Qatar           Introduction         

Background:        Ruled by the Al Thani family since the mid-1800s, Qatar transformed itself from a poor British protectorate noted mainly for pearling into an independent state with significant oil and natural gas revenues. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Qatari economy was crippled by a continuous siphoning off of petroleum revenues by the amir who had ruled the country since 1972. He was overthrown by his son, the current Amir HAMAD bin Khalifa Al Thani, in a bloodless coup in 1995. In 2001, Qatar resolved its longstanding border disputes with both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Oil and natural gas revenues enable Qatar to have a per capita income not far below the leading industrial countries of Western Europe.

Qatar           Geography            

Location:         Middle East, peninsula bordering the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia

Geographic coordinates:        25 30 N, 51 15 E

Map references:         Middle East

Area: total:  11,437 sq km

land:  11,437 sq km

water:  0 sq km

Area - comparative:        slightly smaller than Connecticut

Land boundaries:         total:  60 km

border countries:  Saudi Arabia 60 km

Coastline:         563 km