CERCLE DIPLOMATIQUE - issue 02/2015

LE MONDE QATAR
THE HISTORIC QATAR
FACTS &
FIGURES
Qatar
Like a dream place out of 1001
nights – the Mohammed bin
Abdulwahab Mosque in Doha,
established in 2009.
PHOTOS: QATAR TOURISM AUTHORITY
Here, a small excerpt from the list of major
events in Qatar – so far in 2015: In January,
the ATP tennis circuit was present in the
capital Doha with the „Qatar ExxonMobil Open“.
The Men‘s Handball World Championship was also
held there in February. In March, the influential „Institute
of International Finance“ summoned the global
monetary elite under the patronage of Prime Minister
HE Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani
with Martin Wolf, chief commentator of the „Financial
Times“ and UBS chairman Axel Weber to discuss
the impact of the oil price decline. The „Arab
Future City Summit“ in Qatar searched for solutions
for sustainable urban development in early April,
and in mid-April, the „13th UN Congress on Crime
Prevention and Criminial Justice“ under the direction
of Yury Fedotov, director of the UNODC in Vienna,
was hosted in Doha. Qatar attracted the prestigious
„World Stadium Congress“ to the country in
May – almost a home game considering the FIFA
Soccer World Cup, which will take place in 2022 in
eight new, hypermodern stadiums in and around
Doha.
These are not small events, but high-level meetings
and just another sign that this mere 180 by 80
kilometres wide desert country – roughly equivalent
to the size of the US state of Connecticut – has long
grown into a fixed point in the world.
Even more: Qatar has risen to become the smallest
Great Power in the world within the time span of
just a few decades. „Qatar has by now secured its
place on the world map,“ says Gerd Bommer, the
Austrian Economic Delegate in Doha. „Not only because
of its economic success and its role as a major
energy supplier, but above all by its views on politics,
journalism and economic diversification“ (see also
commentary on page 34).
The basis of the success is a gigantic bubble
pressed with fossil energy from oil and gas on the
seabed in front of Qatar‘s north coast in the Persian
Gulf, which surrounds the peninsula, bordering only
on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The
„North Gas Field“ contains about 25 trillion cubic
metres of recoverable gas reserves. After those in
Russia and Iran, it’s the third largest in the world, or
15 percent of global gas reserves, which is enough for
more than 200 years. The known oil reserves are estimated
at over 25 billion barrels. According to OPEC,
it’s number nine in the world and ensures the oil supply
in Qatar for the next 100 years.
Thanks to those gifts of nature, Qatar is now considered
the richest country in the world. In 2014, its
economic performance, calculated by purchasing
power, was established as almost USD 300 billion
and its GDP per capita at about USD 146,000. From
the approximately 2.15 million inhabitants (2014
estimate), only about 260,000 are real Qataris – the
remaining population consists mostly of business expatriates
and foreign workers from India, Pakistan,
Iran, Sri Lanka, the Philippines or other Arab countries.
Due to this imbalance, the statistics show a per
capita GDP of approximately USD 150,000. By comparison,
the amount in Austria is currently just over
47,000 US dollars.
Since Qatar itself was settled in the mid-18th century
by Sunni Bedouin tribes – especially the dominant
Al-Thani family since 130 years, it was transformed
from a British protectorate to an independent
state in 1971. It has since strategically invested its
wealth: First in the construction of infrastructure,
then in the development of its petrochemical industry,
and finally, in a breathtaking modernization of
Doha with high-calibre educational and cultural institutions.
The world became aware of this no later
than 1996, when the Qatari news channel „Al Jazeera“
was launched amid media attention. Furthermore,
for several years, it has been elaborately broadening
its economic base to reduce its commodity
dependence in the long term.
Qatar follows a master plan, the so-called „Qatar
National Vision 2030“, a kind of five-year business
plan in the „Qatar National Development Strategy“,
with details for all sectors of society. Bommer: „All
projects, particularly those regarding economic and
social development, national security, environmental
management and controlled expansion, along
Official Name:
State of Qatar
Region: Arabian Peninsula
– bordering Saudia Arabia
in the south, surrounded
by the Persian Gulf
Area: 11.571 km2
Population: 2.155.446
(2014 estimate), of which
12 % are Qatari nationals
Language: Arabic
Religion: Islam
Capital: Doha
Currency: Riyal
GDP per capita: 145.894 $
(2014 estimate)
Climate: Extremely hot
with up to 45 degrees C in
August and lows in winter
from 15 to 24 degrees C
Qatar National Day:
December 18th
Political system:
Absolute Monarchy
Head of State: Emir Tamim
bin Hamad Al Thani
Prime Minister:
Abdullah bin Nasser bin
Khalifa Al Thani
Where modern times meet
history – behind its futuristic
skyline, Qatar‘s capital Doha
is full of traditional culture
like falconry.
Clockwise from the left: Islamic Museum,
Qataris performing traditional music, Islamic
Culture Center, a historic fort in West Qatar
and a sunset in the main desert.
26 Cercle Diplomatique 2/2015
Cercle Diplomatique 2/2015
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