Intro

It is a peninsular country located on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula and is a monarchy ruled by the Al Thani family (House of Thani). The current king of Qatar is Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani (born 1981-). In the process of gaining independence in 1971, it separated from the United Arab Emirates and established an independent nation. The official language of Qatar is Arabic and the state religion is Islam. It is a country with a large population of immigrants, with foreigners accounting for more than 80% of all residents. Due to the high proportion of immigrants, there are Hindu, Christian, and Buddhist populations in addition to Islam, but the vast majority of nationals believe in Islam.

The Al Thani family that currently rules Qatar established a ruling system on the Qatar Peninsula on December 18, 1878, which is Qatar’s national holiday. Afterwards, it was under indirect rule from Britain and became fully independent on September 3, 1971.

Al Jazeera, the most famous and influential media company in the Middle East, is established, and unlike other Arab countries, Qatar shows its own political actions, such as interacting with extremist groups and establishing friendly relations with Iran. There was also friction with the state.

Nature of Qatar

Qatar is a peninsular country jutting out of the Persian Gulf in the central-eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula. It has an oval-shaped landmass extending from north to south, about 160km north to south and 90km east to west. The southern border of Qatar, which connects to the Arabian Peninsula, borders eastern Saudi Arabia, and the island nation of Bahrain is located in the northwest.

Most of Qatar is a lowland area covered by desert. Low sand hills are scattered throughout the southwest and south, of which the 103 m high Abu al-Bawl hill in the south is the highest point in Qatar. A limestone plateau appears in the central part, and in the southeast there is an inland sea connected to the Persian Gulf.

Qatar’s soil is generally calcareous with low organic matter content, distributed at a low depth, resulting in low agricultural production. Additionally, salt areas with high salinity are found in many areas because they were submerged under seawater about 60 million years ago.

 

People of Qatar

In the case of Tar, since the majority of the population consists of foreign migrant workers, the population changes greatly depending on the season and economic situation. It is estimated that 15-20% of the population is usually domestic and the rest are foreigners. Among them, immigrants from South Asia account for the majority, and are estimated to number more than 1.5 million, or about 60% of Qatar’s total population.

Among these, Indian nationals accounted for the largest proportion, followed by Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. Excluding South Asia, immigrants from other regions account for 20-30% depending on the period, and the majority are Filipino and Egyptian nationals. In Qatar, the first census was conducted under Ottoman rule in 1892. According to the census results conducted at the time, the population of Qatar in 1892 was 9,830.

Arabs make up the absolute majority of Koreans. Therefore, Arabic is the only official language in Qatar. However, due to the high proportion of foreigners, English is widely used. To prevent Arabic from being invaded by English, a language protection policy was implemented requiring the use of Arabic in commercial areas. The Arabic language used in Qatar is classified as a dialect within the Qatar region and broadly belongs to the dialects of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.

Of course, the majority religion of Qataris is Islam. However, due to the nature of the country with many immigrants, various religions are distributed. Muslims are 65.5%, Hindus are 15.4%, Christians are 14.2%, Buddhists are 3.3%, and other religions or no religions are 1.9%.

Qatar’s official religion is Islam, and the vast majority follow Sunni Islam. 10% of Qatar’s Muslim population is Shia. There is a separate Islamic department in Qatari government ministries, and Islamic education is mandatory in all public schools. Sunni Qatari Muslims generally follow fundamentalist Islam, influenced by Wahabism.

In the case of Christianity, most believers are foreigners. Since 2008, Christian churches can be established in areas designated and donated by the Qatari government. However, missionary activities in Qatar by overseas Christian groups were prohibited by law.

Politics of Qatar

Qatar is a monarchy, a country ruled by an absolute monarch. The ruling family in Qatar is the House of Thani. The Al Thani Dynasty began ruling Qatar in 1825. Although it is a monarchy, it has established a constitution and is adhering to it. In 2003, the Constitution was amended to directly elect 30 out of 45 members of the Qatari Legislative Assembly, and it was passed in a national referendum with an approval rating of 98%.

The King, Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani (1980.06.03~, 2013.06.25~), can appoint and dismiss the Prime Minister and government ministers, and organize and operate the Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers is also Qatar’s highest executive body.

executive
Since 2014, Qatar has been divided into eight municipalities. Al Shamal, Al Khor, Al Shihaniyah, Umm Salal, Al Daayen, Doha, Al Rayan, There is Al Wakrah.

Former administrative districts, which operated from 2004 to 2006, include Al Jemayiliya, Al Guwariya, Jariyan al Batnah and Mesaied.

The executive branch is formed around the head of state. The head of state is the King, Tamim bin Hamad. Key government positions include Khalid ibn Khalifa and Khalid bin Muhammad as Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, and Muhammad bin Abdulrahman Al Thani as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense and Minister of Foreign Affairs. Most of the key positions are held by members of the Al Sani family. The monarchy is hereditary, and the king directly appoints the prime minister and deputy prime minister.

Conclusion

It is a country located on the Qatar Peninsula, which protrudes into the Persian Gulf in the eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula. In the 18th century, it was the territory of the Khalifa family, today’s Emir of Bahrain, but a friendship treaty was signed with Britain in 1868, and after becoming a British protectorate through a special treaty in 1916, it became independent on September 3, 1971. It belongs to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and has a monarchy ruled by the Al Thani family.