Background: Ruled by the Al Thani family since the mid-1800s Qatar transformed itself from a poor British protectorate noted mainly for 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 Amir 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. As of 2007 oil and natural gas revenues had enabled Qatar to attain the highest per capita income in the world. Qatar has not experienced the level of unrest or violence seen in other Near Eastern and North African countries in 2010-11 due in part to its immense wealth - it has the highest per capita income in the world. Qatar's international image is bolstered in part by the Doha-based Al Jazirah news network which has provided comprehensive coverage of the Near East and North African Arab revolutions. Additionally Qatar played a significant role in the Libyan revolution by pressing the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Arab League t

Geographic coordinates: 25 30 N 51 15 E

Map reference: Middle East

Area
Total: 11,586 km²
Rank: 166
Land: 11,586 km²
Water: 0 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Connecticut

Land boundaries
Total: 60 km
Border countries: (1) Saudi Arabia 60 km

Coastline: 563 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone: as determined by bilateral agreements or the median line

Climate: arid; mild pleasant winters; very hot humid summers

Terrain: mostly flat and barren desert covered with loose sand and gravel

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
Extremes highest point: Tuwayyir al Hamir 103 m

Natural resources: petroleum natural gas fish

Land use
Arable land: 1.64%
Permanent crops: 0.27%
Other: 98.09% (2005)

Irrigated land: 130 km² (2008)

Total renewable water resources: 0.1 km³ (1997)

Natural hazards: haze dust storms sandstorms common

Geography
Note: strategic location in central Persian Gulf near major petroleum deposits

Population: 848,016 (July 2011 est.)
Rank: 161
Growth rate: 0.81% (2011 est.)
Growth rate rank: 133
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Qatari
Adjective: Qatari

Ethnic groups: Arab 40% Indian 18% Pakistani 18% Iranian 10% other 14%

Languages: Arabic (official) English commonly used as a second language

Religions: Muslim 77.5% Christian 8.5% other 14% (2004 census)

Age structure
0-14 years: 21.8%
15-64 years: 76.7% (male 460,673/female 189,914)
65 years and over: 1.5% (male 7,311/female 5,432) (2011 est.)

Median age
Total: 30.8 years
Male: 32.9 years
Female: 25.5 years (2011 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.81% (2011 est.)
Rank: 133

Birth rate: 15.48 births/1000 population (2011 est.)
Rank: 131

Death rate: 2.43 deaths/1000 population (July 2011 est.)
Rank: 221

Net migration rate: -4.94 migrant(s)/1000 population (2011 est.)
Rank: 191

Urbanization
Urban population: 96% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 1.6% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Environment
Current issues: limited natural freshwater resources are increasing dependence on large-scale desalination facilities
International agreements party to: Biodiversity Climate Change Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol Desertification Endangered Species Hazardous Wastes Law of the Sea Ozone Layer Protection Ship Pollution
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.056 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 2.44 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.36 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.99 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 12.05 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 133
Male: 12.83 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 11.22 deaths/1000 live births (2011 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 75.7 years
Rank: 84
Male: 73.96 years
Female: 77.53 years (2011 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.43 children born/woman (2011 est.)
Rank: 88

Drinking water source:

Physicians density: 2.757 physicians/1000 population (2006)
Rank: 46

Hospital bed density: 1.4 beds/1000 population (2008)
Rank: 127

Sanitation facility access:

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2009 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 151
People living with hivaids: fewer than 200 (2009 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 158
Deaths: fewer than 100 (2009 est.)
Deaths rank: 128

Education expenditures: 3.3% of GDP (2005)
Rank: 120

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 89%
Male: 89.1%
Female: 88.6% (2004 census)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 12 years
Male: 11 years
Female: 14 years (2009)

Country name
Conventional long form: State of Qatar
Conventional short form: Qatar
Local long form: Dawlat Qatar
Local short form: Qatar
Note: closest approximation of the native pronunciation falls between cutter and gutter but not like guitar

Government type: emirate

Capital
Name: Doha
Geographic coordinates: 25 17 N 51 32 E
Time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions: 7 municipalities (baladiyat singular - baladiyah); Ad Dawhah Al Khawr wa adh Dhakhirah Al Wakrah Ar Rayyan Ash Shamal Az Za'ayin Umm Salal

Independence: 3 September 1971 (from the UK)

National holiday: Independence Day 3 September (1971); also observed is National Day 18 December (anniversary of Al Thani family accession to the throne)

Constitution: ratified by public referendum 29 April 2003; endorsed by the Amir 8 June 2004 effective 9 June 2005

Legal system: mixed legal system of civil law and Islamic law (in family and personal matters)

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Amir HAMAD bin Khalifa Al Thani ; Heir Apparent TAMIM bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani fourth son of the amir (selected Heir Apparent by the amir on 5 August 2003); note - Amir HAMAD also holds the positions of Minister of Defense and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces
Head of government: Prime Minister HAMAD bin Jasim bin Jabir Al Thani (since 3 April 2007); Deputy Prime Ministers Abdallah bin Hamad al-ATIYAH (since 3 April 2007) and Ahmad bin Abdallah al-MAHMUD
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the amir
Elections: the amir is hereditary
Note: in April 2007 Qatar held nationwide elections for a 29-member Central Municipal Council (CMC) which has limited consultative powers aimed at improving the provision of municipal services; the first election for the CMC was held in March 1999

Legislative branch: unicameral Advisory Council or Majlis al-Shura (45 seats; 15 members appointed; 30 members elected by popular vote)
Note: no legislative elections have been held since 1970 when there were partial elections to the body; Council members have had their terms extended every year since the new constitution came into force on 9 June 2005; the constitution provides for a new 45-member Advisory Council or Majlis al-Shura; the public would elect 30 members and the Amir would appoint 15; elections to the Majlis al-Shura have been rescheduled for 2013

Judicial branch: Courts of First Instance Appeal and Cassation; an Administrative Court and a Constitutional Court were established in 2007; note - all judges are appointed by Amiri Decree based on the recommendation of the Supreme Judiciary Council for renewable three-year terms

Political parties and leaders: none

International organization participation: ABEDA AFESD AMF CICA (observer) FAO G-77 GCC IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICRM IDA IDB IFAD IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO IMSO Interpol IOC IOM (observer) IPU ISO ITSO ITU LAS MIGA NAM OAPEC OAS (observer) OIC OPCW OPEC PCA UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UNIFIL UNWTO UPU WCO WHO WIPO WMO WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Ali Fahad al-Shahwany al-HAJRI
In the us chancery: 2,555 M Street NW Washington DC 20,037
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 274-1600 and 274-1603
In the us fax: [1] (202) 237-0061
In the us consulate general: Houston
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Susan L. ZIADEH
From the us embassy: Al-Luqta District 22 February Road Doha
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 2,399 Doha
From the us telephone: [974] 488 4,161
From the us fax: [974] 488 4,150

Flag description: maroon with a broad white serrated band (nine white points) on the hoist side; maroon represents the blood shed in Qatari wars white stands for peace; the nine-pointed serrated edge signifies Qatar as the ninth member of the 'reconciled emirates' in the wake of the Qatari-British treaty of 1916
Note: the other eight emirates are the seven that compose the UAE and Bahrain; according to some sources the dominant color was formerly red but this darkened to maroon upon exposure to the sun and the new shade was eventually adopted

National anthem
Name: 'Al-Salam Al-Amiri'
Lyricsmusic: Sheikh MUBARAK bin Saif al-Thani/Abdul Aziz Nasser OBAIDAN
Note: adopted 1996; the anthem was first performed that year at a meeting of the Gulf Cooperative Council hosted by Qatar

Economy overview: Despite the global financial crisis Qatar has prospered in the last several years - in 2010 Qatar had the world's highest growth rate. Qatari authorities throughout the crisis sought to protect the local banking sector with direct investments into domestic banks. GDP rebounded in 2010 largely due to the increase in oil prices. 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 likely have made Qatar the highest per-capita income country - ahead of Liechtenstein - and the country with the lowest unemployment. Proved oil reserves of 25 billion barrels should enable continued output at current levels for 57 years. Qatar's proved reserves of natural gas exceed 25 trillion cubic meters about 14% of the world total and third largest in the world. Qatar's successful 2022 world cup bid will likely accelerate large-scale infrastructure projects such as Qatar's metro system and the Qatar-Bahrain causeway.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 59
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 1

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 1
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 0.1%
Industry: 71.8%
Services: 28.1% (2010 est.)

Agriculture products: fruits vegetables; poultry dairy products beef; fish

Industries: liquefied natural gas crude oil production and refining ammonia fertilizers petrochemicals steel reinforcing bars cement commercial ship repair

Industrial production growth rate: 27.1% (2010 est.)
Rank: 2

Labor force: 1.242 million (2010 est.)
Rank: 136

Unemployment rate: 0.5% (2009 est.)
Rank: 2

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 1.3%
Highest 10: 35.9%

Distribution of family income gini index: 41.1 (2007)
Rank: 56

Budget
Revenues: $52.84 billion
Expenditures: $31.61 billion (2010 est.)
Surplus or deficit: 16.4% of GDP (2010 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 2

Taxes and other revenues: 40.8% of GDP (2010 est.)
Rank: 39

Public debt: 13.8% of GDP (2009 est.)
Rank: 124

Inflation rate consumer prices: -4.9% (2009 est.)
Rank: 1

Central bank discount rate: 5.5% (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 69

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 7.27% (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 137

Stock of narrow money: $14.59 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 66

Stock of broad money: $59.09 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 60

Stock of domestic credit: $74.39 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 53

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 45

Current account balance: $6.688 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 20

Exports: $48.31 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 41
Commodities: liquefied natural gas (LNG) petroleum products fertilizers steel
Partners: Japan 30.3% South Korea 13.1% India 8% Singapore 7.7% UK 4.2% (2010)

Imports: $22.45 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 70
Commodities: machinery and transport equipment food chemicals
Partners: US 15.5% Germany 9% UAE 7.3% South Korea 6.5% UK 6.1% Japan 5.6% Saudi Arabia 5.4% Italy 5.3% France 4.5% China 4.2% (2010)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $18.81 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 47

Debt external: $70.8 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 49

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $20.75 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 63

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $14.27 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 44

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Production: 19.18 billion kWh (2009 est.)
Production rank: 72
Consumption: 18.79 billion kWh (2008 est.)
Consumption rank: 71
Exports: 0 kWh (2009 est.)
Imports: 0 kWh (2009 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 116.7 billion m³ (2010 est.)
Production rank: 6
Consumption: 21.89 billion m³ (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 33
Exports: 94.81 billion m³ (2010 est.)
Exports rank: 3
Imports: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Imports rank: 174
Proven reserves: 25.37 trillion m³ (1 January 2011 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 3

Telephones
Main lines in use: 298,100 (2010)
Main lines in use rank: 116
Mobile cellular: 2.329 million (2010)
Mobile cellular rank: 133

Telephone system
General assessment: modern system centered in Doha
Domestic: combined fixed and mobile-cellular telephone subscribership exceeds 300 telephones per 100 persons
International: country code - 974; landing point for the Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) submarine cable network that provides links to Asia Middle East Europe and the US; tropospheric scatter to Bahrain; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and the UAE; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat (2009)

Broadcast media: television and radio broadcast media are state controlled; home of the satellite TV channel Al-Jazeera which was originally owned and financed by the Qatari Government; Al-Jazeera claims editorial independence in broadcasting; transmissions of several international broadcasters are accessible on FM in Doha (2007)

Internet
Country code: .qa
Hosts: 822 (2010)
Hosts rank: 170
Users: 563,800 (2009)
Users rank: 117

Military expenditures: 10% of GDP (2005 est.)
Rank: 2

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2010)

Airports: 6 (2010)
Rank: 172
With paved runways total: 4
With paved runways over 3047 m: 3
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1 (2010)
With unpaved runways total: 2
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 1 (2010)

Heliports: 1 (2010)

Pipelines: condensate 145 km; condensate/gas 132 km; gas 980 km; liquid petroleum gas 90 km; oil 382 km (2010)

Roadways
Total: 7,790 km
Rank: 144

Merchant marine
Total: 29
Rank: 85
By type: bulk carrier 3 chemical tanker 2 container 14 liquefied gas 6 petroleum tanker 4
Foreign owned: 7 (Kuwait 7)
Registered in other countries: 30 (Liberia 5 Marshall Islands 24 Panama 1) (2010)

Ports and terminals: Doha Mesaieed (Umaieed) Ra's Laffan

Disputes international: none