About Qatar

Located in the South-west of Asia in the Middle East, Qatar gained independence on September the 3rd 1971 from Great Britain, after gaining independence Qatar developed issues of the type associated with any newly established independent nation. Included, the collapsing economy, border disputes with Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, and the constant siphoning of petroleum revenues by the Amir. Recently, however, after a bloodless coup staged in 1995 by the Amir’s son Amir HAMAD bin Khalifa Al-Than, the economy has since turned around as border disputes were resolved and the local oil revenue has allowed for Qatar to achieve the worlds highest GDP per capita.

Whenever you travel or relocate to a new country, it is often important to have some background information on your destination. As such we have provided a general outline of Qatar below. Please be advised that the information contained on this page may be liable to change without prior warning, and as such you should consult an expert for more details.

Official Name: State of Qatar

Capital City: The capital of Qatar, Doha, is located on the east coast of the country. Doha is also the countries most populated city, being home to 400,051 Qatari’s.

Location: Middle East, peninsula bordering the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia

Size: 11,437 sq km, in comparison Qatar is slightly smaller than the U.S state of Connecticut and is the 163rd largest country in the world.

Climate: Qatar’s climate is usually attributed to being very arid, mild pleasant winters. Typically in summer, Qatar can be very hot and humid and temperatures of over 50˚C are not unheard of.

Population: Qatar’s population is currently estimated to be 841,000, making it the 154th most populated country in the world.

Life expectancy at birth: At birth the average Qatari lives for approximately 75.19 years, making it place 79th in the world, and above the world average of 66.12 years.

Major Illness:  

Ethnicities: Qatar is predominately of Arab ethnicity hovering around 40%. Other minor ethnicities include Indian 18%, Pakistani 18%, Iranian 10%, other 14%.

Languages: Arabic is the official language, however English is commonly used as a second language

Religion: Of the population roughly 77.5% are Muslim. The remaining percentage are made up of Christian 8.5%, other 14%

Government: The government of Qatar operates as an Emirate, basically a monarchy in which the Emir is the head of state.

Head of State: Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani

Economy: Qatar’s economy, like most other Middle Eastern countries, heavily relies on the production of oil. Due to the boom in world demand and increasing amount of production of oil and natural gases in Qatar’s economy, Qatar is in the midst of an economic boom. Economic policy is focused on development of Qatar's non associated natural gas reserves and increasing private and foreign investment in non-energy sectors. Oil and gas account for more than 60% of GDP, roughly 85% of export earnings, and 70% of government revenues. Oil and gas have made Qatar the highest per-capita income country and one of the world's fastest growing economies, particularly in the Middle East. Sustained high oil prices and increased natural gas exports in recent years have helped build Qatar's budget and trade surpluses and foreign reserves. Recognized oil reserves of more than 15 billion barrels should ensure continued output at current levels for 22 years. Qatar's proved reserves of natural gas are roughly 25 trillion cubic meters, about 15% of the world total and third largest in the world. Qatar has permitted substantial foreign investment in the development of its gas fields during the last decade and became the world's top liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter in 2007.

GDP: Qatar’s actual GDP purchasing parity stands at $71.42 billion USD, and an actual GDP of $67.76 billion making it rank 77th in the world.

For more information about Qatar expat insurance, the international health insurance plans that we can offer there, or to receive a free quote, please contact one of our expert advisers today.

Recent Questions / Comments:

---