"text":"<p>Ruled by the Al Thani family since the mid-1800s, Qatar within the last 60 years transformed itself from a poor British protectorate noted mainly for pearling into an independent state with significant hydrocarbon revenues. Former Amir HAMAD bin Khalifa Al Thani, who overthrew his father in a bloodless coup in 1995, ushered in wide-sweeping political and media reforms, unprecedented economic investment, and a growing Qatari regional leadership role, in part through the creation of the pan-Arab satellite news network Al-Jazeera and Qatar's mediation of some regional conflicts. In the 2000s, Qatar resolved its longstanding border disputes with both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and by 2007, Doha had attained the highest per capita income in the world. Qatar did not experience domestic unrest or violence like that seen in other Near Eastern and North African countries in 2011, due in part to its immense wealth and patronage network. In mid-2013, HAMAD peacefully abdicated, transferring power to his son, the current Amir TAMIM bin Hamad. TAMIM is popular with the Qatari public, for his role in shepherding the country through an economic embargo by some other regional countries, for his efforts to improve the country's healthcare and education systems, and for his expansion of the country's infrastructure in anticipation of Doha's hosting international sporting events. Qatar became the first country in the Arab world to host the FIFA Men’s World Cup in 2022.</p> Following the outbreak of regional unrest in 2011, Doha prided itself on its support for many popular revolutions, particularly in Libya and Syria. This stance was to the detriment of Qatar’s relations with Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which temporarily recalled their respective ambassadors from Doha in March 2014. TAMIM later oversaw a warming of Qatar’s relations with Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE in November 2014 following Kuwaiti mediation and signing of the Riyadh Agreement. This reconciliation, however, was short-lived. In June 2017, Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE (the \"Quartet\") cut diplomatic and economic ties with Qatar in response to alleged violations of the agreement, among other complaints. They restored ties in January 2021 after signing a declaration at the Gulf Cooperation Council Summit in Al Ula, Saudi Arabia. In 2022, the United States designated Qatar as a major non-NATO ally. <p></p>"
"text":"<br>كتاب حقائق العالم، المصدر الذي لا يمكن الاستغناء عنه للمعلومات الأساسية (Arabic)<br><br>The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information."
"text":"Muslim 65.2%, Christian 13.7%, Hindu 15.9%, Buddhist 3.8%, folk religion <0.1%, Jewish <0.1%, other <1%, unaffiliated <1% (2020 est.)"
"text":"air, land, and water pollution are significant environmental issues; limited natural freshwater resources are increasing dependence on large-scale desalination facilities; other issues include conservation of oil supplies and preservation of the natural wildlife heritage"
},
"Environment - international agreements":{
"party to":{
"text":"Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution"
},
"signed, but not ratified":{
"text":"none of the selected agreements"
}
},
"Climate":{
"text":"arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers"
"text":"the origin of the name is uncertain, but it dates back at least 2,000 years since a term \"Catharrei\" was used to describe the inhabitants of the peninsula by Pliny the Elder (1st century A.D.), and a \"Catara\" peninsula is depicted on a map by Ptolemy (2nd century A.D.)"
"text":"8 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ad Dawhah, Al Khawr wa adh Dhakhirah, Al Wakrah, Ar Rayyan, Ash Shamal, Ash Shihaniyah, Az Za'ayin, Umm Salal"
},
"Independence":{
"text":"3 September 1971 (from the UK)"
},
"National holiday":{
"text":"National Day, 18 December (1878), anniversary of Al Thani family accession to the throne; Independence Day, 3 September (1971)"
},
"Constitution":{
"history":{
"text":"previous 1972 (provisional); latest drafted 2 July 2002, approved by referendum 29 April 2003, endorsed 8 June 2004, effective 9 June 2005"
},
"amendments":{
"text":"proposed by the Amir or by one third of Advisory Council members; passage requires two-thirds majority vote of Advisory Council members and approval and promulgation by the emir; articles pertaining to the rule of state and its inheritance, functions of the emir, and citizen rights and liberties cannot be amended"
}
},
"Legal system":{
"text":"mixed legal system of civil law and Islamic (sharia) law (in family and personal matters)"
},
"International law organization participation":{
"text":"has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt"
},
"Citizenship":{
"citizenship by birth":{
"text":"no"
},
"citizenship by descent only":{
"text":"the father must be a citizen of Qatar"
},
"dual citizenship recognized":{
"text":"no"
},
"residency requirement for naturalization":{
"text":"20 years; 15 years if an Arab national"
}
},
"Suffrage":{
"text":"18 years of age; universal"
},
"Executive branch":{
"chief of state":{
"text":"Amir TAMIM bin Hamad Al Thani (since 25 June 2013)"
"text":"Prime Minister and Foreign Minister MUHAMMAD bin Abd al-Rahman Al Thani (since 7 March 2023); Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Affairs KHALID bin Mohamed AL Attiyah (since 14 November 2017)"
"text":"unicameral Advisory Council or Majlis al-Shura (45 seats; 30 members directly elected by popular vote for 4-year re-electable terms; 15 members appointed by the monarch to serve until resignation or until relieved; note - legislative drafting authority rests with the Council of Ministers and is reviewed by the Advisory Council"
"text":"first election held for 30 elected members on 2 October 2021 (next to be held in 2025); date of appointed members - 14 October 2021 (next appointments - NA)"
"text":"Supreme Court or Court of Cassation (consists of the court president and several judges); Supreme Constitutional Court (consists of the chief justice and 6 members)"
},
"judge selection and term of office":{
"text":"Supreme Court judges nominated by the Supreme Judiciary Council, a 9-member independent body consisting of judiciary heads appointed by the Amir; judges appointed for 3-year renewable terms; Supreme Constitutional Court members nominated by the Supreme Judiciary Council and appointed by the monarch; term of appointment NA"
},
"subordinate courts":{
"text":"Courts of Appeal; Administrative Court; Courts of First Instance; sharia courts; Courts of Justice; Qatar International Court and Dispute Resolution Center, established in 2009, provides dispute resolution services for institutions and bodies in Qatar, as well as internationally"
"text":"maroon with a broad white serrated band (nine white points) on the hoist side; maroon represents the blood shed in Qatari wars, white stands for peace; the nine-pointed serrated edge signifies Qatar as the ninth member of the \"reconciled emirates\" in the wake of the Qatari-British treaty of 1916",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> the other eight emirates are the seven that compose the UAE and Bahrain; according to some sources, the dominant color was formerly red, but this darkened to maroon upon exposure to the sun and the new shade was eventually adopted"
"text":"Qatar had developed a mature telecom sector which has been able to absorb the additional data demands made on it during the pandemic; mobile services based on LTE are universally available to migrate to 5G; in combination with a strong fiber rollout, the country is aiming to provide gigabit services nationally; 5G services are largely based on 3.5GHz spectrum made available following an auction in early 2019 (2022)"
"text":"country code - 974; landing points for the Qatar-UAE Submarine Cable System, AAE-1, FOG, GBICS/East North Africa MENA and the FALCON submarine cable network that provides links to Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Southeast Asia; tropospheric scatter to Bahrain; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and the UAE; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; retains full ownership of two commercial satellites, Es'hailSat 1 and 2 (2019)"
"text":"TV and radio broadcast licensing and access to local media markets are state controlled; home of the satellite TV channel Al-Jazeera, which was originally owned and financed by the Qatari government but has evolved to independent corporate status; Al-Jazeera claims editorial independence in broadcasting; local radio transmissions include state, private, and international broadcasters on FM frequencies in Doha; in August 2013, Qatar's satellite company Es'hailSat launched its first communications satellite Es'hail 1 (manufactured in the US), which entered commercial service in December 2013 to provide improved television broadcasting capability and expand availability of voice and Internet; Es'hailSat launched its second commercial satellite in 2018 with aid of SpaceX (2019)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control"
"text":"Qatar Armed Forces (QAF): Qatari Amiri Land Force (QALF, includes Emiri Guard), Qatari Amiri Navy (QAN, includes Coast Guard), Qatari Amiri Air Force (QAAF)<br><br>Ministry of Interior: General Directorate of Public Security, General Directorate of Coasts and Border Security, Internal Security Forces (includes Mobile Gendarmerie) (2023)",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> the national police and Ministry of Interior forces maintain internal security, including preventing terrorism, cyberattacks, and espionage"
"text":"the Qatari military's inventory includes a broad mix of older and modern weapons systems, mostly from the US and Europe; in the 2010s, Qatar embarked on an extensive military expansion and modernization program with large air, ground, and naval equipment purchases; in recent years, France and the US have been the top suppliers; other major suppliers have included Germany, Italy, and the UK (2023)"
"text":"conscription for men aged 18-35 introduced in 2013; compulsory service times range from 4-12 months, depending on educational and professional circumstances; since 2018, women have been permitted to serve as volunteers in the armed forces, including as uniformed officers and pilots (2023)",
"note":"<strong>note 1:</strong> the military incorporates about 2,000 conscripts annually<br><br><strong>note 2:</strong> Qatar recruits foreign contract soldiers to overcome manpower limitations; it is estimated that as much as 85% of the military is comprised of foreigners"
"text":"the QAF is a small, but professional and trained force that is responsible for defense against external threats; following the downturn in ties with Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE in the mid-2010s, the Qatari Government embarked on a major arms acquisition and modernization program to increase the QAF’s capabilities and regional standing; the Air Force has benefited the most, growing from an inventory of 12 older combat aircraft and a few fighter trainers in 2017 to a current inventory of about 60 modern multirole fighter aircraft from France, the UK, and the US; it is slated to grow to about 100 such aircraft by the mid-2020s; other aircraft acquisitions have included US attack helicopters; the Land Force has re-equipped its armored brigade and separate mechanized and artillery battalions with modern tanks, armored vehicles, and self-propelled artillery, mostly with purchases from Germany and Turkey; meanwhile, the Navy over the same period has received 4 corvettes and 4 offshore patrol vessels from Italy and Turkey<br><br>Qatar hosts the regional headquarters for the US Central Command (CENTCOM; established 1983) and more than 8,000 US military forces at various military facilities, including the large Al Udeid Air Base; it has Major Non-NATO Ally status with the US, a designation under US law that provides foreign partners with certain benefits in the areas of defense trade and security cooperation; Qatar also hosts thousands of Turkish military forces at two bases established in 2014 and 2019 (2023)"
