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Capital of Qatar with 350,000 inhabitants.
Doha lies on the eastern side of the peninsula of Qatar, and is by far the
largest city of the country, holding more than half of the inhabitants.
The economical bas of Doha is petroleum exports, shrimp processing,
finances, and administration. There is one university, the University of
Qatar that was founded in 1973. The National Museum was opened in 1975.
The Government House, from 1969, is one of the most prominent landmarks. A
Muslim dominance, with 93% sunni Muslims. Christians are the second
largest group with 6% of the population. Hindus represent 1% of the
population, while there is a small bahai community of 0,2% of Qatar's
total population. The clear majority of Qataris belong to the wahhabi
tradition of today's Saudi Arabia but their branch is not as strict in
some fields as what is seen in Saudi Arabia. Only 25% of the population of Qatar is
Qataris. They are mostly of Najdi ancestry, while large groups are of
Persian descent. Of the foreigners most come from India and Pakistan, and
other Arab countries, like Egypt. British citizens principally represent
westerners.
Attempts to industrialized and diversify
the economy has had only limited success. Most of the industry activity is
located around Umm Said. Industries include cement, fertilizers, steel and
petroleum. The steel production has been a success, and has run with a
profit for the last 10 years. For foreign investors, Qatar is offering tax
holidays, of up to 12 years, and foreign companies are allowed to be 100%
foreign owned. There are strict regulations on foreign ownership in
property. Doha Securities Market and the stock
exchange handle stocks and securities, but the Security Market limits
itself to Qatari values alone. The stock exchange is operating at levels
of US$2 million per year.
Qatar is member of OPEC, GATT, and is
seeking membership in WTO. Qatar is politically stable, has no democracy,
but there is relatively good freedom of speech.
Even if Qatar is not democratic, the
country does not have a totalitarian system. The emir has full power, he
alone decides over who is cabinet minister (of which there are 15), and he
alone issues new laws. The only ones he has to answer to are other members
of the ath-Thani family (who represent close to 10% of the entire Qatari
population). As deposing of rulers have occurred a couple of times in
Qatar's history, the Emir has to take into serious consideration the
interests of both his family and other strong groups of Qatar. Qatar has developed a system of
consultations, most of which are informal; others are semi-formal, called
majlis. A majlis is open to the public, and all citizens are free to
address a question.
There are 4 newspapers in
Qatar, of which one is in English. The
dispute with Bahrain over the Hawar Islands, that are just one kilometer
off the Qatari shores (north of Dukhan), remains unresolved.
Internationally Qatar has been enhancing its ties with Iran, after years
of close affiliation with Saudi Arabia. |
The dominating language is Arabic but
English is widely spoken. The large group of Pakistani expatriates, who
also have high skills in Arabic, speaks Urdu. Totally dependent on oil,
but nature gas is a coming resource for the country, as the North Dome
Field is the third largest reserve for liquefied natural gas in the world.
Qatar's reserves of oil is 3,3 billion barrels, and is expected to last
less than 25 years more. Today's production is 140 million barrels per
year, while natural gas is produced at a level of 8,2 billion m³ per
year. Oil production represents about 85% of the total income of the
country. 
Agriculture
is of medium importance, contributing to 2% of GNP, but there are
governmental schemes to improve this through irrigation. Qatar produces
about 50% of its own consumption of vegetables. Life stock includes
100,000 goats, 1,1 million sheep, 30,000 camels, and 10,000 cattle.
Fishing is at the level of 7,000 tons per year, principally shrimp, equalling
15 kg/inhabitant.
There is Advisory Council that is made up
of 30 members appointed by the Emir. This council has very limited power
only, and can only raise its voice in questions the Emir has put on the
agenda.