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30th November 2015

25 Quirky Facts About Qatar

Qatar is a small country in the Middle East.
It shares only one border with Saudi Arabia to the south. It also has a coastline along the Persian Gulf along to the west, north and east.
If you’re looking to head to this unique country by boat or air, you’ll need to remember the coordinates 25.3000° N, 51.5167° E.
The terrain here is mostly flat and barren desert, contrasted by the beautiful man-made island of Pearl-Qatar.
The total land area of Qatar is 4,448 square miles (11,521 square kilometres)…
…that’s roughly the same size as Yorkshire.
Qatar’s population was 2,194,817 in 2015…
…that’s less than half the population of Yorkshire!
Residents here are known as Qataris.
Doha is the capital city; it covers an area of 51 square miles (132 square kilometres) and had a population of 718,000 in 2015.
Qataris enjoy an arid climate with mild, pleasant winters and very hot and humid summers.

The official languages of Qatar are Arabic and English.
If you fancy purchasing a few souvenirs from the vibrant souks, you’ll need to exchange your GBP for Qatari Riyal, the official currency here.
The average life span of a Qatari is 79 years.
History enthusiasts will be interested to know that there is evidence of human habitation in Qatar from as early as the 4th century BC!
In Qatar it is deemed appropriate and respectful to ensure both men and women’s clothes do not end above the knee and that women’s arms are covered.
In 2022, Qatar will become the smallest country (by area) ever to host a FIFA World Cup!
Petrol is around 15p per litre in Qatar… if only it was that cheap in the UK!
Not only is petrol very cheap here, Qatar also has the highest GDP per capita at more than 3 times that of the UK!
Looking forward to the weekend? Well, in Qatar it actually falls on Friday and Saturday, with Sunday the start of each working week!
After being ruled by both the Ottoman Empire and the British, Qatar finally gained independence in 1971.

Qatar grows fruits and vegetables; they also rear poultry and cattle, catch fish and produce dairy products.
Its industry consists of crude oil production and refining, petrochemicals, fertilisers, cement and steel reinforcing bars.
The main exports consist of petroleum products, steel and fertilisers.

Do you know someone lucky enough to live in Qatar? You can make cheap calls to Qatar with Cherry Call – don’t forget, you’ll also need to use the international dialling code of 00974.

To keep up-to-date with what’s going on in Qatar, head over to the Gulf Times website.