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Qatar is one of the smaller Arab Gulf states in
terms of population and geographical area. It is
situated midway along the western coast of the
Arabian Gulf between latitudes 24.27° - 26.10° North
and longitude 50.45° - 51.40° East. The country’s
area is approximately 11,437 square kilometers and
covers a low-lying limestone peninsula projecting
northwards about 160 kilometers into the Gulf. The
landscape of Qatar is generally flat arid desert
terrain. The
climate is characterized by a mild winter and a hot
summer. Rainfall in the winter is rather low often
less than 80 mm per year. Temperatures range from
7-15 degC in January to around 45-50 degC at the
height of summer. Qatar is well connected to the
world thanks to the countries flagship airline:
Qatar airways, one of the fastest growing airlines
in the world.
Qatar has been ruled by the Al Thani
Family since the 19th century. In 1916, a treaty was
ratified with Britain in which Qatar became a
British Protectorate. The full independence of Qatar
was announced on 3 September 1971. On 27 June 1995,
H.H. Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani acceded as
Head of State, Emir to the country. In August 2003,
H.H. Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani was
declared as the Heir Apparent. H.H. Sheikh Abdulla
Bin Khalifa Al Thani holds the post of Prime
Minister.
Arabic is the official language in
Qatar, and English is widely spoken. Islam is the
official religion of the country, and the Shariah
(Islamic Law) is the principal source of legislation
in the country. In the new constitution the freedom
of worship has been acknowledged.
The judiciary is independent, and is divided into
two court systems; the civil, commercial and
criminal system and the Sharia Court system which
administers Islamic laws. The civil courts are
required to apply Qatari Laws as established by
Emiri decrees in enforcing agreements between
parties.
The official currency is the Qatari
Riyal (QR), which is divided into 100 dirhams. The
Exchange parity has been set at the fixed rate of US
$ = 3.65QR's.
The Qatari economy has evolved
rapidly over the past few years from a primarily oil
based economy to one that increasingly includes
other hydrocarbon products such as liquefied natural
gas (LNG), condensate, propane, butane and other
natural gas liquids. The government’s current
economic diversification policy emphasizes the
optimal utilization of Qatar’s large reserves of
natural gas for downstream industries and/or as
feedstock and also to further attract investment in
the non-oil sectors of the economy. Qatar currently
has one of the highest per capita incomes in the
world. The economy of Qatar is experiencing a very
rapid growth of 10+% over the past years. The
economic growth is mainly fueled by the expansion in
the Oil and Gas sector (70 bln USD in the coming 5
years) and the development of the infrastructure and
real estate sector in the country. The national oil
company, Qatar Petroleum, manages the developments
in the Oil and Gas sector in the country. There are
many international oil companies active in Qatar,
amongst which: ExxonMobile, Total, Occidental,
Shell, Maersk, Connoco Phillips. Other industrial
projects in Qatar are in the Fertiliser and
petrochemical industry. There are two major
industrial cities in the country: Messeid and Ras
Laffan.
Qatar welcomes foreign participation in the economy.
Economic liberalisation measures have been
introduced to encourage inward investment. The
private sector has been given a greater role to play
in the development drive. Generous incentives have
also been granted to private investors and measures
were taken to encourage grass-roots projects and
joint-venture investments. Non-Qatari capital is
welcomed in business and industrial investments in
the country. Economic reform decrees have been
issued to activate industrial investment activities
and to accelerate further the current rapid pace of
development. A New
Foreign Investment law was approved in
October 2000. The new law allows foreigners to own
up to 100% share in certain projects.
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