Qatar

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Coordinates: 25°30′N 51°15′E

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the country. For other places, see Qatar (disambiguation).

State of Qatar
‫( دولة قطر‬Arabic)
Dawlat Qaṭar

Flag

Emblem
 Motto: ‫ﷲ الوطن اﻷمير‬
Allāh al-Waṭan al-ʾAmīr
"God, Nation, Emir"

Anthem: ‫السﻼم اﻷميري‬

As-Salām al-ʾAmīrī
"Peace to the Emir"

Duration: 1 minute and 27 seconds.1:27

Location and extent of Qatar (dark green) on the Arabian Peninsula

Capital Doha
25°18′N 51°31′E
and largest city

Official languages Arabic[1]

 40% Arab
Ethnic groups

(2019)[3] o 43% South Asian[2]
 21.8% Indian
 12.5% Bangladeshi
 4.7% Pakistani
 4.35% Sri Lankan
 9% Egyptian
 7% other

Religion  65.5% Islam (official)

(2020) [4]  15.1% Hinduism
 14.2% Christianity
 3.3% Buddhism
 1.9% other
 Demonym(s) Qatari

Government Unitary authoritarian[5][6] parliamentary semi-constitutional

monarchy

Emir Tamim bin Hamad

Deputy Emir Abdullah bin Hamad
Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman

Legislature Consultative Assembly

Establishment

Qatar National Day 18 December 1878

Declared
independence 1 September 1971
Independence from
the United 3 September 1971
Kingdom

Area
Total 11,581 km2 (4,471 sq mi) (158th)
Water (%) 0.8

Population
2020 estimate 2,795,484[7] (139th)
2010 census 1,699,435[8]
Density 176/km2 (455.8/sq mi) (76th)

GDP (PPP) 2023 estimate

Total $328.134 billion[9] (62nd)
Per capita $114,210[9] (4th)

GDP (nominal) 2023 estimate

Total $235.500 billion[9] (55th)
Per capita $81,968[9] (5th)

Gini (2007) 41.1[10]

medium

HDI (2022) 0.875[11]

very high (40th)

Currency Qatari riyal (QAR)

Time zone UTC+3 (AST)

Driving side right[12]

Calling code +974

 ISO 3166 code QA

Internet TLD  .qa

 ‫قطر‬.

Qatar,[b] officially the State of Qatar,[c] is a country in West Asia. It occupies

the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in
the Middle East; it shares its sole land border with Saudi Arabia to the south,
with the rest of its territory surrounded by the Persian Gulf. The Gulf of Bahrain,
an inlet of the Persian Gulf, separates Qatar from nearby Bahrain. The capital
is Doha, home to over 80% of the country's inhabitants, and the land area is
mostly made up of flat, low-lying desert.
Qatar has been ruled as a hereditary monarchy by the House of
Thani since Mohammed bin Thani signed "an agreement, not a formal
treaty"[18] with Britain in 1868 that recognised its separate status.
Following Ottoman rule, Qatar became a British protectorate in 1916 and
gained independence in 1971. The current emir is Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani,
who holds nearly all executive, legislative, and judicial authority
in autocratic manner under the Constitution of Qatar.[19] He appoints the prime
minister and cabinet. The partially-elected Consultative Assembly can block
legislation and has a limited ability to dismiss ministers.
In early 2017, the population of Qatar was 2.6 million, although only 313,000 of
them are Qatari citizens and 2.3 million being expatriates and migrant
workers.[20] Its official religion is Islam.[21] The country has the fourth-highest GDP
(PPP) per capita in the world[22] and the eleventh-highest GNI per capita (Atlas
method).[23] It ranks 42nd in the Human Development Index, the third-highest
HDI in the Arab world.[24] It is a high-income economy, backed by the world's
third-largest natural gas reserves and oil reserves.[25] Qatar is one of the world's
largest exporters of liquefied natural gas[26] and the world's largest emitter of
carbon dioxide per capita.[27]
In the 21st century, Qatar emerged as both a major non-NATO ally of
the United States and a middle power in the Arab world. Its economy has risen
rapidly through its resource-wealth,[28][29] and its geopolitical power has risen
through its media group, Al Jazeera Media Network, and reported support for
rebel groups financially during the Arab Spring.[30][31][32] Qatar also forms part of
the Gulf Cooperation Council.[3]
Etymology
Pliny the Elder, a Roman writer, documented the earliest account pertaining to
the inhabitants of the peninsula around the mid-first century AD, referring to
them as the Catharrei, a designation that may have derived from the name of a
prominent local settlement.[33][34] A century later, Ptolemy produced the first
known map to depict the peninsula, referring to it as Catara.[34][35] The map also
referenced a town named "Cadara" to the east of the peninsula.[36] The term
"Catara" (inhabitants, Cataraei)[37] was exclusively used until the 18th century,
after which "Katara" emerged as the most commonly recognised
spelling.[36] Eventually, after several variations — "Katr", "Kattar" and "Guttur" —
the modern derivative Qatar was adopted as the country's name.[38] In Standard
Arabic, the name is pronounced [ˈqɑtˤɑr], while in the local dialect it
is [ˈɡɪtˤɑr].[17] English speakers use different approximate pronunciations of the
name as the Arabic pronunciations use sounds not often used in English.[39]
History
Main article: History of Qatar
Antiquity

Excavation of a Kassite dye site on Al Khor

Island
Human habitation in Qatar dates back to 50,000 years ago.[40] Settlements and
tools dating back to the Stone Age have been unearthed in the
peninsula.[40] Mesopotamian artifacts originating from the Ubaid period (c. 6500–
3800 BC) have been discovered in abandoned coastal settlements.[41] Al Da'asa,
a settlement located on the western coast of Qatar, is the most important Ubaid
site in the country and is believed to have accommodated a small seasonal
encampment.[42][43]
Kassite Babylonian material dating back to the second millennium BC found
in Al Khor Islands attests to trade relations between the inhabitants of Qatar and
the Kassites in modern-day Bahrain.[44] Among the findings were crushed snail
shells and Kassite potsherds.[42] It has been suggested that Qatar is the earliest
known site of shellfish dye production, owing to a Kassite purple dye industry
which existed on the coast.[41][45]
In 224 AD, the Sasanian Empire gained control over the territories surrounding
the Persian Gulf.[46] Qatar played a role in the commercial activity of the
Sasanids, contributing at least two commodities: precious pearls and purple
dye.[citation needed] Under the Sasanid reign, many of the inhabitants in eastern Arabia
were introduced to Christianity following the eastward dispersal of the religion
by Mesopotamian Christians.[47] Monasteries were constructed and further
settlements were founded during this era.[48][49] During the latter part of the
Christian era, Qatar comprised a region known as 'Beth Qatraye' (Syriac for
"house of the Qataris").[50] The region was not limited to Qatar; it also
included Bahrain, Tarout Island, Al-Khatt, and Al-Hasa.[51]
In 628, the Islamic prophet Muhammad sent a Muslim envoy to a ruler in
eastern Arabia named Munzir ibn Sawa Al-Tamimi and requested that he and
his subjects accept Islam. Munzir obliged his request, and accordingly most of
the Arab tribes in the region converted to Islam.[52] In the middle of the century,
the Muslim conquest of Persia resulted in the fall of the Sasanian Empire.[53]