Countries That Start With The Letter Q

Qatar is the only country in the world that starts with letter Q. It is located in the western part of the continent of Asia to the coastal region of Arabian Peninsula. The population of Qatar is approximately 2.6 million.

Overview of Qatar

History and Government of Qatar

The British colonized Qatar from the early 1920s to 1971 when the country gained independence. The House of Thani founded the State of Qatar and had been ruling since the 19th century as a hereditary monarchy state. The present King of the state is Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The supreme chancellor of the state has total power over the appointment and removal of cabinet council, ministers, and prime minister. Qatar’s constitution provides that 30 to 45 members are directly elected to the Legislative Council.

Economy of Qatar

Prior to the 1920s, Qatar mainly concentrated on pearl hunting and fishing. Pearl hunting collapsed in the 1920s when the Japanese introduced the cultured pearl to the world market. The oil reserves were later discovered in Dukhan Field in 1940 after the crash of pearling industry. The oil industry has dramatically increased the living standards of the citizens of Qatar with about 0.1% rate of unemployment. Most of the workforce used to grow the economy are foreigners with a population of about 86% of total Qatar’s population. The State of Qatar leads in the production of liquefied natural gas in the world market. Oil and natural gas industries have exclusively made Qatar one of the wealthiest states in the world. Qatar has also focused on foreign investments in the United States, Asia Pacific, and Europe. The Qatar government has plans to impose taxes on goods that are harmful to human body since the state has no taxes.

Religion & Language

The dominating religion in the state of Qatar is Islam constituting about 67% of the total population in the state. Another religion is Christianity with about 13.5% followed by Hinduism with about 3% of the total inhabitants in Qatar. Most of the Christians are foreigners. The official language used in Qatar is Arabic and English language as the second. Lingua franca is also on the rise mostly in commercial sectors.

Is Qatar a Developing or Developed Country?

Qatar is considered as a developed nation with almost 0% unemployment rate. It is stable regarding natural resources especially natural gas and oil, and workforce who are foreigners. Oil and gas industries have helped Qatar nation to be high-economy country, and this economy makes it be a self-sufficient state.