title=Country Narratives -- Countries Q through Z
accessdate=2008-03-25
date=2007-06-12
work=Trafficking in Persons Report
publisher=Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, United States Department of State}}[{{cite news]
coauthors=Labott, Elise; Verjee, Zane
title=India escapes U.S.
list of worst human traffickers
url=http ://www.cnn.com/2007/US/06/12/human.trafficking/index.html
work=cnn.com
publisher=CNN
Cable News Network
location=Washington, D.C.
Washington
date=2007-06-12
accessdate=2008-03-25 }}
The government maintains that it is setting the benchmark when it comes to human rights[{{cite web]
url=http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZAWYA20060503034405
title=Qatar: National Human Rights Committee report
accessdate=2008-03-25
date=2006-05-03
work=
publisher=Qatar National Human Rights Committee}}.
According to zawya.com, the web link “is the unofficial translation by The Peninsula team of the 57-page Arabic text of the report released by the National Human Rights Committee yesterday.” and treatment of labourers.
Qatari contracting agency Barwa is constructing a residential area for laborers known as Barwa Al Baraha, also called Workers City.
The project was launched after a recent scandal in Dubai's Labor camps.
The project aims to provide a reasonable standard of living as defined by the new Human Rights Legislation.[{{cite web]
url=http://www.iloveqatar.net/forum/read.php?28,2540,2540
title=Qatar: National Human Rights Committee Support Expats
accessdate=2008-08-04
date=2008-06-18
work=
publisher=The Peninsula via iLoveQatar.net}} The Barwa Al Baraha will cost around $1Ǎ billion and will be a completely integrated city in the industrial area in Doha.
Along with 4ሑ square meters of living space per person, the residential project will provide parks, recreational areas, malls, and shops for labourers.
Phase one of the project was set to be completed at the end of 2008, and the project itself will be completed by the middle of 2010.[{{cite news]
first=D
last=Bowman
authorlink=
title=Qatar to build $1Ǎbn labourer city
url=http://www.ara bianbusiness.com/512568-qatar-to-build-11bn-labourer-city
work=ArabianBusiness.com
publisher=ITP Digital Publishing
location=Dubai
date=2008-03-02
accessdate=2008-03-25 }}
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