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Geography Location: Middle East, peninsula bordering the Arabian Gulf and Saudi Arabia total area: 11,437 sq km Land boundaries: total 60 km, Saudi Arabia 60 km Coastline: 563 km Climate: desert; hot, dry; humid and sultry in summer Terrain: mostly flat and barren desert covered with loose sand and gravel Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, fish People Population: 533,916 (July 1995 est.) Age structure: 0-14 years: 30% (female 81,443; male 80,591) 15-64 years: 68% (female 104,921; male 258,135) 65 years and over: 2% (female 2,941; male 5,885) (July 1995 est.) Population growth rate: 2.74% (1995 est.) Birth rate: 22.72 births/1,000 population (1995 est.) Death rate: 3.59 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.) Net migration rate: 8.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.) Infant mortality rate: 20.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 73.03 years male: 70.45 years female: 75.5 years (1995 est.) Total fertility rate: 4.63 children born/woman (1995 est.) Ethnic divisions: Arab 40%, Pakistani 18%, Indian 18%, Iranian 10%, other 14% Religions: Muslim 95% Languages: Arabic (official), English commonly used as a second language Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1986) Government conventional long form: State of Qatar conventional short form: Qatar Type: traditional monarchy Capital: Doha Independence: 3 September 1971 (from UK) National holiday: Independence Day, 3 September (1971) Constitution: provisional constitution enacted 2 April 1970 Legal system: discretionary system of law controlled by the amir, although civil codes are being implemented; Islamic law is significant in personal matters Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: HH. Sh. Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani , Emir of The State Of Qatar Member of: ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GATT, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO Economy Overview: Oil is the backbone of the economy and accounts for more than 30% of GDP, roughly 75% of export earnings, and 70% 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 comparable to the leading West European industrial countries. Production and export of natural gas are becoming increasingly important. Long-term goals feature the development of off-shore oil and the diversification of the economy. National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $10.7 billion (1994 est.) National product real growth rate: -1% (1994 est.) National product per capita: $20,820 (1994 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3% (1993 est.) Budget: revenues: $2.5 billion expenditures: $3 billion, including capital expenditures of $440 million (1992 est.) Exports: $3.13 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: petroleum products 75%, steel, fertilizers partners: Japan 57%, South Korea 9%, Brazil 4%, UAE 4%, Singapore 3% (1992) Imports: $1.75 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: machinery and equipment, consumer goods, food, chemicals partners: Japan 16%, UK 11%, US 11%, Germany 7%, France 5% (1992) External debt: $1.5 billion (1993 est.) Industrial production: accounts for 50% of GDP, including oil Electricity: capacity: 1,520,000 kW production: 4.5 billion kWh consumption per capita: 8,415 kWh (1993) Industries: crude oil production and refining, fertilizers, petrochemicals, steel (rolls reinforcing bars for concrete construction), cement Agriculture: farming and grazing on small scale, less than 2% of GDP; agricultural area is small and government-owned; commercial fishing increasing in importance; most food imported Currency: 1 Qatari riyal (QR) = 100 dirhams Exchange rates: Qatari riyals (QR) per US$1 - 3.6400 riyals (fixed rate) Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March Transportation Highways: total: 1,190 km paved: 1,030 km unpaved: 160 km (1988 est.) Pipelines: crude oil 235 km; natural gas 400 km Ports: Doha, Halul Island, Umm Sa'id Merchant marine: total: 19 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 463,227 GRT/763,507 DWT ships by type: combination ore/oil 1, container 3, cargo 11, oil tanker 3, refrigerated cargo 1 Airports: total: 6 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 2 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3 Communications Telephone system: 110,000 telephones; modern system centered in Doha international: tropospheric scatter to Bahrain; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and UAE; submarine cable to Bahrain and UAE; 2 INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 ARABSAT earth station Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 TV broadcast stations: 3 |
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