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Qatar, officially State of Qatar, independent emirate on a largely barren peninsula in the Persian Gulf, bordering Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (S). The capital is Doha. The economy of Qatar is dominated by oil and natural gas, which accounts for 70% of export income. Oil and gas revenues have been used to diversify the economy, including the development of chemicals, steel, cement, and fertilizer industries and banking. A minority (20%) of the population are Qataris (Arabs of the Wahhabi sect of Islam); the rest are largely other Arabs, Pakistanis, Indians, and Iranians. Arabic is the official language, but English is also widely spoken. The country is a monarchy.

Health: Comprehensive system of well-equipped public clinics and hospitals staffed by mainly foreign personnel. Most care provided free to all residents. Several private clinics located in Doha. In 1986 life expectancy at birth 65.2 years for males and 67.6 years for females.

Ethnic Groups: Most Qataris are Arabs; some have Iranian or African ancestry. Large foreign communities of Indians, Iranians, Pakistanis, and Egyptians. Other groups include Filipinos, Bangladeshis, Sudanese, Afghans, other Arabs, Sri Lankans, and Westerners, mostly British.

History

Qatar was ruled by Bahrain from the 1700s until the mid-1800s, when Great Britain and the Ottoman Empire began vying for control of the peninsula. It was a British protectorate from 1916 until 1971, when it became independent.

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.

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Public Holidays

Weekend (2 Days) - Friday, Saturday
Independence Day (1 Day): September 3 (1971, from the United Kingdom)
Eid ul-Feter (4 Days)
Eid ul-Adha (4 Days)
The Muslim year has two religious festivals: Id al Adha, a sacrificial festival held on the tenth day of Dhu al Hijjah, the twelth, or pilgrimage, month; and Id al Fitr, the festival of breaking the fast, which celebrates the end of Ramadan on the first day of Shawwal, the tenth month. To Sunnis these are the most important festivals of the year. Each lasts three or four days, during which time people put on their best clothes and visit, congratulate, and bestow gifts on each other. In addition, cemeteries are visited. Id al Fitr is celebrated more festively because it marks the end of Ramadan. Celebrations also take place, although less extensively, on the Prophet's birthday, which falls on the twelfth day of Rabi al Awwal, the third month.

National Anthem (translated into English)

Swearing by God who upraised the sky,
Swearing by God who spread the light,
Qatar will always be free,
Elevated by the spirits of loyal.
Follow the path of the ancestors,
And the prophets' guidance.
In my heart, Qatar is an epic of
dignity and glory.
Qatar is the land of the forefathers,
Our protectors at the time of war,
Doves at the time of peace,
And hawks at the time of sacrifice.

Source: The World Factbook, Wikipedia