Qatar is officially known as State of Qatar, and is an independent Arab emirate found in Western Asia. It borders Saudi Arabia on the Southern side, though the Persian Gulf surrounds the other part of its territory (Orr 47). Qatar has been under rule by the Al Thani family ever since mid-19th century. The country is an absolute monarchy.
Qatar is home to the third largest natural oil and gas reserves in the world. The oil reserves are in excess, with 25 billion barrels. The excess oil has enabled Qatar to qualify as one of the richest countries globally per capita. It has also been able to acquire the largest rate of human development within the boundaries of the Arab empire, and is the 36th highest globally. Qatar is currently under transformation courtesy of the Vision 2030, where it expects to have a more sustainable and diversified economy. Qatar has also set to improve its infrastructure so as to boost the tourism industry (Fromherz 24). Qatar also has a quickly growing newsgroup called Al Jazeera.
The Qatar Peninsula extends 100 miles to the north side into the Persian Gulf. The Peninsula lies between the latitudes 24 and 27 degrees North, and the longitudes 50 and 52 degrees East. Most the land in Qatar consists of a low plain that is barren and is covered with sand. There are minor winters and humid hot summers. In Qatar, the highest point would be Qurayn Abu al Bawl, which lies 103 meters to the West. At this place, there is a series of low limestone outcroppings that run north-south through Umm Bab from Zikritall the way to the border in the South. The area is known as the Jebel Dukhan. The Jebel Dukhan area has Qatar’s main oil deposits and the natural gas fields found at the offshore (Fromherz 27).
The natural gas from Qatar takes up a large portion of the world’s supply in natural gas. In reference to the Oil and Gas Journal, the reserves of natural gas in Qatar were at 896 trillion cubic feet in 2011 (Orr 48). It meant that the country had 14% of all recognized gas reserves. Qatar has the third largest gas reserves in the world after Iran and Russia. A majority of Qatar’s natural gas is found in the offshore North field, which occupies an area that is roughly equivalent to Qatar itself.
Oil was first discovered in Qatar in 1935 and was granted to the Qatar Petroleum Company (QP). Oil was found at Dukhan, located to the West of the Qatari peninsula. Qatar is 15th largest with crude oil exports in the world and 15.2 Billion Barrels of confirmed oil reserves. A majority of the oil is exported to Asian countries, which are the home to the quickest growing economies in the world.
The population of Qatar is said to be on the rise. In 1980, the population was at around 224,000 and increased to approximately 1,800,000 by 2010. The life expectancy in the country is also said to be on the rise. At one time, the migration profile of Qatar was at 48.2 immigrants per 1,000 in the population between the years 2000-2005. It later increased to 133.4 immigrants per 1000in the population, which was a sign that there was an increase in migration inflows. The number of migration inflows is, however, expected to decrease in the future. The number of those less than fifteen years of age has been on the decrease since the year1980 with age (Orr 52). The trend is expected to continue until the year 2045. Similarly, the numbers of the working age group have been on the rise since 1980, and are also expected to keep rising. Though Qatar has an approximated population of one million, only one out five is Qatari. Four fifths of the population in Qatar is immigrant workers. The Qataris are faced with challenges such as lack of proper representation, very poor working and living conditions as well as misuse of domestic employees (Orr 53). On that, one would consider that it takes a far lesser number of people to operate a certain gas or oil plant, or a power station, than it would take to build it. In a country as small as Qatar, many infrastructures are needed. Sooner or later, the laboring on the big projects comes to an end and in effect, the number of workers is reduced. Qatar should seek to attract a number of different profile foreigners to invest, lest the Qataris will stay in an empty city. Qatar, in effect of this is seriously seeking recognition of its place in the world. The country does this through holding major conferences, sporting events and summits (Fromherz 34).
Qatar is a country that is very strong in education; it is even a leader in the Arabian world. As an effect, there are reduced early marriages since the young Qatari women are more educated. More to that, the Qataris have strong traditions and strict rules that help determine the suitable marriage partners. Therefore, it makes Qatar remain in the shadows of having a declining native population since there is no fathomable decision on solving the issue at the moment.
The natives of the Arabian Peninsula, Qataris, are descended from several migratory tribes that came to the country around the 18th century to escape the harsh conditions of the surrounding areas. For centuries, the main sources of income were trading, pearling and fishing (Fromherz 40). The Qataris once owned almost a third of the fishing fleet in the Persian Gulf. However, pearling in Qatar declined drastically following the introduction of Japan’s pearl industry. The Qataris are mainly Muslim. The official language is Arabic, while English remains a business language. Education in Qatar is both compulsory and free for all natives who are 6-16 years of age. The residents of Qatar can be divided into three; the Bedouin, Abd and Hadar. It is said that 91.4% of the Qataris live in urban areas. The total male and female population are said to be imbalanced.
The symbols of national unity include; the family, factors associated with the nation’s past as well as pictures and images of the ruler (Orr 54). The primary basis of social stratification includes the occupation and nationality. Hiring foreign workers has created systems in which citizens are more concentrated in certain jobs. The salaries are also dependent on nationality.
Qatar, as a small Peninsula is one state that suffers from an inadequate supply of water since it is one of the driest countries worldwide. Despite this, Qatar has the highest water consumption in the world, especially due to its industrial usage (Fromherz 42). Qatar is among the countries that receive the lowest rainfall in the world according to researchers. Qatar daily water usage goes up to 460 liters; however, it plans to invest heavily in desalination equipment to boost its water supply. Qatar has set various projects to see to its increased water supply. However, these projects remain short-term solutions despite the effort. The reason for this is that Qatar has no permanent surface water; hence, is an inconvenience since the water for agricultural uses will be dependent on irrigation, which requires pumping groundwater (Orr 56). It is speculated that Qatars natural water sources are to be depleted in the next twenty or so years following the recent cases of withdrawal rates.
In the above, the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) also gave findings that the increasing rural and urban development’s groundwater pollution, especially by nitrates is likely to be an occurrence. The high population growth also serves as a challenge in the management of the fresh water shortage in Qatar. Between the years 2007-2011, Qatar recorded the fastest growing population in the world with the increase rate being estimated at 9.6%. To help curb the water shortage, the Qatari government sought to educate its citizens on water scarcity in the country, through the launching of a campaign. Qatar has also sought external assistance to help manage its water shortage. Several solutions such as treatment of waste-water have been suggested.
On a general outlook; Qatar is a quickly developing wealthy state, has the lowest ration in age dependency, a high male to female ratio, and has the second highest migrant population in the world.
Works Cited:
Fromherz, Allen. Qatar: A Modern History, I. B. Tauris, London, 2012.
Orr, Tamra. Qatar, Marshal Cavendish, Singapore, 2008.
