Qatar

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

mean elevation:

28 m

elevation extremes:

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

• air, land, and water pollution are significant environmental issues;
• limited natural freshwater resources are increasing dependence on large-scale desalination facilities;
• other issues include conservation of oil supplies and preservation of the natural wildlife heritage

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

0-14 years:

12.7% (male 151,888 /female 148,186)

15-24 years:

12.12% (male 205,242 /female 81,297)

25-54 years:

70.67% (male 1,391,192 /female 279,256)

55-64 years:

3.44% (male 62,683 /female 18,731)

65 years and over:

1.06% (male 16,295 /female 8,799) (2018 est.)

total dependency ratio:

17.5 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio:

16.3 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio:

1.3 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio:

78.1 (2015 est.)

at birth:

1.02 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

0-14 years:

1.03 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

15-24 years:

2.64 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

25-54 years:

4.91 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

55-64 years:

3.38 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

65 years and over:

1.71 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

total population:

3.41 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

name:

Doha

geographic coordinates:

25 17 N, 51 32 E

time difference:

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

• 8 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah);
• Ad Dawhah, Al Khawr wa adh Dhakhirah, Al Wakrah, Ar Rayyan, Ash Shamal, Ash Shihaniyah, Az Za'ayin, Umm Salal

history:

previous 1972 (provisional); latest drafted 2 July 2002, approved by referendum 29 April 2003, endorsed 8 June 2004, effective 9 June 2005 (2016)

amendments:

• proposed by the emir or by one-third of Advisory Council members;
• passage requires two-thirds majority vote of Advisory Council members and approval and promulgation by the emir;
• articles pertaining to the rule of state and its inheritance, functions of the emir, and citizen rights and liberties cannot be amended (2016)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

the father must be a citizen of Qatar

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

20 years; 15 years if an Arab national

highest courts:

• Supreme Court or Court of Cassation (consists of the court president and several judges);
• Supreme Constitutional Court (consists of the chief justice and 6 members)

judge selection and term of office:

• Supreme Court judges nominated by the Supreme Judiciary Council, a 9-member independent body consisting of judiciary heads appointed by the Amir;
• judges appointed for 3-year renewable terms;
• Supreme Constitutional Court members nominated by the Supreme Judiciary Council and appointed by the monarch;
• term of appointment NA

subordinate courts:

• Courts of Appeal;
• Administrative Court;
• courts of first instance;
• sharia courts;
• Courts of Justice;
• Qatar International Court and Dispute Resolution Center, established in 2009, provides dispute resolution services for institutions and bodies in Qatar, as well as internationally

chief of state:

Amir TAMIM bin Hamad Al Thani (since 25 June 2013)

head of government:

• Prime Minister ABDALLAH bin Nasir bin Khalifa Al Thani (since 26 June 2013);
• Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Affairs Khalid bin Mohamed al-Thani (since 14 November 2017);
• Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohamed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani (since 14 November 2017)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the amir

elections/appointments:

the monarchy is hereditary; prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the amir

description:

unicameral Advisory Council or Majlis al-Shura (45 seats; 30 members directly elected by popular vote for 4-year re-electable terms and 15 appointed by the monarch to serve until resignation or until relieved

elections:

last on 17 June 2016 (term extended to 2019)

election results:

NA; composition - men 41, women 4, percent of women 8.9%

chief of mission:

Ambassador MISHAL bin Hamad bin Muhammad Al Thani (since 24 April 2017)

chancery:

2555 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20037

telephone:

[1] (202) 274-1600

FAX:

[1] (202) 237-0682

consulate(s) general:

Houston, Los Angeles

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Ryan GLIHA (since 30 November 2017)

embassy:

22 February Street, Al Luqta District, Doha

mailing address:

P. O. Box 2399, Doha

telephone:

[974] 4496-6000

FAX:

[974] 4488-4298

• 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 Amiri Salute)

lyrics/music:

Sheikh MUBARAK bin Saif al-Thani/Abdul Aziz Nasser OBAIDAN

note: adopted 1996; anthem first performed that year at a meeting of the Gulf Cooperative Council hosted by Qatar

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

lowest 10%:

35.9% (2007)

highest 10%:

35.9% (2007)

general assessment:

modern system centered in Doha (2016)

domestic:

combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular telephone subscribership exceeds 175 telephones per 100 persons (2016)

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 (2016)

• TV and radio broadcast licensing and access to local media markets are state controlled;
• home of the satellite TV channel Al-Jazeera, which was originally owned and financed by the Qatari government but has evolved to independent corporate status;
• Al-Jazeera claims editorial independence in broadcasting;
• local radio transmissions include state, private, and international broadcasters on FM frequencies in Doha;
• in August 2013, Qatar's satellite company Es'hailSat launched its first communications satellite Es'hail 1 (manufactured in the US), which entered commercial service in December 2013 to provide improved television broadcasting capability and expand availability of voice and Internet;
• Es'hailSat expects to launch its second satellite in 2018 (2014)

number of registered air carriers:

2 (2015)

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 199 (2015)

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

25,263,224 (2015)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

7,563,307,390 mt-km (2015)

total:

143 (2017)

by type:

bulk carrier 8, container ship 6, general cargo 5, oil tanker 6, other 118 (2017)

major seaport(s):

Doha, Musay'id, Ra's Laffan

LNG terminal(s) (export):

Ras Laffan

HAMAS:

aim(s): continue engagement with the Qatari Government

area(s) of operation:

maintains a limited office in Doha (April 2018)

current situation:

• Qatar is a destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor, and, to a much lesser extent, forced prostitution;
• the predominantly foreign workforce migrates to Qatar legally for low- and semi-skilled work but often experiences situations of forced labor, including debt bondage, delayed or nonpayment of salaries, confiscation of passports, abuse, hazardous working conditions, and squalid living arrangements;
• foreign female domestic workers are particularly vulnerable to trafficking because of their isolation in private homes and lack of protection under Qatari labor laws;
• some women who migrate for work are also forced into prostitution

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List – Qatar does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
• however, it is making significant efforts to do so;
• the government investigated 11 trafficking cases but did not prosecute or convict any offenders, including exploitative employers and recruitment agencies;
• the primary solution for resolving labor violations was to transfer a worker’s sponsorship to a new employer with minimal effort to investigate whether a forced labor violation had occurred;
• authorities increased their efforts to protect some trafficking victims, although many victims of forced labor, particularly domestic workers, remained unidentified and unprotected and were sometimes punished for immigration violations or running away from an employer or sponsor;
• authorities visited worksites throughout the country to meet and educate workers and employers on trafficking regulations, but the government failed to abolish or reform the sponsorship system, perpetuating Qatar’s forced labor problem (2015)