The Emirate of Qatar is situated on a flat peninsula on the western shore of the Persian Gulf. It has borders with Saudi Arabia.
Qatar was a British protectorate from 1916 to 1971, when the country gained independence. Oil and gas production was nationalized in 1977. In 1995 Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani succeeded his father as head of state and initiated a process of reform in the country. Since October 1996 the Prime Minister has been Sheikh Abdulla Bin Khalifa Al-Thani.
Oil and gas production and allied activities represent the most important industrial sector in Qatar. Hydro has enjoyed a 35-year old cooperation with the country, involving fertilizer production and petrochemical operations. Three-quarters of the country's population consists of foreign workers.
- Form of government: Emirate
- Area: 11,437 sq. kilometers
- Capital: Doha
- Population: Approx. 817,000 inhabitants (2003)
- Population: 71.4 inhabitants per sq. kilometer
- Average life-span: 73.1 years
- Infant mortality: 20.0 per 1000
- Religion: Islam (95 percent of population)
- Language: Arabic
- Currency: Qatar riyal
- GDP per inhabitant: USD 20,100 (2002)
- Export articles: Oil, gas, fertilizer
- National day: 3 September