Qatar

Airports

4 total, 4 usable; 1 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m; none with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air

3 major transport aircraft

Highways

1,500 km total; 1,000 km bituminous, 500 km gravel or natural surface (est.)

Merchant marine

12 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 273,318 GRT/420,227 DWT; includes 7 cargo, 3 container, 2 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker

Pipelines

crude oil, 235 km; natural gas, 400 km

Ports

Doha, Musayid, Halul Island

Telecommunications

modern system centered in Doha; 110,000 telephones; tropospheric scatter to Bahrain; radio relay to Saudi Arabia; submarine cable to Bahrain and UAE; stations--2 AM, 1 FM, 3 TV; satellite earth stations--1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 1 ARABSAT

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Department

Defense expenditures

NA

Military manpower

males 15-49, 255,474; 120,614 fit for military service; 3,982 reach military age (18) annually

Agriculture

farming and grazing on small scale, less than 2% of GDP; commercial fishing increasing in importance; most food imported

Aid

donor--pledged $2.7 billion in ODA to less developed countries (1979- 88)

Budget

revenues $1.7 billion; expenditures $3.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY88 est.)

Currency

Qatari riyal (plural--riyals); 1 Qatari riyal (QR) = 100 dirhams

Electricity

1,514,000 kW capacity; 4,000 million kWh produced, 8,540 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates

Qatari riyals (QR) per US$1--3.6400 riyals (fixed rate)

Exports

$2.2 billion (f.o.b., 1988 est.); commodities--petroleum products 90%, steel, fertilizers; partners--France, FRG, Italy, Japan, Spain

External debt

$1.1 billion (December 1989 est.)

Fiscal year

1 April-31 March

GDP

$5.4 billion, per capita $17,070; real growth rate 9.0% (1987)

Imports

$1.0 billion (f.o.b., 1988 est.), excluding military equipment; commodities--foodstuffs, beverages, animal and vegetable oils, chemicals, machinery and equipment; partners--EC, Japan, Arab countries, US, Australia

Industrial production

growth rate 0.6% (1987)

Industries

crude oil production and refining, fertilizers, petrochemicals, steel, cement

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

1.6% (1987)

Overview

Oil is the backbone of the economy and accounts for 90% of export earnings and more than 80% of government revenues. Proved oil reserves of 3.3 billion barrels should ensure continued output at current levels for about 25 years. Oil has given Qatar a per capita GDP of about $17,000, among the highest in the world.

Unemployment rate

NA%

Climate

desert; hot, dry; humid and sultry in summer

Coastline

563 km

Comparative area

slightly smaller than Connecticut

Continental shelf

not specific;

Disputes

boundary with UAE is in dispute; territorial dispute with Bahrain over the Hawar Islands

Environment

haze, duststorms, sandstorms common; limited freshwater resources mean increasing dependence on large-scale desalination facilities

Exclusive fishing zone

as delimited with neighboring states, or to limit of shelf, or to median line;

Extended economic zone

to median line;

Land boundaries

60 km total; Saudi Arabia 40 km, UAE 20 km

Land use

NEGL% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 5% meadows and pastures; 0% forest and woodland; 95% other

Natural resources

crude oil, natural gas, fish

Note

strategic location in central Persian Gulf near major crude oil sources

Terrain

mostly flat and barren desert covered with loose sand and gravel

Territorial sea

3 nm

Total area

11,000 km2; land area: 11,000 km2

Administrative divisions

none

Capital

Doha

Constitution

provisional constitution enacted 2 April 1970

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Hamad Abd al-Aziz AL-KAWARI, Chancery at Suite 1180, 600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20037; telephone (202) 338-0111; US--Ambassador Mark G. HAMBLEY; Embassy at Fariq Bin Omran (opposite the television station), Doha (mailing address is P. O. Box 2399, Doha); telephone [974] 864701 through 864703

Executive branch

amir, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Flag

maroon with a broad white serrated band (nine white points) on the hoist side

Independence

3 September 1971 (from UK)

Judicial branch

Court of Appeal Chief of State and Head of Government--Amir and Prime Minister Khalifa bin Hamad Al THANI (since 22 February 1972); Heir Apparent Hamad bin Khalifa AL THANI (appointed 31 May 1977; son of Amir)

Legal system

discretionary system of law controlled by the amir, although civil codes are being implemented; Islamic law is significant in personal matters

Legislative branch

unicameral Advisory Council (Majlis al-Shura)

Long-form name

State of Qatar

Member of

Arab League, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), GCC, IBRD, ICAO, IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

National holiday

Independence Day, 3 September (1971)

Political parties and leaders

none

Suffrage

none Advisory Council--constitution calls for elections for part of this consultative body, but no elections have been held; seats--(30 total)

Type

traditional monarchy

Birth rate

22 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate

3 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Ethnic divisions

40% Arab, 18% Pakistani, 18% Indian, 10% Iranian, 14% other

Infant mortality rate

25 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force

104,000; 85% non-Qatari in private sector (1983)

Language

Arabic (official); English is commonly used as second language

Life expectancy at birth

69 years male, 73 years female (1990)

Literacy

40%

Nationality

noun--Qatari(s); adjective--Qatari

Net migration rate

38 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Organized labor

trade unions are illegal

Population

490,897 (July 1990), growth rate 5.7% (1990)

Religion

95% Muslim

Total fertility rate

4.2 children born/woman (1990)