Qatar

• arid;
• mild, pleasant winters;
• very hot, humid summers

total:

0.29 cu km/yr (24%/3%/72%)

per capita:

358 cu m/yr (2000)

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

noun:

Qatari(s)

adjective:

Qatari

at birth:

1.056 male(s)/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.)

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

name:

Doha

geographic coordinates:

25 17 N, 51 32 E

time difference:

UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

chief of state:

• Amir HAMAD bin Khalifa Al Thani (since 27 June 1995);
• 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; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

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

• 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

chief of mission:

Ambassador Ali Fahad al-Shahwany al-HAJRI

chancery:

2555 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20037

telephone:

[1] (202) 274-1600 and 274-1603

FAX:

[1] (202) 237-0061

consulate(s) general:

Houston

chief of mission:

Ambassador Susan L. ZIADEH

embassy:

Al-Luqta District, 22 February Road, Doha

mailing address:

P. O. Box 2399, Doha

telephone:

[974] 488 4161

FAX:

[974] 488 4150

• 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

name:

"Al-Salam Al-Amiri" (The Peace for the Anthem)

lyrics/music:

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

lowest 10%:

1.3%

highest 10%:

35.9%

• fruits, vegetables;
• poultry, dairy products, beef;
• fish

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)

• 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)

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

males age 16-49:

389,487

females age 16-49:

165,572 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

321,974

females age 16-49:

140,176 (2010 est.)

male:

6,429

female:

5,162 (2010 est.)

current situation:

Qatar is a destination country for men and women subjected to forced labor and, to a much lesser extent, forced prostitution; men and women from Nepal, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Sudan, Thailand, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and China voluntarily migrate to Qatar as low-skilled laborers and domestic servants, but some subsequently face conditions indicative of involuntary servitude as domestic workers and laborers, and, to a lesser extent, commercial sexual exploitation

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List - the Government of Qatar does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
• it did not demonstrate evidence of significant efforts to punish traffickers or proactively identify victims;
• however, the government has a written plan that, if implemented, would largely bring the country into compliance with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
• it is devoting sufficient resources to implementing the plan (2011)