Qatar

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

noun:

Qatari(s)

adjective:

Qatari

total:

34.3 years (2024 est.)

male:

35.7 years

female:

28.1 years

at birth:

1.02 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

4.29 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

1.91 male(s)/female

total population:

3.32 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

total:

6.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)

male:

7 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

5.8 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

80.3 years (2024 est.)

male:

78.2 years

female:

82.4 years

total:

0.96 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

0.29 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

0.07 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

0.59 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

11.8% (2020 est.)

male:

21.7% (2020 est.)

female:

1.9% (2020 est.)

• 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, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

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

urban population:

99.4% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

1.66% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

particulate matter emissions:

59.04 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

103.26 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

8.34 megatons (2020 est.)

municipal solid waste generated annually:

1,000,990 tons (2012 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually:

30,030 tons (2014 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled:

3% (2014 est.)

municipal:

530 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial:

400 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural:

320 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

name:

Doha

geographic coordinates:

25 17 N, 51 32 E

time difference:

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

etymology:

derives from the Arabic term "dohat," meaning "roundness," and refers to the small rounded bays along the area's coastline

• 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

amendments:

• proposed by the Amir 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;
• amended by referendum November 2024;
• note - among the 19 proposed amendments, a major one was replacing direct elections for 30 of the 45 members of the Shura Council with appointments

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

chief of state:

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

head of government:

Prime Minister and Foreign Minister MUHAMMAD bin Abd al-Rahman Al Thani (since 7 March 2023)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the amir

elections/appointments:

the monarchy is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the amir

highest court(s):

• 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 mission:

Ambassador Meshal bin Hamad AL THANI (since 24 April 2017)

chancery:

2555 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20037

telephone:

[1] (202) 274-1600

FAX:

[1] (202) 237-0682

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://washington.embassy.qa/en/home

consulate(s) general:

Houston, Los Angeles, New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Timmy DAVIS (since 5 September 2022)

embassy:

22 February Street, Al Luqta District, P.O. Box 2399, Doha

mailing address:

6130 Doha Place, Washington DC 20521-6130

telephone:

[974] 4496-6000

FAX:

[974] 4488-4298

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://qa.usembassy.gov/

• 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

total World Heritage Sites:

1 (cultural)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

Al Zubarah Archaeological Site

• high-income, oil-and-gas-based Middle Eastern economy;
• National Vision 2030 government strategy for economic development, diversification, favorable business conditions to grow investment and employment;
• infrastructure investments;
• Islamic finance leader;
• citizenship-based labor force growth

Fitch rating:

AA- (2017)

Moody's rating:

Aa3 (2017)

Standard & Poors rating: AA- (2017)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

agriculture:

0.3% (2022 est.)

industry:

65.4% (2022 est.)

services:

38.5% (2022 est.)

note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

total:

0.6% (2023 est.)

male:

0.3% (2023 est.)

female:

1.5% (2023 est.)

note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

on food:

12.3% of household expenditures (2022 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco:

0.3% of household expenditures (2022 est.)

exports:

3,000 metric tons (2022 est.)

imports:

4,000 metric tons (2022 est.)

total petroleum production:

1.851 million bbl/day (2023 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

297,000 bbl/day (2022 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

25.244 billion barrels (2021 est.)

production:

169.595 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

consumption:

41.515 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

exports:

126.221 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

proven reserves:

23.861 trillion cubic meters (2021 est.)

general assessment:

• Qatar had developed a mature telecom sector which has been able to absorb the additional data demands made on it during the pandemic;
• mobile services based on LTE are universally available to migrate to 5G;
• in combination with a strong fiber rollout, the country is aiming to provide gigabit services nationally;
• 5G services are largely based on 3.5GHz spectrum made available following an auction in early 2019 (2022)

domestic:

fixed-line is 17 per 100 and mobile-cellular telephone subscribership is 144 telephones per 100 persons (2021)

international:

• country code - 974;
• landing points for the Qatar-UAE Submarine Cable System, AAE-1, FOG, GBICS/East North Africa MENA and the FALCON submarine cable network that provides links to Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Southeast Asia;
• 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;
• retains full ownership of two commercial satellites, Es'hailSat 1 and 2 (2019)

• 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 launched its second commercial satellite in 2018 with aid of SpaceX (2019)

number of registered air carriers:

3 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 251

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

29,178,923 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

12,666,710,000 (2018) mt-km

total ports:

6 (2024)

large:

0

medium:

1

small:

2

very small:

3

ports with oil terminals:

5

key ports:

Al Rayyan Terminal, Al Shaheen Terminal, Doha, Jazirat Halul, Ras Laffan, Umm Said

• the Qatari military's inventory includes a broad mix of older and modern weapons systems, mostly from the US and Europe;
• in the 2010s, Qatar embarked on a military expansion and modernization program with large air, ground, and naval equipment purchases;
• in recent years, major suppliers have included France, Germany, Italy, the UK, and the US;
• Qatar is one of the world's largest arms importers (2024)

• conscription for men aged 18-35 introduced in 2013;
• compulsory service times range from 4-12 months, depending on educational and professional circumstances;
• since 2018, women have been permitted to serve as volunteers in the armed forces, including as uniformed officers and pilots (2023)

note: the military incorporates about 2,000 conscripts annually and recruits foreign contract soldiers to overcome manpower limitations