a. Doha and Al Rayyan are the major cities of Qatar. There are no rivers in Qatar, but there are few riverbeds. Tuwayyir al Hamir is the highest point in Qatar at only 338 feet. Doha is connected to different parts of the country with Qatar’s extensive road network.
b. Qatar is ruled by the House of Thani since 1867 and boasts one of the highest per capita incomes in the world driven by their oil, gas and investments based economy. As of February 2016, the population of Qatar is 2.216 million (WPR N.pag). 0 percent of Qatari population is below the poverty line. Qatar had one of the lowest child mortality rates in the world of 6.42 in 2014 (Index Mundi N.pag). In December 2015, UN released their HDI ranking and Qatar was the highest ranked Arab state. The global ranking placed Qatar at 32 (UNDP 47). In 2014, Qatar GDP was 210.11 billion USD (Index Mundi N.pag). In 2013, life expectancy in Qatar was recorded at 78 years and GNI per capita was 92,200 USD (World Bank. N.pag). Average monthly household income of a Qatari is 19,918 USD and average expatriate income is 6,685 USD. Major goods produced and exported are oil and gas; also limestone and nitrogen are produced in Qatar.
a. In 2005, the GDP of Kuwait was 80.8 billion USD and the GDP of Qatar was 43.04 billion USD. Kuwait was preforming much better in terms of economic development than Qatar in 2005 (Nationmaster N.pag).
b. In 2005, Qatar’s GDP constant was 43.04 billion USD and in 2011 their GDP PPP was $ 104,300 (Index Mundi N.pag).
c. In 2005, the GDP PPP of Qatar and Kuwait were 28,300 and 20,300 USD (Index Mundi N.pag). By comparing them it can be understood that the standard of living in Qatar was better than Kuwait in 2005. This means the level of comfort, necessities, material goods and comfort was better for people living in Qatar.
d. Qatar’s population and GDP have been growing annually for the past decade. But, the GDP and population growth rates have been in continuous decline in the last 10 years. This is an indicator that Qatar has been growing for the past decade in terms of population and GDP, but there is a continuous decline in their oil and gas dependent economy and influx of foreigners.
List and clearly explain two characteristics of the developing world. Make sure to give examples in the course of your essay (use bullet points).
Low per capita income
One of the key characteristics of the developing world is its low per capital income in comparison to developed nations.
In 2005, the per capita income of Switzerland was 345 times, in comparison to Ethiopia, one of the poorest countries in the world (University of Victoria N.pag).
In addition, Switzerland’s per capita income was 76 times India -- one of the most populous and largest countries in the world. Developing countries have the lowest per capita income in comparison to developed countries (University of Victoria N.pag).
High Population Growth rate
Developing countries, especially the low-income countries can be characterized by their higher population growth rate despite having their child mortality rate being high.
In most of these developing countries, the population growth is higher due to the high level of birth rate in the country.
Bangladesh is a developing country with one of the fastest growing populations in the world (Roy N.pag).
Similarly, South Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Burundi have population growth rate of more than 3 percent. All of these countries are developing countries (Roy N.pag).
Critically evaluate the following statement: “The West should be blamed for all the misfortunes in the developing world”. Give examples to illustrate your answers in the course of your essay.
Many people in the developing world openly blame the west for their misfortunes. Over the history, western interferences have been actively seen in different forms such as colonialism, wars, foreign policy intervention, and globalization. The west is surely a major participant in creating problems in the developing world. First, the United Kingdom and other European powers colonized countries in the Middle-East and Asia and later the United States of American and their foreign policy has created significant problems in the Middle East.
The United Kingdom especially is responsible for colonizing several countries in the Indian subcontinent and a few African countries that have left them economically weaker several years after the British withdrew. The erstwhile colonized countries have been asking for economic and material reparations. One example is their former colony India, asking the UK to return the stolen diamond Kohinoor.
Similarly, the United States waging war on Iraq and Afghanistan has left the countries economically weak and would require years of reparations to fix the problem they have caused. Even after the war, the U.S. has kept the military deployed in the war affected regions. Resulting in the wrath of the locals and hatred among the global community for their actions.
Works Cited
Nationmaster. GDP: Countries Compared. NationMaster. nationmaster.com. 2016. Web. 22 February 2016.
Index Mundi. Infant mortality rate. Index Mundi. indexmundi.com. n.d. Web. 22 February 2016.
Index Mundi. Life Expectancy at birth (years). Index Mundi. indexmundi.com. n.d. Web. 22 February 2016.
Roy., R. 11 Fastest Growing Countries in The World by Population. Insider Monkey. Insidermonkey.com. 4 May 2015. Web. 22 February 2016.
Trading Economics. Qatar GDP. Trading Economics. Tradingeconomics.com. 2016. Web. 22 February 2016.
UNDP. Human Development Report 2015. UNDP. Undporg. 2015. Web. 22 February 2016.
U of Victoria. Major Characteristics of Developing Countries. University of Victoria. uvic.ca. n.d.. Web. 22 February 2016.
World Bank. GDP growth (annual %). World Bank. worldbank.org. 2016. Web. 22 February 2016.
World Bank. Population growth (annual %). World Bank. worldbank.org. 2016. Web. 22 February 2016.
World Population Review. Qatar Population 2016. World Population Review. worldpopulationreview.com. 13 September 2015. Web. 22 February 2016.
