Qatar 2018

Qatar is a Middle Eastern country located in the eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula with an estimated population of 2.7 million people. The economy is largely based on oil and gas, with the main exports being petroleum products, liquefied natural gas, and fertilizers. In terms of foreign relations, Qatar is a member of the United Nations and other international organizations such as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). According to extrareference, Qatar is an absolute monarchy with an elected Emir who serves as both head of state and head of government. In 2018, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani was reelected to serve another term in office as Emir of Qatar.

Yearbook 2018

Qatar. The conflict with neighboring countries continued this year as well. What has come to be called the new Gulf crisis began when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt in June 2017 accused Qatar of supporting Iran and terrorism. The countries then cut all ties to Qatar and imposed harsh sanctions.

According to Countryaah.com, Doha is the capital city of Qatar, a country located in Western Asia. Bad relations continued in 2018, although a recognition by US President Donald Trump in January, thanking Qatar’s emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani for acting to counter terrorism and extremism, somewhat thawed the situation. Even the resumed diplomatic relations in February between Chad and Qatar, which had broken in the summer of 2017 in sympathy with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, may have helped to improve the situation.

• According to Abbreviationfinder: QAT is an three letter acronym for Qatar.

But in early June they seemed to be back on square one. Then Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud threatened to attack Qatar militarily if the country purchased the planned Russian robot defense system S-400. That same month, Qatar filed a lawsuit against the United Arab Emirates to the International Criminal Court. The indictment was for human rights violations, as Qatar was isolated by its neighbors both diplomatically and physically, which has had “a devastating impact on the human rights of Qatari”, according to a statement from the government.

In December, Qatar decided to leave the oil-producing countries’ cooperation (OPEC) from January 2019. It has been a member of OPEC since 1961, but has been one of the smallest oil producers since natural gas is the most important in the country’s energy production. At the turn of the year, a 100 percent tax on alcohol was also introduced.

According to estimates from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Qatar will not be the world’s richest place for long. The Chinese casino island Macau will have Qatar by 2020. Macau’s GDP per capita is then estimated at $ 143,116, while Qatar’s figure is $ 139,151.

POPULATION AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

According to an estimate, in 1998 the population of the small emirate reached 579. 000 residents, Of which only a third represented by Qaṭari, as there were over 400. 000 foreign workers residing in the country, mostly from the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The major demographic and economic center remains the capital, Doha (392,400 residents in 1995), followed by the Duh̠ān oil center and the Umm Sa῾īd crude port.

Until today Qatar based its prosperity on oil production (32,500. 000 t in 1997), but the future of the country is almost certainly represented by natural gas. In fact, the reserves of the offshore field of North West Dome (which went into production in 1991) alone represent 12 % of the world known reserves of natural gas, and their exploitation was destined by the government to finance an industrial development plan of 20 billions of dollars: the implementation of the plan, which mainly envisages the construction of gas liquefaction plants and the start-up of new oil and gas fields, is expected within a short time. The exports of hydrocarbons annually represent about 80 – 90 % of the total.

The secondary sector is also linked to hydrocarbons, and is represented by refineries and chemical industries. There is no lack of other productions and in 1997 the industries that do not use hydrocarbons as raw material contributed 15.6% to the formation of GDP: the largest plants concern the production of iron, steel, cement and the textile and clothing sector. The government aims to diversify production activities and seek other sources of income also in the agricultural field. A vast education program was therefore put in place regarding agricultural techniques and experimentation with unconventional cultivation methods (among other things, making extensive use of seawater desalination for irrigation). At the present time, however, the agricultural balance is in deficit and the country is forced to large food imports.