Qatar (2003) | Niue (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 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 | none; note - there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 14 villages at the second order |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 24.7% (male 102,938; female 98,934)
15-64 years: 72.4% (male 415,302; female 176,183) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 17,199; female 6,496) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: NA%
15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruits, vegetables; poultry, dairy products, beef; fish | coconuts, passion fruit, honey, limes, taro, yams, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, poultry, beef cattle |
Airports | 4 (2002) | 1 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
over 3,047 m: 2 (2002) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
- |
Area | total: 11,437 sq km
land: 11,437 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 260 sq km
land: 260 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Connecticut | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
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. | Niue's remoteness, as well as cultural and linguistic differences between its Polynesian inhabitants and those of the rest of the Cook Islands, have caused it to be separately administered. The population of the island continues to drop (from a peak of 5,200 in 1966 to about 2,100 in 2002), with substantial emigration to New Zealand, 2,400 km to the southwest. |
Birth rate | 15.68 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | NA births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $5 billion
expenditures: $5.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.2 billion (FY 02/03 est.) |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
Capital | Doha | Alofi |
Climate | arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds |
Coastline | 563 km | 64 km |
Constitution | provisional constitution enacted 19 April 1972; in July 1999 Amir HAMAD issued a decree forming a committee to draft a permanent constitution; in the 29 April 2003 referendum, 96.6% of Qatari voters approved the new constitution | 19 October 1974 (Niue Constitution Act) |
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: none
conventional short form: Niue former: Savage Island |
Currency | Qatari rial (QAR) | New Zealand dollar (NZD) |
Death rate | 4.43 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $15.4 billion (2002 est.) | $418,000 (2002 est.) |
Dependency status | - | self-governing in free association with New Zealand since 1974; Niue fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs and defense; however, these responsibilities confer no rights of control and are only exercised at the request of the Government of Niue |
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 |
none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) |
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 |
none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $2.6 million from New Zealand (2002) |
Economy - overview | 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 comparable to that of the leading West European industrial countries. Proved oil reserves of 14.5 billion barrels should ensure continued output at current levels for 23 years. Production and export of natural gas are becoming increasingly important to the economy. Qatar's proved reserves of natural gas exceed 17.9 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. Since 2000, Qatar has consistently posted trade surpluses largely because of high oil prices and increased natural gas exports, and Qatar's economy is expected to receive an added boost as it begins to increase liquid natural gas exports. | The economy suffers from the typical Pacific island problems of geographic isolation, few resources, and a small population. Government expenditures regularly exceed revenues, and the shortfall is made up by critically needed grants from New Zealand that are used to pay wages to public employees. Niue has cut government expenditures by reducing the public service by almost half. The agricultural sector consists mainly of subsistence gardening, although some cash crops are grown for export. Industry consists primarily of small factories to process passion fruit, lime oil, honey, and coconut cream. The sale of postage stamps to foreign collectors is an important source of revenue. The island in recent years has suffered a serious loss of population because of migration of Niueans to New Zealand. Efforts to increase GDP include the promotion of tourism and a financial services industry, although Premier LAKATANI announced in February 2002 that Niue will shut down the offshore banking industry. Economic aid from New Zealand in 2002 was about $2.6 million. |
Electricity - consumption | 8.616 billion kWh (2001) | 2.79 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 9.264 billion kWh (2001) | 3 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Qurayn Abu al Bawl 103 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location near Mutalau settlement 68 m |
Environment - current issues | limited natural fresh water resources are increasing dependence on large-scale desalination facilities | increasing attention to conservationist practices to counter loss of soil fertility from traditional slash and burn agriculture |
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Arab 40%, Pakistani 18%, Indian 18%, Iranian 10%, other 14% | Polynesian (with some 200 Europeans, Samoans, and Tongans) |
Exchange rates | Qatari rials per US dollar - 3.64 (2002), 3.64 (2001), 3.64 (2000), 3.64 (1999), 3.64 (1998) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 2.162 (2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999), 1.8629 (1998) |
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 JASIM 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 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 |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and New Zealand are represented by New Zealand High Commissioner John BRYAN (since NA May 2000)
head of government: Premier Young VIVIAN (since 1 May 2002) cabinet: Cabinet consists of the premier and three ministers elections: the monarch is hereditary; premier elected by the Legislative Assembly for a three-year term; election last held 1 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2005) election results: Young VIVIAN elected premier; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - Young VIVIAN (NPP) 70%, Hunukitama HUNUKI (AI) 30% |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum products, fertilizers, steel | canned coconut cream, copra, honey, vanilla, passion fruit products, pawpaws, root crops, limes, footballs, stamps, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | Japan 40.1%, South Korea 16.6%, Singapore 8.2%, US 4.1% (2002) | NZ mainly, Fiji, Cook Islands, Australia (2000) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | maroon with a broad white serrated band (nine white points) on the hoist side | yellow with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the flag of the UK bears five yellow five-pointed stars - a large one on a blue disk in the center and a smaller one on each arm of the bold red cross |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $15.91 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7.6 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 0.4%
industry: 67.6% services: 32% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: 55% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $20,100 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,600 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.6% (2002 est.) | -0.3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 25 30 N, 51 15 E | 19 02 S, 169 52 W |
Geography - note | strategic location in central Persian Gulf near major petroleum deposits | one of world's largest coral islands |
Heliports | 1 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 1,230 km
paved: 1,107 km unpaved: 123 km (1999 est.) |
total: 234 km
paved: 86 km unpaved: 148 km (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, food, chemicals | food, live animals, manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, lubricants, chemicals, drugs |
Imports - partners | France 17.8%, Japan 10.1%, US 8.5%, UK 8.3%, Germany 8%, Italy 6.7%, UAE 5.1%, Saudi Arabia 4.1%, South Korea 4% (2002) | NZ mainly, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Australia, US (2000) |
Independence | 3 September 1971 (from UK) | on 19 October 1974, Niue became a self-governing parliamentary government in free association with New Zealand |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | crude oil production and refining, fertilizers, petrochemicals, steel reinforcing bars, cement | tourism, handicrafts, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 20.03 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 23.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 16.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
total: NA%
male: NA% female: NA% |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.9% (2002) | 1% (1995) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, 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, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, ESCAP (associate), FAO, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UNESCO, WHO, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 130 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal | Supreme Court of New Zealand; High Court of Niue |
Labor force | 280,122 (1997 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | - | most work on family plantations; paid work exists only in government service, small industry, and the Niue Development Board |
Land boundaries | total: 60 km
border countries: Saudi Arabia 60 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 1.27%
permanent crops: 0.27% other: 98.46% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 19.23%
permanent crops: 7.69% other: 73.08% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Arabic (official), English commonly used as a second language | Niuean, a Polynesian language closely related to Tongan and Samoan; English |
Legal system | discretionary system of law controlled by the amir, although civil codes are being implemented; Islamic law dominates family and personal matters | English common law
note: Niue is self-governing, with the power to make its own laws |
Legislative branch | 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 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 |
unicameral Legislative Assembly (20 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; six elected from a common roll and 14 are village representatives)
elections: last held 21 March 2002 (next to be held in March 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NPP 9, independents 11; note - all 20 seats were reelected |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.14 years
male: 70.65 years female: 75.76 years (2003 est.) |
total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 82.5% male: 81.4% female: 85% (2003 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: 95% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Middle East, peninsula bordering the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Tonga |
Map references | Middle East | Oceania |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: as determined by bilateral agreements or the median line territorial sea: 12 NM |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 638,815 GRT/995,096 DWT
ships by type: cargo 6, chemical tanker 2, combination ore/oil 2, container 7, petroleum tanker 5, roll on/roll off 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Kuwait 1, UAE 3 (2002 est.) |
none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | no regular indigenous military forces; Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $723 million (FY00) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 10% (FY00) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 320,835
note: includes non-nationals (2003 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 168,416 (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 7,192 (2003 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 3 September (1971) | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun: Qatari(s)
adjective: Qatari |
noun: Niuean(s)
adjective: Niuean |
Natural hazards | haze, dust storms, sandstorms common | typhoons |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, fish | fish, arable land |
Net migration rate | 17.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | condensate 90 km; condensate/gas 209 km; gas 902 km; liquid petroleum gas 87 km; oil 722 km; oil/gas/water 41 km (2003) | - |
Political parties and leaders | none | Niue People's Action Party or NPP [Young VIVIAN]; Alliance of Independents or AI [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 817,052 (July 2003 est.) | 2,145 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.87% (2003 est.) | 0.01% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Doha, Halul Island, Umm Sa'id (Musay'id) | none; offshore anchorage only |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km |
Religions | Muslim 95% | Ekalesia Niue (Niuean Church - a Protestant church closely related to the London Missionary Society) 75%, Latter-Day Saints 10%, other 15% (mostly Roman Catholic, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventist) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 2.36 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 2.65 male(s)/female total population: 1.9 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
NA (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 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 |
domestic: single-line telephone system connects all villages on island
international: NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 142,000 (1997) | 376 (1991) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 43,476 (1997) | 0 (1991) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus three repeaters) (2001) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly flat and barren desert covered with loose sand and gravel | steep limestone cliffs along coast, central plateau |
Total fertility rate | 3.02 children born/woman (2003 est.) | NA children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2.7% (2001) | NA% |
Waterways | none | none |