]! ^! 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 `U Saudi Arabia 60 km ^( 563 km ^) `$ 12 nm `H 24 nm `I 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% (2001) ^/ 130 sq km (1998 est.) ^0 haze, dust storms, sandstorms common ^1 limited natural fresh water resources are increasing dependence on large-scale desalination facilities _J `K Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection `L none of the selected agreements ^2 strategic location in central Persian Gulf near major petroleum deposits 
]# ^3 863,051 (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 23.7% (male 104,453/female 100,295) `+ 72.9% (male 437,118/female 191,830) `, 3.4% (male 21,599/female 7,756) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 31.57 years `- 36.87 years `. 22.33 years (2005 est.) ^6 2.61% (2005 est.) ^7 15.54 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 4.61 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 15.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.05 male(s)/female `0 1.04 male(s)/female `+ 2.28 male(s)/female `, 2.78 male(s)/female `1 1.88 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 18.61 deaths/1,000 live births `- 21.95 deaths/1,000 live births `. 15.11 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 73.67 years `- 71.15 years `. 76.32 years (2005 est.) ^= 2.87 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> 0.09% (2001 est.) ^? NA ^@ NA ^A `2 Qatari(s) `3 Qatari ^B Arab 40%, Pakistani 18%, Indian 18%, Iranian 10%, other 14% ^C Muslim 95% ^D Arabic (official), English commonly used as a second language ^E `M age 15 and over can read and write `1 89% `- 89.1% `. 88.6% (2004 est.) 
]$ ^F `4 State of Qatar `5 Qatar `V Dawlat Qatar `W Qatar note: closest approximation of the native pronunciation falls between cutter and gutter, but not like guitar ^H traditional monarchy ^I Doha ^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 Emir 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 `6 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, third 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 `7 Prime Minister ABDALLAH bin Khalifa al-Thani, brother of the monarch (since 30 October 1996); Deputy Prime Minister MUHAMMAD bin Khalifa al-Thani, brother of the monarch (since 20 January 1998); First Deputy Prime Minister HAMAD bin JASIM bin JABIR al-Thani (since 16 September 2003; also Foreign Minister since 1992); Second Deputy Prime Minister Abdallah bin Hamad al-ATTIYAH (since 16 September 2003; also Energy Minister since NA 1992) `8 Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch `9 none; the monarch is hereditary note: 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) note: 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 8 June 2004, 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 ^R Court of Appeal note: under the new 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, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDB, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, WToO ^V `N Ambassador Nasir bin Hamad bin Mubarak al-KHALIFA `O 4200 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20016 `P [1] (202) 274-1600 and 274-1603 `Q [1] (202) 237-0061 `R Houston ^W `N Ambassador Chase UNTERMEYER `Z Al-Luqta District, 22 February Road, Doha `[ P. O. Box 2399, Doha `P [974] 488 4101 `Q [974] 488 4298 ^X maroon with a broad white serrated band (nine white points) on the hoist side 
]% ^Y Oil and gas account for more than 55% of GDP, roughly 85% of export earnings, and 70% of government revenues. Oil and gas have given Qatar a per capita GDP about 80% of that of the leading West European industrial countries. Proved oil reserves of 16 billion barrels should ensure continued output at current levels for 23 years. Qatar's proved reserves of natural gas exceed 14 trillion cubic meters, more than 5% of the world total and third largest in the world. Long-term goals feature the development of offshore natural gas reserves to offset the ultimate decline in oil production. In recent years, Qatar has consistently posted trade surpluses largely because of high oil prices and increased natural gas exports, becoming one of the world's fastest growing and highest per-capita income countries. ^Z $19.49 billion (2004 est.) ^[ 8.7% (2004 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $23,200 (2004 est.) ^] `; 0.3% `< 58.2% `= 41.5% (2004 est.) ^^ 140,000 (2004 est.) ^` 2.7% (2001) ^a NA _! `> NA `? NA _" 3% (2004 est.) _P 22.9% of GDP (2004 est.) _# `@ $10.17 billion `A $7.61 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.2 billion (2004 est.) _Q NA _$ 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.) _' 9.727 billion kWh (2002) _( 9.046 billion kWh (2002) _) 0 kWh (2002) _* 0 kWh (2002) _+ 790,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) _, 30,000 bbl/day (2003 est.) _- NA _. NA _R 16 billion bbl (2004 est.) _S 32.4 billion cu m (2001 est.) _T 15.86 billion cu m (2001 est.) _U 18.2 billion cu m (2004 est.) _V 0 cu m (2001 est.) _W 14.41 trillion cu m (2004) _X $5.187 billion (2004 est.) _/ $15 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) _0 liquefied natural gas (LNG), petroleum products, fertilizers, steel _1 Japan 41.9%, South Korea 15.8%, Singapore 9.1%, India 5.4% (2004) _2 $6.15 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) _3 machinery and transport equipment, food, chemicals _4 France 26.6%, US 9.5%, Saudi Arabia 9.4%, UAE 6.3%, Germany 5.2%, Japan 5.2%, UK 5.1% (2004) _Y $3.351 billion (2004 est.) _5 $18.62 billion (2004 est.) _6 NA _7 Qatari rial (QAR) _8 Qatari rials per US dollar - 3.64 (2004), 3.64 (2003), 3.64 (2002), 3.64 (2001), 3.64 (2000) _9 1 April - 31 March 
]& _: 184,500 (2003) _; 376,500 (2003) _< `B modern system centered in Doha `C NA `D 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 _= AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1998) _> 1 (plus three repeaters) (2001) _? .qa _@ 221 (2004) _A 126,000 (2003) 
]' _B `! 1,230 km `E 1,107 km `F 123 km (1999 est.) _[ condensate 319 km; condensate/gas 209 km; gas 1,024 km; liquid petroleum gas 87 km; oil 702 km; oil/gas/water 41 km (2004) _C Doha _K `! 22 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 525,051 GRT/772,635 DWT by type: cargo 3, chemical tanker 5, container 8, liquefied gas 2, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 1 `S 6 (Kuwait 6) (2005) _D 4 (2004 est.) _E `! 2 `] 2 (2004 est.) _L `! 2 `_ 1 `T 1 (2004 est.) _\ 1 (2004 est.) 
]( _F Qatari Amiri Land Force (QALF), Qatari Amiri Navy (QAN), Qatari Amiri Air Force (QAAF) _M 18 years of age for voluntary military service; Land Force's enlisted personnel are largely nonprofessional foreign nationals (2005) _] males age 18-49: 302,873 note: includes non-nationals (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 238,566 (2005 est.) _^ `` 7,851 (2005 est.) _N $723 million (FY00) _O 10% (FY00) 
]) _H none 