]! ^! 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. His son, the current Amir HAMAD bin Khalifa al-Thani, overthrew him 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 one of the highest per capita incomes in the world. 
]" ^" Middle East, peninsula bordering the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia ^# 25 30 N, 51 15 E ^$ Middle East ^% `! 11,437 sq km `" 11,437 sq km `# 0 sq km ^& slightly smaller than Connecticut ^' `! 60 km `Y Saudi Arabia 60 km ^( 563 km ^) `$ 12 nm `M 24 nm `N as determined by bilateral agreements or the median line ^* arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers ^+ mostly flat and barren desert covered with loose sand and gravel ^, `% Persian Gulf 0 m `& Qurayn Abu al Bawl 103 m ^- petroleum, natural gas, fish ^. `' 1.64% `( 0.27% `) 98.09% (2005) ^/ 130 sq km (2002) ^0 haze, dust storms, sandstorms common ^1 limited natural fresh water resources are increasing dependence on large-scale desalination facilities _P `P Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution `Q none of the selected agreements ^2 strategic location in central Persian Gulf near major petroleum deposits 
]# ^3 907,229 (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 23.1% (male 106,853/female 102,713) `, 72.9% (male 455,631/female 206,099) `- 4% (male 26,689/female 9,244) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 31.9 years `. 37.3 years `/ 23.1 years (2007 est.) ^6 2.386% (2007 est.) ^7 15.56 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 4.82 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 13.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.05 male(s)/female `1 1.04 male(s)/female `, 2.211 male(s)/female `- 2.887 male(s)/female `2 1.852 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 17.46 deaths/1,000 live births `. 20.6 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 14.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 74.14 years `. 71.6 years `/ 76.82 years (2007 est.) ^= 2.75 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> 0.09% (2001 est.) ^? NA ^@ NA ^A `3 Qatari(s) `4 Qatari ^B Arab 40%, Indian 18%, Pakistani 18%, Iranian 10%, other 14% ^C Muslim 95%, other 5% ^D Arabic (official), English commonly used as a second language ^E `5 age 15 and over can read and write `2 89% `. 89.1% `/ 88.6% (2004 est.) 
]$ ^F `6 State of Qatar `7 Qatar `Z Dawlat Qatar `[ Qatar `* closest approximation of the native pronunciation falls between cutter and gutter, but not like guitar ^H traditional emirate ^I `8 Doha `9 25 17 N, 51 32 E `: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) ^J 10 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ad Dawhah, Al Ghuwayriyah, Al Jumayliyah, Al Khawr, Al Wakrah, Ar Rayyan, Jarayan al Batinah, Madinat ash Shamal, Umm Sa'id, Umm Salal ^K 3 September 1971 (from UK) ^L Independence Day, 3 September (1971) ^M ratified by public referendum on 29 April 2003, endorsed by the amir on 8 June 2004, effective on 9 June 2005 ^N discretionary system of law controlled by the amir, although civil codes are being implemented; Islamic law dominates family and personal matters ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `; Amir HAMAD bin Khalifa al-Thani (since 27 June 1995 when, as crown prince, he ousted his father, Amir KHALIFA bin Hamad al-Thani, in a bloodless coup); Crown Prince TAMIM bin Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, fourth son of the monarch (selected Heir Apparent by the monarch on 5 August 2003); note - Amir HAMAD also holds the positions of Minister of Defense and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces `< Prime Minister HAMAD bin Jasim bin Jabir al-Thani (since 3 April 2007); Deputy Prime Minister Abdallah bin Hamad al-ATIYAH (since 3 April 2007) `= Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch `> none; the monarch is hereditary `* in April 2003, Qatar held nationwide elections for a 29-member Central Municipal Council (CMC), which has consultative powers aimed at improving the provision of municipal services; the first election for the CMC was held in March 1999 ^Q unicameral Advisory Council or Majlis al-Shura (35 seats; members appointed) `* no legislative elections have been held since 1970 when there were partial elections to the body; Council members have had their terms extended every four years since; the new constitution, which came into force on 9 June 2005, provides for a 45-member Consultative Council, or Majlis al-Shura; the public would elect two-thirds of the Majlis al-Shura; the amir would appoint the remaining members; preparations are underway to conduct elections to the Majlis al-Shura in late 2007 ^R Court of Appeal `* under a judiciary law issued in 2003, the former two court systems, civil and Islamic law, were merged under a higher court, the Court of Cassation, established for appeals ^S none ^T none ^U ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDB, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO ^V `R Ambassador Nasir bin Hamad bin Mubarak al-KHALIFA `S 2555 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20037 `T [1] (202) 274-1600 and 274-1603 `U [1] (202) 237-0061 `V Houston ^W `R Ambassador Chase UNTERMEYER `_ Al-Luqta District, 22 February Road, Doha `` P. O. Box 2399, Doha `T [974] 488 4101 `U [974] 488 4176 ^X maroon with a broad white serrated band (nine white points) on the hoist side 
]% ^Y Oil and gas account for more than 60% of GDP, roughly 85% of export earnings, and 70% of government revenues. Oil and gas have made Qatar one of the world's faster growing and higher per-capita income countries - in 2006 per-capita income equaled that of the EU. Sustained high oil prices and increased natural gas exports in recent years have helped build Qatar's budget and trade surpluses and foreign reserves. Proved oil reserves of more than 15 billion barrels should ensure continued output at current levels for 23 years. Qatar's proved reserves of natural gas exceed 25 trillion cubic meters, more than 5% of the world total and third largest in the world. Qatar has permitted substantial foreign investment in the development of its gas fields during the last decade and is expected to become the world's top liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter in 2007. Qatar is also trying to attract foreign investment in the development of its non-energy projects by further liberalizing the economy. ^Z $26.05 billion (2006 est.) ^[ $30.76 billion (2006 est.) ^\ 7.1% (2006 est.) ^] $29,400 (2006 est.) ^^ `@ 0.1% `A 77.2% `B 22.6% (2006 est.) ^_ 508,000 (2006 est.) ^a 3.2% (2006 est.) _! NA% _" `C NA% `D NA% _# 7.2% (2006 est.) _V 33.2% of GDP (2006 est.) _$ `E $22.51 billion `F $16.89 billion; including capital expenditures of $2.2 billion (2006 est.) _% 23.6% of GDP (2006 est.) _& fruits, vegetables; poultry, dairy products, beef; fish _' crude oil production and refining, ammonia, fertilizers, petrochemicals, steel reinforcing bars, cement, commercial ship repair _( 10% (2003 est.) _) 12.4 billion kWh (2004) _* 11.53 billion kWh (2004) _+ 0 kWh (2004) _, 0 kWh (2004) _- 790,500 bbl/day (2005 est.) _. 80,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) _/ NA bbl/day _0 NA bbl/day _W 15.2 billion bbl (2006 est.) _1 39.17 billion cu m (2004 est.) _2 15.11 billion cu m (2004 est.) _X 24.06 billion cu m (2004 est.) _Y 0 cu m (2004 est.) _Z 25.77 trillion cu m (1 January 2005 est.) _Q $12.51 billion (2006 est.) _3 $33.25 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) _4 liquefied natural gas (LNG), petroleum products, fertilizers, steel _5 Japan 36.9%, South Korea 19.4%, Singapore 8.2% (2005) _6 $12.36 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) _7 machinery and transport equipment, food, chemicals _8 France 11.4%, Japan 10.4%, US 10.3%, Germany 8.3%, Saudi Arabia 7.2%, UK 6.9%, Italy 6.5%, South Korea 5.5%, UAE 4.8% (2005) _[ $5.755 billion (2006 est.) _9 $25.7 billion (2006 est.) _: $NA _; Qatari rial (QAR) _< Qatari rials per US dollar - 3.64 (2006), 3.64 (2005), 3.64 (2004), 3.64 (2003), 3.64 (2002) _= 1 April - 31 March 
]& _> 205,400 (2005) _? 854,900 (2006) _@ `G modern system centered in Doha `H NA `I country code - 974; tropospheric scatter to Bahrain; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and UAE; submarine cable to Bahrain and UAE; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat _A AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1998) _B 1 (plus 3 repeaters) (2001) _C .qa _D 301 (2006) _E 219,000 (2005) 
]' _F 5 (2006) _G `! 3 `a 2 `b 1 (2006) _R `! 2 `c 1 `W 1 (2006) _] 1 (2006) _^ condensate 319 km; condensate/gas 209 km; gas 1,024 km; liquid petroleum gas 87 km; oil 844 km (2006) _H `! 1,230 km `K 1,107 km `L 123 km (1999) _S `! 23 ships (1000 GRT or over) 750,669 GRT/1,177,673 DWT by type: cargo 2, chemical tanker 3, container 8, liquefied gas 2, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 1 `X 8 (Kuwait 7, US 1) `d 4 (Honduras 1, Liberia 2, Panama 1) (2006) _I Doha 
]( _J Qatari Amiri Land Force (QALF), Qatari Amiri Navy (QAN), Qatari Amiri Air Force (QAAF) (2007) _T 18 years of age for voluntary military service; land forces enlisted personnel are largely unprofessional foreign nationals (2005) _K males age 18-49: 302,873 females age 18-49: 137,856 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 238,566 females age 18-49: 116,595 (2005 est.) _L males age 18-49: 7,851 females age 18-49: 7,040 (2005 est.) _U 10% (2005 est.) 
]) _N none __ `f Qatar is a destination country for men and women from South and Southeast Asia who migrate willingly, but are subsequently trafficked into involuntary servitude as domestic workers and laborers; the problem of trafficking of foreign children as camel jockeys was thoroughly addressed by government action in 2005, but independent confirmation of the problem's complete elimination is not yet available `g Tier 2 Watch List - Qatar has made noticeable progress in rescuing and repatriating child camel jockeys, establishing a shelter for abused domestic workers, and creating hotlines to register complaints; however, Qatar is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide sufficient evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking in persons in 2005, particularly with regard to labor exploitation 