Independence Year : 1971
Population : 599000
Life Expectancy : 72.4
Capital : 2973
GNP : 9472.00
GNP Old : 8920.00
Local Name : Qatar
Government Form : Monarchy
Location : Middle East, Gulf Region, peninsula bordering the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia
Terrain : Mostly desert, flat, barren
Climate : Hot and dry, some humidity in summer.
Ethnic Group : Arab 40%, Pakistani 18%, Indian 18%, Iranian 10%, other 14%
Religions : Islam (state religion, claimed by virtually all of the indigenous population)
Official Website :
www.diwan.gov.qa
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General Information - Qatar
Background
Ruled by the Al Thani family since the mid-1800s, Qatar transformed itself from a poor British protectorate noted mainly for pearling into an independent state with significant oil and natural gas revenues.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Qatari economy was crippled by a continuous siphoning off of petroleum revenues by the amir who had ruled the country since 1972. He was overthrown by his son, the current Amir HAMAD bin Khalifa Al Thani, in a bloodless coup in 1995.
In 2001, Qatar resolved its longstanding border disputes with both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Oil and natural gas revenues enable Qatar to have a per capita income not far below the leading industrial countries of Western Europe.
(Source: CIA - The World Factbook)
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