Qatar (2002) | Chad (2001) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 9 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ad Dawhah, Al Ghuwayriyah, Al Jumayliyah, Al Khawr, Al Wakrah, Ar Rayyan, Jarayan al Batinah, Madinat ash Shamal, Umm Salal | 14 prefectures (prefectures, singular - prefecture); Batha, Biltine, Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti, Chari-Baguirmi, Guera, Kanem, Lac, Logone Occidental, Logone Oriental, Mayo-Kebbi, Moyen-Chari, Ouaddai, Salamat, Tandjile |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 25.2% (male 102,110; female 98,053)
15-64 years: 72.1% (male 403,508; female 168,428) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 15,299; female 5,943) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years:
47.73% (male 2,091,724; female 2,064,514) 15-64 years: 49.46% (male 2,035,099; female 2,271,389) 65 years and over: 2.81% (male 101,579; female 142,773) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruits, vegetables; poultry, dairy products, beef; fish | cotton, sorghum, millet, peanuts, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca); cattle, sheep, goats, camels |
Airports | 4 (2001) | 50 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
over 3,047 m: 2 (2002) |
total:
7 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
43 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 m: 11 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 11,437 sq km
land: 11,437 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
1.284 million sq km land: 1,259,200 sq km water: 24,800 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Connecticut | slightly more than three times the size of California |
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. | Chad, part of France's African holdings until 1960, endured three decades of ethnic warfare as well as invasions by Libya before a semblance of peace was finally restored in 1990. The government eventually suppressed or came to terms with most political-military groups, settled a territorial dispute with Libya on terms favorable to Chad, drafted a democratic constitution, and held multiparty presidential and National Assembly elections in 1996 and 1997 respectively. In 1998 a new rebellion broke out in northern Chad, which continued to escalate throughout 2000. Despite movement toward democratic reform, power remains in the hands of a northern ethnic oligarchy. |
Birth rate | 15.78 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 48.28 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $5 billion
expenditures: $4.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $900 million (FY01/02 est. ) |
revenues:
$198 million expenditures: $218 million, including capital expenditures of $146 million (1998 est.) |
Capital | Doha | N'Djamena |
Climate | arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers | tropical in south, desert in north |
Coastline | 563 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | provisional constitution enacted 19 April 1972; in July 1999 Amir HAMAD issued a decree forming a committee to draft a permanent constitution | passed by referendum 31 March 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form: State of Qatar
conventional short form: Qatar local long form: Dawlat Qatar local short form: Qatar note: closest approximation of the native pronunciation falls between cutter and gutter, but not like guitar |
conventional long form:
Republic of Chad conventional short form: Chad local long form: Republique du Tchad local short form: Tchad |
Currency | Qatari rial (QAR) | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States |
Death rate | 4.34 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 15.4 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $13.1 billion (2000 est.) | $1 billion (1999 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Maureen E. QUINN
embassy: Al-Luqtas District, 22 February Road, Doha mailing address: P. O. Box 2399, Doha telephone: [974] 488 4101 FAX: [974] 488 4298 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Christopher E. GOLDTHWAIT embassy: Avenue Felix Eboue, N'Djamena mailing address: B. P. 413, N'Djamena telephone: [235] (51) 70-09, (51) 90-52, (51) 92-33 FAX: [235] (51) 56-54 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Badr Umar al-DAFA
chancery: 4200 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 274-1600 FAX: [1] (202) 237-0061 consulate(s) general: Houston |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Hassaballah Abdelhadi Ahmat SOUBIANE chancery: 2002 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 462-4009 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1937 |
Disputes - international | none | delimitation of international boundaries in the vicinity of Lake Chad, the lack of which led to border incidents in the past, has been completed and awaits ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $238.3 million (1995); note - $125 million committed by Taiwan (August 1997); $30 million committed by African Development Bank |
Economy - overview | Oil accounts for more than 30% of GDP, roughly 80% of export earnings, and 58% of government revenues. Proved oil reserves of 3.7 billion barrels should ensure continued output at current levels for 23 years. Oil has given Qatar a per capita GDP comparable to that of the leading West European industrial countries. Qatar's proved reserves of natural gas exceed 7 trillion cubic meters, more than 5% of the world total, third largest in the world. Production and export of natural gas are becoming increasingly important. Long-term goals feature the development of offshore natural gas reserves. In 2000, Qatar posted its highest ever trade surplus of $7 billion, due mainly to high oil prices and increased natural gas exports, and managed to maintain the surplus in 2001. | Landlocked Chad's economic development suffers from its geographic remoteness, drought, lack of infrastructure, and political turmoil. About 85% of the population depends on agriculture, including the herding of livestock. Of Africa's Francophone countries, Chad benefited least from the 50% devaluation of their currencies in January 1994. Financial aid from the World Bank, the African Development Fund, and other sources is directed largely at the improvement of agriculture, especially livestock production. The World Bank's decision to back the Doba oil field development and the Chad-Cameroon pipeline will add Chad to the group of already booming West African oil exporters. However, the rank and file may not benefit much from the oil development projects. |
Electricity - consumption | 8.556 billion kWh (2000) | 83.7 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 9.2 billion kWh (2000) | 90 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Qurayn Abu al Bawl 103 m |
lowest point:
Djourab Depression 160 m highest point: Emi Koussi 3,415 m |
Environment - current issues | limited natural fresh water resources are increasing dependence on large-scale desalination facilities | inadequate supplies of potable water; improper waste disposal in rural areas contributes to soil and water pollution; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
Ethnic groups | Arab 40%, Pakistani 18%, Indian 18%, Iranian 10%, other 14% | Muslims, commonly referred to as "northerners" or "gorane" (Arabs, Toubou, Hadjerai, Fulbe, Kotoko, Kanembou, Baguirmi, Boulala, Zaghawa, and Maba); non-Muslims, commonly referred to as "southerners" (Sara, Ngambaye, Mbaye, Goulaye, Moundang, Moussei, Massa) including nonindigenous 150,000 (of whom 1,000 are French)
note: ethnicity and regional background more commonly used to identify Chadians than religious affiliation |
Exchange rates | Qatari rials per US dollar - 3.6400 (fixed rate) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro |
Executive branch | chief of state: 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 JASSIM bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, third son of the monarch (selected crown prince by the monarch 22 October 1996); note - Amir HAMAD also holds the positions of minister of defense and commander-in-chief of the armed forces
head of government: 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) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary note: in March 1999, Qatar held nationwide elections for a 29-member Central Municipal Council, which has consultative powers aimed at improving the provision of municipal services |
chief of state:
President Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY (since 4 December 1990) head of government: Prime Minister Nagoum YAMASSOUM (since 13 December 1999) cabinet: Council of State, members appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote to serve five-year term; if no candidate receives at least 50% of the total vote, the two candidates receiving the most votes must stand for a second round of voting; last held 20 May 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY elected president; percent of vote - Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY 63%, Ngarlegy YORONGAR 16%, Saleh KEBZABO 7% note: government coalition - MPS, UNDR, and URD |
Exports | $11 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $172 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum products 80%, fertilizers, steel | cotton, cattle, textiles |
Exports - partners | Japan 43%, Singapore 8%, South Korea 6%, US 4%, UAE 2% (1999) | Portugal 38%, Germany 12%, Thailand, Costa Rica, South Africa, France (1999) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | maroon with a broad white serrated band (nine white points) on the hoist side | three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; similar to the flag of Romania; also similar to the flags of Andorra and Moldova, both of which have a national coat of arms centered in the yellow band; design was based on the flag of France |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $16.3 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8.1 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 49% services: 50% (1996 est.) |
agriculture:
40% industry: 14% services: 46% (1998) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $21,200 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.6% (2001 est.) | 4% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 25 30 N, 51 15 E | 15 00 N, 19 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location in central Persian Gulf near major petroleum deposits | landlocked; Lake Chad is the most significant water body in the Sahel |
Heliports | 1 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 1,230 km
paved: 1,107 km unpaved: 123 km (1996) |
total:
33,400 km paved: 267 km unpaved: 33,133 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $3.5 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $223 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, food, chemicals | machinery and transportation equipment, industrial goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs, textiles |
Imports - partners | UK 10%, Japan 8%, Germany 6%, Italy 6%, US 6% (1998) | France 40%, Cameroon 13%, Nigeria 12%, India 5% (1999) |
Independence | 3 September 1971 (from UK) | 11 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 5% (1995) |
Industries | crude oil production and refining, fertilizers, petrochemicals, steel reinforcing bars, cement | cotton textiles, meatpacking, beer brewing, natron (sodium carbonate), soap, cigarettes, construction materials |
Infant mortality rate | 20.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 95.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (2001) | 3% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDB, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 130 sq km (1998 est.) | 140 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; Criminal Courts; Magistrate Courts |
Labor force | 280,122 (1997 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 85% (subsistence farming, herding, and fishing) |
Land boundaries | total: 60 km
border countries: Saudi Arabia 60 km |
total:
5,968 km border countries: Cameroon 1,094 km, Central African Republic 1,197 km, Libya 1,055 km, Niger 1,175 km, Nigeria 87 km, Sudan 1,360 km |
Land use | arable land: 1.27%
permanent crops: 0.27% other: 98.46% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 36% forests and woodland: 26% other: 35% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Arabic (official), English commonly used as a second language | French (official), Arabic (official), Sara and Sango (in south), more than 100 different languages and dialects |
Legal system | discretionary system of law controlled by the amir, although civil codes are being implemented; Islamic law dominates family and personal matters | based on French civil law system and Chadian customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Advisory Council or Majlis al-Shura (35 seats; members appointed)
note: the constitution calls for elections for part of this consultative body, but no 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 |
unicameral National Assembly (125 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); replaces the Higher Transitional Council or the Conseil Superieur de Transition
elections: National Assembly - last held in two rounds on 5 January and 23 February 1997 (next to be held in late 2001); in the first round of voting some candidates won clear victories by receiving 50% or more of the vote; where that did not happen, the two highest scoring candidates stood for a second round of voting election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MPS 65, URD 29, UNDR 15, RDP 3, others 13 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.88 years
male: 70.4 years female: 75.48 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
50.88 years male: 48.86 years female: 52.98 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 79% male: 79% female: 80% (1995 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write French or Arabic total population: 48.1% male: 62.1% female: 34.7% (1995 est.) |
Location | Middle East, peninsula bordering the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia | Central Africa, south of Libya |
Map references | Middle East | Africa |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: as determined by bilateral agreements or the median line territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 25 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 679,081 GRT/1,051,088 DWT
ships by type: cargo 10, combination ore/oil 2, container 7, petroleum tanker 6 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Kuwait 1, United Arab Emirates 3 (2002 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | Armed Forces (includes Ground Force, Air Force, and Gendarmerie), Republican Guard, Rapid Intervention Force, Police, Rural and Nomadic Guard (GNNT) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $723 million (FY00/01) | $39 million (FY96) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 10% (FY00/01) | 3.5% (FY96) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 316,885
note: includes non-nationals (2002 est.) |
males age 15-49:
1,814,578 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 166,214 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
949,997 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | 20 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 6,797 (2002 est.) | males:
82,003 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 3 September (1971) | Independence Day, 11 August (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Qatari(s)
adjective: Qatari |
noun:
Chadian(s) adjective: Chadian |
Natural hazards | haze, dust storms, sandstorms common | hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds occur in north; periodic droughts; locust plagues |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, fish | petroleum (unexploited but exploration under way), uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad) |
Net migration rate | 18.75 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 235 km; natural gas 400 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | none | National Union for Development and Renewal or UNDR [Saleh KEBZABO]; Patriotic Salvation Movement or MPS [Mahamat Saleh AHMAT, chairman] (originally in opposition but now the party in power and the party of the president); Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [Lal Mahamat CHOUA]; Union for Renewal and Democracy or URD [Gen. Wadal Abdelkader KAMOUGUE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 793,341 (July 2002 est.) | 8,707,078 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 64% (1995 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.02% (2002 est.) | 3.29% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Doha, Halul Island, Umm Sa'id (Musay'id) | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 5 (1998) |
Radios | 256,000 (1997) | 1.67 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km |
Religions | Muslim 95% | Muslim 50%, Christian 25%, indigenous beliefs (mostly animism) 25% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 2.4 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 2.57 male(s)/female total population: 1.91 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth:
1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | suffrage is limited to municipal elections | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: modern system centered in Doha
domestic: NA international: 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 |
general assessment:
primitive system domestic: fair system of radiotelephone communication stations international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 142,000 (1997) | 7,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 43,476 (1997) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus three repeaters) (2001) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly flat and barren desert covered with loose sand and gravel | broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains in northwest, lowlands in south |
Total fertility rate | 3.1 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 6.56 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2.7% (2001) | NA% |
Waterways | none | 2,000 km |