Facts about Qatar
The Qatari dialect of Arabic is similar to the version spoken in the other Gulf States.
Qatar occupies 4,416 square miles (11,437 square kilometers), is 100 miles (160 km) long, and is slightly smaller than the state of Connecticut in the United States.
Qasim Al-Thani defeated the Turks in 1893, an event taken to confirm Qatar's autonomy.
Qtel's ISP branch, Internet Qatar, uses SmartFilter to block websites they deem inappropriate to Qatari interests and morality.
Growing numbers of foreign-educated Qataris are returning home to assume key positions formerly occupied by expatriates.
Qatari men sometimes socialize and conduct business in restaurants and coffeehouses.
Under Emir Hamad, Qatar has experienced a notable amount of liberalization, including the enfranchisement of women, a new constitution, and the launch of Al Jazeera, the controversial Arabic language satellite television news channel.
After the introduction of the Japanese cultured pearl on to the world market in the 1920s and 1930s, Qatar's pearling industry faltered.
Doha is home to more than 80 percent of Qatar’s population, and is characterized by modern, award-winning architecture that attempts to fuse the modern with the traditional.
The Basic Law of Qatar, 1970, institutionalized customs rooted in Qatar's Wahhabi heritage, granting the emir pre-eminent power.
Qatar has tightened the administration of its foreign manpower programs in the interests of security.
Expatriates have been permitted to buy land in several areas of Doha, including the West Bay Lagoon, the Qatar Pearl and the new Lusail City.
Prior to the discovery of oil, the economy of the Qatari region focused on fishing and pearling.
The native Qatari population lives side by side with newcomers who have been drawn to Qatar by economic opportunity.
The influx of expatriate Arabs has introduced ideas that call into question the tenets of Qatar's traditional society, but there has been no serious challenge to Al Thani rule.
Education has been a big focus of the Qatari government, which has led to the development of organizations such as the Qatar Foundation, which operates Education City.
The number of people in Qatar fluctuates considerably depending on the season, since the country relies heavily on migrant labor.
Under his rule, Qatar became the first Persian Gulf country where women gained the right to vote.
Qatar shares its land border with the United Arab Emirates, with which, in 1993, it continued to have a dispute in the Khawr al Udayd area.
The Qatari Gulf Folklore Center is one of the pre-eminent centers for the study of the folk music of the Persian Gulf.
The country has one university, the University of Qatar, and a number of higher educational institutions.
To Western eyes, the Qatari authorities seem to keep a relatively tight rein on freedom of expression and moves for equality.
In 1935, a 75-year oil concession was granted to Qatar Petroleum Company, which was owned by Anglo-Dutch, French, and United States interests.
High-quality oil (petroleum) was discovered, in 1940, at Dukhan, on the western side of Qatar.
The head of state is the emir, and the right to rule Qatar is passed on within the Al Thani family.
The Qatar Financial Centre provides a world class financial services platform situated in an economy founded on the development of its hydrocarbons resources.
The politics of Qatar take place in a framework of an absolute monarchy whereby the Emir of Qatar is not only head of state, but also the head of government.
Politically, Qatar is evolving from a traditional society into a modern welfare state.
Residents of Qatar may be classified in three groups: The Bedouin, Hadar, and Abd.
Religion is not indicated on national identity cards and passports, nor is it a criterion for citizenship in Qatar according to the Nationality Law.
Irani-Qataris dominate crafts, and freed slaves tend to be involved in entertainment and the police force.
Wahhabism takes a more tolerant form in Qatar than in Saudi Arabia, though it still governs a large portion of Qatari mores and rituals.
Britain censured Bahrain and recognized Mohammad bin Thani as the representative of the Qatari people.
Freedom in the World 2006 lists Qatar as "Not Free," and on a one-to-seven scale ("one" being the most free) rates the country a "six" for political rights and five for civil liberties.
Ninety five percent of Qatar’s population, including the ruling family, are Sunni Muslims.
The main meal is at midday, although with more Qataris working, evening family meals have become common.
Qatar is divided into 10 municipalities: Ad Dawhah, Al Ghuwariyah, Al Jumaliyah, Al Khawr, Al Wakrah, Ar Rayyan, Jariyan al Batnah, Ash Shamal, Umm Salal, Mesaieed, Old Airport.
Qatar's national income primarily derives from oil and natural gas exports.
Regional disputes resulted in Qatar leaving the coalition that would evolve into the United Arab Emirates.
The tribute ended with the occupation of Qatar by the Ottoman Turks in 1872, when the Al Khalifa family moved to Bahrain.
In 1868, at the request of Qatari nobles, the British negotiated the termination of the Al Khalifa claim to Qatar, except for the payment of tribute.
Ownership by foreigners entitles them to a renewable residency permit, which allows them to live and work in Qatar.
In 1867, the Al Khalifas sent a naval force to Al Wakrah to quash the Qatari rebels, in violation of an 1820 Anglo-Bahraini treaty.
Qatar served as the headquarters and one of the main launching sites of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
The largest project ever in Qatar, the new town of Lusail City, is under construction.
Qatar explicitly uses Wahhabi law, a puritanical version of Islam which takes a literal interpretation of the Qur'an as the basis of its government.
During the 1950s and 1960s, gradually increasing oil production brought prosperity, rapid immigration, substantial social progress, and the beginnings of Qatar's modern history.
When Britain announced, in 1968, that it would disengage politically, though not economically, from the Persian Gulf by 1971, Qatar joined Bahrain and seven other Trucial States in a federation.
The 15th Asian Games brought further liberalization, but Qatari authorities are cautious of becoming too liberal.
Qatar pursues a program of "Qatarization," under which all joint venture industries and government departments strive to move Qatari nationals into positions of authority.
In 2004, it established the Qatar Science and Technology Park to attract and serve technology-based companies and entrepreneurs, from overseas and within Qatar.
Qataris prefer to live with or near members of the husband's family, either within a single extended household, a walled family compound with separate houses, or by living in the same neighborhood.
The number of people in Qatar fluctuates considerably depending on the season, since the country relies heavily on migrant labor.
Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is an emirate in the Middle East and Southwest Asia, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the larger Arabian Peninsula.