Qatar (2007) | World (2006) | |
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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 | 272 nations, dependent areas, and other entities |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 23.1% (male 106,853/female 102,713)
15-64 years: 72.9% (male 455,631/female 206,099) 65 years and over: 4% (male 26,689/female 9,244) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 27.4% (male 919,219,446/female 870,242,271)
15-64 years: 65.2% (male 2,152,066,888/female 2,100,334,722) 65 years and over: 7.4% (male 213,160,216/female 270,146,721) note: some countries do not maintain age structure information, thus a slight discrepancy exists between the total world population and the total for world age structure (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruits, vegetables; poultry, dairy products, beef; fish | - |
Airports | 5 (2007) | 49,024 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
over 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
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Area | total: 11,437 sq km
land: 11,437 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 510.072 million sq km
land: 148.94 million sq km water: 361.132 million sq km note: 70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Connecticut | land area about 16 times the size of the US |
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. 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. | Globally, the 20th century was marked by: (a) two devastating world wars; (b) the Great Depression of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast colonial empires; (d) rapid advances in science and technology, from the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (US) to the landing on the moon; (e) the Cold War between the Western alliance and the Warsaw Pact nations; (f) a sharp rise in living standards in North America, Europe, and Japan; (g) increased concerns about the environment, including loss of forests, shortages of energy and water, the decline in biological diversity, and air pollution; (h) the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and (i) the ultimate emergence of the US as the only world superpower. The planet's population continues to explode: from 1 billion in 1820, to 2 billion in 1930, 3 billion in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1988, and 6 billion in 2000. For the 21st century, the continued exponential growth in science and technology raises both hopes (e.g., advances in medicine) and fears (e.g., development of even more lethal weapons of war). |
Birth rate | 15.56 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 20.05 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $20.84 billion
expenditures: $16.89 billion (2006 est.) |
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Capital | name: Doha
geographic coordinates: 25 17 N, 51 32 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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Climate | arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers | a wide equatorial band of hot and humid tropical climates - bordered north and south by subtropical temperate zones - that separate two large areas of cold and dry polar climates |
Coastline | 563 km | 356,000 km
note: 98 nations and other entities are islands that border no other countries, they include: American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Ashmore and Cartier Islands, The Bahamas, Bahrain, Baker Island, Barbados, Bassas da India, Bermuda, Bouvet Island, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Christmas Island, Clipperton Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Comoros, Cook Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Cuba, Cyprus, Dominica, Europa Island, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Faroe Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Glorioso Islands, Greenland, Grenada, Guam, Guernsey, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Howland Island, Iceland, Isle of Man, Jamaica, Jan Mayen, Japan, Jarvis Island, Jersey, Johnston Atoll, Juan de Nova Island, Kingman Reef, Kiribati, Madagascar, Maldives, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Federated States of Micronesia, Midway Islands, Montserrat, Nauru, Navassa Island, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Palmyra Atoll, Paracel Islands, Philippines, Pitcairn Islands, Puerto Rico, Reunion, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Spratly Islands, Sri Lanka, Svalbard, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tromelin Island, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Virgin Islands, Wake Island, Wallis and Futuna, Taiwan |
Constitution | ratified by public referendum on 29 April 2003, endorsed by the amir on 8 June 2004, effective on 9 June 2005 | - |
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 |
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Death rate | 4.82 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 8.67 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $25.7 billion (2006 est.) | $36.89 trillion
note: this figure is the sum total of all countries' external debt, both public and private (2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); charge d'Affaires Michael A. RATNEY
embassy: Al-Luqta District, 22 February Road, Doha mailing address: P. O. Box 2399, Doha telephone: [974] 488 4298 FAX: [974] 488 4176 |
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Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
chancery: 2555 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 274-1600 and 274-1603 FAX: [1] (202) 237-0061 consulate(s) general: Houston |
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Disputes - international | none | stretching over 250,000 km, the world's 329 international land boundaries separate the 193 independent states and 73 dependencies, areas of special sovereignty, and other miscellaneous entities; ethnicity, culture, race, religion, and language have divided states into separate political entities as much as history, physical terrain, political fiat, or conquest, resulting in sometimes arbitrary and imposed boundaries; maritime states have claimed limits and have so far established over 130 maritime boundaries and joint development zones to allocate ocean resources and to provide for national security at sea; boundary, borderland/resource, and territorial disputes vary in intensity from managed or dormant to violent or militarized; most disputes over the alignment of political boundaries are confined to short segments and are today less common and less hostile than borderland, resource, and territorial disputes; undemarcated, indefinite, porous, and unmanaged boundaries, however, encourage illegal cross-border activities, uncontrolled migration, and confrontation; territorial disputes may evolve from historical and/or cultural claims, or they may be brought on by resource competition; ethnic and cultural clashes continue to be responsible for much of the territorial fragmentation around the world; disputes over islands at sea or in rivers frequently form the source of territorial and boundary conflict; other sources of contention include access to water and mineral (especially petroleum) resources, fisheries, and arable land; nonetheless, most nations cooperate to clarify their international boundaries and to resolve territorial and resource disputes peacefully; regional discord today prevails not so much between the armed forces of independent states as between stateless armed entities that detract from the sustenance and welfare of local populations, leaving the community of nations to cope with resultant refugees, hunger, disease, impoverishment, and environmental degradation |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA (2004) | $154 billion official development assistance (ODA) (2004) |
Economy - overview | 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. | Global output rose by 4.4% in 2005, led by China (9.3%), India (7.6%), and Russia (5.9%). The other 14 successor nations of the USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations again experienced widely divergent growth rates; the three Baltic nations continued as strong performers, in the 7% range of growth. Growth results posted by the major industrial countries varied from no gain for Italy to a strong gain by the United States (3.5%). The developing nations also varied in their growth results, with many countries facing population increases that erode gains in output. Externally, the nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology. Internally, the central government often finds its control over resources slipping as separatist regional movements - typically based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in many of the successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India, in Iraq, in Indonesia, and in Canada. Externally, the central government is losing decisionmaking powers to international bodies, notably the EU. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment. The addition of 80 million people each year to an already overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of their own internal problems and priorities, the industrialized countries devote insufficient resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas of the world, which, at least from an economic point of view, are becoming further marginalized. The introduction of the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January 1999, while paving the way for an integrated economic powerhouse, poses economic risks because of varying levels of income and cultural and political differences among the participating nations. The terrorist attacks on the US on 11 September 2001 accentuated a further growing risk to global prosperity, illustrated, for example, by the reallocation of resources away from investment to anti-terrorist programs. The opening of war in March 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq added new uncertainties to global economic prospects. After the coalition victory, the complex political difficulties and the high economic cost of establishing domestic order in Iraq became major global problems that continued into 2006. |
Electricity - consumption | 12.52 billion kWh (2005) | 15.45 trillion kWh (2003 est.) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 537 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 545.2 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 13.54 billion kWh (2005) | 16.54 trillion kWh (2003 est.) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Qurayn Abu al Bawl 103 m |
lowest point: Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,540 m
note: in the oceanic realm, Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is the lowest point, lying -10,924 m below the surface of the Pacific Ocean highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m |
Environment - current issues | limited natural fresh water resources are increasing dependence on large-scale desalination facilities | large areas subject to overpopulation, industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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Ethnic groups | Arab 40%, Indian 18%, Pakistani 18%, Iranian 10%, other 14% | - |
Exchange rates | Qatari rials per US dollar - 3.64 (2006), 3.64 (2005), 3.64 (2004), 3.64 (2003), 3.64 (2002) | - |
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 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
head of government: 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) 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 |
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Exports | NA bbl/day | 667.6 billion cu m (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | liquefied natural gas (LNG), petroleum products, fertilizers, steel | the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services |
Exports - partners | Japan 40.5%, South Korea 16.5%, Singapore 6.6%, Thailand 4.2% (2006) | US 15.6%, Germany 7.4%, China 5.7%, France 4.9%, UK 4.7%, Japan 4.5% (2005) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | - |
Flag description | maroon with a broad white serrated band (nine white points) on the hoist side | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 0.1%
industry: 75.8% services: 24.1% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 4%
industry: 32% services: 64% (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.1% (2006 est.) | 4.7% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 25 30 N, 51 15 E | - |
Geography - note | strategic location in central Persian Gulf near major petroleum deposits | the world is now thought to be about 4.55 billion years old, just about one-third of the 13-billion-year age estimated for the universe |
Heliports | 1 (2007) | 2,021 (2006) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2.6%
highest 10%: 29.4% (2000 est.) |
Illicit drugs | - | cocaine: worldwide coca cultivation in 2004 amounted to 166,200 hectares; Colombia produced slightly more than two-thirds of the worldwide crop, followed by Peru and Bolivia; potential pure cocaine production of 645 metric tons in 2004 marked the lowest level of Andean cocaine production in the past 10 years; Colombia conducts aggressive coca eradication campaign, but both Peruvian and Bolivian Governments are hesitant to eradicate coca in key growing areas; 376 metric tons of export-quality cocaine are documented to have been seized in 2003, and 26 metric tons disrupted (jettisoned or destroyed); consumption of export quality cocaine is estimated to have been 800 metric tons
opiates: worldwide illicit opium poppy cultivation reached 258,630 hectares in 2004; potential opium production of 5,444 metric tons was highest total recorded since estimates began in mid-1980s; Afghanistan is world's primary opium producer, accounting for 91% of the global supply; Southeast Asia - responsible for 7% of global opium - continued to diminish in importance in the world opium market; Latin America produced 2% of global opium, but most refined into heroin destined for United States; if all opium processed into pure heroin, the potential global production would be 632 metric tons of heroin in 2004 |
Imports | NA bbl/day | 696 billion cu m (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, food, chemicals | the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services |
Imports - partners | France 13.4%, Japan 10.2%, US 9.3%, Italy 8.9%, Germany 7.8%, UK 6.3%, Saudi Arabia 5.8%, South Korea 4.7% (2006) | China 9.3%, US 9%, Germany 9%, Japan 6.1%, France 4.2% (2005) |
Independence | 3 September 1971 (from UK) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | 10% (2003 est.) | 3% (2003 est.) |
Industries | crude oil production and refining, ammonia, fertilizers, petrochemicals, steel reinforcing bars, cement, commercial ship repair | dominated by the onrush of technology, especially in computers, robotics, telecommunications, and medicines and medical equipment; most of these advances take place in OECD nations; only a small portion of non-OECD countries have succeeded in rapidly adjusting to these technological forces; the accelerated development of new industrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating already grim environmental problems |
Infant mortality rate | total: 17.46 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 20.6 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 48.87 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 50.98 deaths/1,000 live births female: 46.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 11.8% (2006 est.) | developed countries 1% to 4% typically; developing countries 5% to 20% typically; national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases, from declining prices in Japan to hyperinflation in one Third World countries (Zimbabwe); inflation rates have declined for most countries for the last several years, held in check by increasing international competition from several low wage countries (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDB, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, 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 | - |
Irrigated land | 130 sq km (2002) | 2,770,980 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Courts of First Instance, Appeal, and Cassation; note - the Amir appoints all judges - based on the recommendation of the Supreme Judiciary Council - for renewable three-year terms | - |
Labor force | 508,000 (2006 est.) | 3.001 billion (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture: 42%
industry: 21% services: 37% (2002 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 60 km
border countries: Saudi Arabia 60 km |
the land boundaries in the world total 250,708 km (not counting shared boundaries twice); two nations, China and Russia, each border 14 other countries
note: 44 nations and other areas are landlocked, these include: Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe; two of these, Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan, are doubly landlocked |
Land use | arable land: 1.64%
permanent crops: 0.27% other: 98.09% (2005) |
arable land: 13.31%
permanent crops: 4.71% other: 81.98% (2005) |
Languages | Arabic (official), English commonly used as a second language | Mandarin Chinese 13.69%, Spanish 5.05%, English 4.84%, Hindi 2.82%, Portuguese 2.77%, Bengali 2.68%, Russian 2.27%, Japanese 1.99%, Standard German 1.49%, Wu Chinese 1.21% (2004 est.)
note: percents are for "first language" speakers only |
Legal system | based on Islamic and civil law codes; discretionary system of law controlled by the amir, although civil codes are being implemented; Islamic law dominates family and personal matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | all members of the UN are parties to the statute that established the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court |
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, 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 |
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Life expectancy at birth | total population: 74.14 years
male: 71.6 years female: 76.82 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 64.77 years
male: 63.16 years female: 66.47 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 89% male: 89.1% female: 88.6% (2004 census) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 82% male: 87% female: 77% note: over two-thirds of the world's 785 million illiterate adults are found in only eight countries (India, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Egypt); of all the illiterate adults in the world, two-thirds are women; extremely low literacy rates are concentrated in three regions, South and West Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Arab states, where around one-third of the men and half of all women are illiterate (2005 est.) |
Location | Middle East, peninsula bordering the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia | - |
Map references | Middle East | Physical Map of the World, Political Map of the World, Standard Time Zones of the World |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: as determined by bilateral agreements or the median line |
a variety of situations exist, but in general, most countries make the following claims measured from the mean low-tide baseline as described in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea: territorial sea - 12 nm, contiguous zone - 24 nm, and exclusive economic zone - 200 nm; additional zones provide for exploitation of continental shelf resources and an exclusive fishing zone; boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200nm |
Merchant marine | total: 20 ships (1000 GRT or over) 574,969 GRT/856,057 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 2, chemical tanker 2, container 8, liquefied gas 2, petroleum tanker 4, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 7 (Kuwait 7) registered in other countries: 3 (Liberia 2, Panama 1) (2007) |
total: 33,222 ships (1000 GRT or over) (2006) |
Military branches | Qatari Amiri Land Force (QALF), Qatari Amiri Navy (QAN), Qatari Amiri Air Force (QAAF) (2007) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | aggregate real expenditure on arms worldwide has increased in the beginning of the 21st century, with the largest increase in the US; a rough estimate for 2005 is $1.2 trillion (at puchasing power parity) (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 10% (2005 est.) | roughly 2% of gross world product (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 3 September (1971) | - |
Nationality | noun: Qatari(s)
adjective: Qatari |
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Natural hazards | haze, dust storms, sandstorms common | large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions) |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, fish | the rapid depletion of nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and water quality (especially in Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China) pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning to address |
Net migration rate | 13.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | - |
Pipelines | condensate 319 km; condensate/gas 209 km; gas 1,024 km; liquid petroleum gas 87 km; oil 844 km (2006) | - |
Political parties and leaders | none | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | - |
Population | 907,229 (July 2007 est.) | 6,525,170,264 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | - |
Population growth rate | 2.386% (2007 est.) | 1.14% (2006 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA |
Railways | - | total: 1,115,205 km
broad gauge: 257,481 km standard gauge: 671,413 km narrow gauge: 186,311 km (2003) |
Religions | Muslim 77.5%, Christian 8.5%, other 14% (2004 census) | Christians 33.03% (of which Roman Catholics 17.33%, Protestants 5.8%, Orthodox 3.42%, Anglicans 1.23%), Muslims 20.12%, Hindus 13.34%, Buddhists 5.89%, Sikhs 0.39%, Jews 0.23%, other religions 12.61%, non-religious 12.03%, atheists 2.36% (2004 est.) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 2.211 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 2.887 male(s)/female total population: 1.852 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | - |
Telephone system | general assessment: modern system centered in Doha
domestic: NA international: 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 |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 228,300 (2006) | 1,263,367,600 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 919,800 (2006) | 2,168,433,600 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus 3 repeaters) (2001) | NA |
Terrain | mostly flat and barren desert covered with loose sand and gravel | the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean |
Total fertility rate | 2.75 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.59 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 3.2% (2006 est.) | 30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment |
Waterways | - | 671,886 km (2004) |