Location and Official Name:
State of Qatar
دولة قطر
Dawlat Qatar
Social Structure:
In the 2010 census, the estimated
population for Qatar was roughly 1,696,563, ranking it as the 148th
most populated country. The official language is Arabic. People in
the area are known as Qatari's. Out of the total population, the
ethnic make up is fairly spread out. Nearly 20% of the population is
Qatari (Arab), 20% are other Arabs, 20% are Indian, 10% Filipino, 13%
Nepali, 7% Pakistani, 5% Sri Lankan, and 5% other. Although Arabic
is the primary language, English, Hindu, Urdu, and Punjabi are also
commonly spoken.
Health Care in Qatar is primarily done
through Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC). HMC is affiliated with
Cornell University, and is the premier non-profit health center
provider in Doha. HMC has four rather advanced and sophisticated
hospitals.
Qatar National Day on December 18th
is the day Qatari's celebrate their national identity and history.
Women in Qatar have the right to vote
and may run for public office as well. Qatari women are also allowed
to drive with the permission of their male guardian, which is much
unlike many Gulf countries.
Politics:
Qatar has been ruled as an absolute monarchy by the Al Thani family since the mid-19th century. It was formerly a British protectorate and became independent in 1971. In 1995, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani became Emir when he seized power from his father, Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani. All of the mos timportant positions in Qatar are held by members of the Al Thani family, or by people close to the Al Thani family. The legislature of Qatar is known as the Consultative Assembly of Qatar.
Qatar is a civil law jurisdiction,
however, Shari'a law is applied to aspects of family law,
inheritance, and certain criminal acts.
Religion:
Islam is the predominant religion in
Qatar. In 2004, 77.5% of the population practiced Islam, while 8.5%
were Christians and the remaining 14% fell under the other religions.
Of the 77.5% of the Muslims in the community, about 5% are Shi'a.
The national law of Qatar does not have
religion set as part of the criteria to become a citizen of the
country. Thus, the majority of the non-citizens are from the South
and Southeast Asian and Arab countries, with religions ranging from
Sunni and Shi'a Muslims to Protestant and Catholic Christians,
Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Baha'i's.
The majority of the Christian
population are foreigners. There are some Arab Evangelicals from
Syria and Palestine, with nearly 50,000 Catholics coming from Egypt
as well.
There are no foreign missionary groups
that operate openly within the country, but the government does allow
churches to conduct Mass.
Economics
Qatar has
experienced vast economic growth over the last several years due to
the rise in oil prices. 2008 marked eight consecutive years in which
the country had a budget surplus. The main policy of Qatar's economy
is to develop the non-associated natural gas reserves and increase
private and foreign investment in non-energy sectors. Oil and gas
still account for more than 50% of GDP, roughly 85% of export
earnings, and 70% of government revenues. Basically, oil and gas are
responsible for the massive amount of expansion and help to run the
country. They have made Qatar one of the highest per-capita income
countries, and one of the worlds fastest growing countries. The
World Factbook states that Qatar has the second-highest GDP per
capita in the world.
Qatar has reserves
of natural gas that are near 26 trillion cubic meters, which is
roughly 14% of the world total and the third largest in the world.
94% of the labor
in the country is carried out by foreigners. Labor laws in Qatar
allow for Qatar to be the only state in the Gulf Corporation Council
(GCC) that allows labor unions.
Qatari's wealth
and standard of living compares to that of Western European states –
Qatar has the highest GDP in the Arab World.
Qatar is striving
to develop a “knowledge economy” based on science and technology.
It has established a place known as Education City, which consists
of international colleges. It is also attempting to bring more
sports events into the area, and has a bid to host the 2016 Summer
Olympics. It also wants to build an “entertainment city” in the
near future. With all this in mind, Qatar is attempting to build a
large scale, strong financial market.
Technology
Qatar has a modern
telecommunication system centered in Doha. People can call Qatar
using submarine cable, satellite, or VoIP. Internet Qatar is the
primary internet service provider in Qatar, and it features a
SmartFilter technology that blocks websites deemed inappropriate to
Qatari interests and morality.
Al Jazeera is a
television network headquartered in Qatar. Al Jazeera is one of the
premier news networks for all of the middle east.
There is very
little print media, but it is going through an expansion. There are
more than three English daily and Arabic daily titles. There is only
one business magazine that goes out monthly, called Qatar Today, and
only one sports magazine, called Doha Stadium Plus.
Environment
The Qatari
peninsula goes nearly 100 miles north into the Persian Gulf from
Saudi Arabia. Much of the country consists of a low lying desert.
In the southeast, Khor al Adaid, the inland sea, is an area of sand
dunes that surround an inlet of the Persian Gulf. Much of the
weather involves mild winters and extremely hot, humid summers.
The highest point
in Qatar is Qurayn Abu al Bawl, at 338 feet.
21st
Century Challenges and Opportunities
There are great
opportunities in Qatar. Due to the vast GDP per-capita that the
country has, it has amazing possibilities for expansion in the
future. The possible expansion of Entertainment City, the Qatar
Financial Centre, and the ever growing bonds between the United
States and Qatar in trade are all in favor of massive expansion of
the country. There is a new town, named Lusail, which is the largest
project ever in Qatar, and is currently under construction.
Qatar attempts to
be a mediator for many of the Middle Eastern conflicts. It has
hosted academic, religious, political, and economic conferences. The
annual Doha Forum brings in people from various backgrounds to
discuss anything from media to politics, information technology, free
trades, and water security issues.
Environmental
issues plague Qatar, much like most Middle Eastern countries. In
2005, Qatar had the highest per-capita carbon dioxide emissions in
the world, at 55.5 metric tons per person. The reason behind this,
however, is the idea that everyone in Qatar uses vehicles as their
main mode of transportation, due to the extremely low cost of fuel.
This number is three times that of the United States even, and Qatar
has had the highest carbon dioxide emissions for the past 18 years.
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