EN TR

Article

The State of Qatar and Qatar Armed Forces

Date: Issue 98 - April 2020

The State of Qatar is a peninsula located amid the western coast of the Arabian Gulf. The peninsula is approximately 100 km across and extends 200 km into the Gulf. Qatar adopted its first written constitution in April 1970 and became fully independent from the United Kingdom on September 1, 1971. The State of Qatar is a sovereign and independent Arab state that has been ruled by the Thani Family since Jassim Bin Mohammad Al-THANI signed a treaty with the UK in 1868 that recognized its separate status. 

Having emerged as one of the world’s most important producers of oil and gas and is the richest country on earth, the State of Qatar has been governed by HH Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-THANI since June 2013. As one of the smallest nations by size and area in the world the State of Qatar has a total land area of 11,610 km2 (4,483 sq. miles). According to United Nations (UN) estimations, dated August 2019, the State of Qatar’s total population is 2,839 million. With some 340,000 people, Qataris are considered a ‘minority’ in their own nation amounting to only 12% of the population. Foreign workers amount to around 88% of the population, with Indians being the largest community numbering around 700,000.