1982 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1982 (Wikisource)
Geography
Coastline
563 km
Land boundaries
56 km WATER
Limits of territorial waters (claimed)
3 nm
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
25% Qatari, 20% other Arab, 34% South Asian, 16% Iranian, 5% others
Labor force
100,000 (1980 est.); 90% non-Qatari
Language
Arabic, English is commonly used as second language
Literacy
25%
Nationality
noun—Qatari(s); adjective—Qatari
Population
258,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 4.0%
Religion
Muslim
Government
Branches
Council of Ministers; appointive 30-member Advisory Council
Capital
Doha
Elections
constitution calls for elections for part of State Advisory Council, a consultative body, but none have been held Political parties and pressure groups: none; a few small clandestine organizations are active
Government leader
Amir Khalifa bin Hamad Al THANI
Legal system
discretionary system of law controlled by the ruler, although civil codes are being implemented; Islamic law is significant in personal matters; a constitution was promulgated in 1970
Member of
Arab League, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), GCC, IBRD, ICAO, IFAD, ILO, IMCO, IMF, ISCON, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OPEC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
National holiday
3 September
Official name
State of Qatar
Suffrage
no specific provisions for suffrage laid down
Type
traditional monarchy; independence declared in 1971
Economy
Agriculture
farming and grazing on small scale; commercial fishing increasing in importance; most food imported; rice and dates staple diet
Budget
(1980) revenue $5.2 billion, expenditure $3.0 billion
Electric power
capacity 903,900 kW (1980); 2.416 billion kWh produced (1980), 10,737 kWh per capita
Exports
crude oil dominates; exports $6.2 billion (1980) of which petroleum is $5.8 billion
Fiscal year
1 April-31 March
GNP
$5.0 billion (1979), $29,900 plus per capita
Imports
$1.4 billion (c.i.f., 1980)
Major industries
oil production and refining; crude oil production from onshore and offshore averaged 473,000 b/d (1980); 100% takeover was announced in October 1976 of the Qatar Petroleum Company, still negotiating with Qatar Shell about offshore fields; oil revenues accrued $4.7 billion (est.) in 1980, representing 91% of government/royal family income; major development projects include $7 million harbor at Ad Dawhah, fertilizer plant, two desalting plants, refrigerated storage for fishing, and a cement plant
Monetary conversion rate
1 Qatar riyal=US$0.27 (1980)
Communications
Airfields
4 total, 3 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways, 1 with runways over 3,659 m, 1 with runways, 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
3 major transport aircraft, including 1 leased in
Highways
805 km total; 442 km bituminous; 362 km gravel; undetermined mileage of earth tracks
Pipelines
crude oil, 169 km; natural gas, 97 km
Ports
1 major (Ad Dawhah), 1 minor
Railroads
none
Telecommunications
good urban facilities; 29,000 telephones (15.4 per 100 popl.); international service through an Indian Ocean satellite station and a troposcatter link to Bahrain; 2 AM, 1 FM, and 2 TV stations
Military and Security
Military budget
for fiscal year ending 31 December 1978, $157 million; 7.3% of central government budget
Military manpower
males 15-49, about 115,000; about 62,000 fit for military service