Qatar

For most of its history the harsh Qatari peninsula supported only a sparse population of nomadic Bedouin and coastal communities that lived by fishing and, above all, by diving for the pearls of the Gulf. The Al Thani family rose to lead the area in the nineteenth century and continues to rule. After periods under Ottoman and then British protection, Qatar became fully independent in 1971. The discovery and development of its vast offshore gas field would soon turn the small country into a global energy power.

Qatar is a small, flat, and arid peninsula, almost entirely desert, with a hot climate and very little rainfall or fresh water. Low limestone hills and salt flats break the level terrain, and the coastline of the Gulf is fringed with shallows. The land has few natural resources at the surface, but beneath the seabed off its northeast coast lies a share of the largest natural gas field in the world, the source of the country's extraordinary wealth.

The flag of Qatar is maroon with a white band along the hoist, the two separated by a line of nine white serrated points. The distinctive deep maroon colour is said to have developed from a traditional red dye that darkened under the Gulf sun, and it sets Qatar's flag apart from those of its red-flagged neighbours. The nine points of the serrated edge are commonly taken to mark Qatar as one of the states that came together in the region.

Qatar is a Muslim country, and Islam is the state religion, followed in a conservative form by the Qatari citizen population. Religious tradition and law shape public life, and the country has built grand mosques and Islamic institutions with its wealth. At the same time, the enormous foreign workforce that vastly outnumbers Qatari citizens includes people of many faiths, and the state permits, within limits, places of worship for some other religions, reflecting its role as an international hub.

Qatari cuisine belongs to the Gulf Arab tradition, with the national dish being machboos, fragrant spiced rice cooked with meat or fish. Dates and Arabic coffee are central to daily life and the strong culture of hospitality, and dishes such as harees, a smooth porridge of wheat and meat, and grilled and stewed meats feature at gatherings. The flavours reflect the trade routes of the Gulf, with Persian, Indian, and Levantine influences, and the country's wealth now brings cuisines from around the world.

Agriculture is almost impossible across most of Qatar's desert, and the country has long imported the great majority of its food. Some farming of vegetables and dates is carried out with irrigation, and in recent years, prompted in part by a regional blockade that disrupted supplies, Qatar has invested heavily in high-technology farming, including vast climate-controlled dairy operations and hydroponic greenhouses, to improve its food security in an environment that is naturally hostile to agriculture.

The long age of pearl diving and the founding of the Al Thani rule shaped old Qatar, but the transformation came with natural gas, which by the early twenty-first century had made it among the richest countries in the world per person. Qatar has used this wealth to wield global influence, founding the Al Jazeera news network, mediating in regional conflicts, and hosting the football World Cup of 2022, the first held in the Arab world.

Qatar has a population of around 2.7 million people, but in a striking imbalance, Qatari citizens make up only a small fraction of this number, with the great majority being foreign workers, drawn mostly from South Asia, the Philippines, and other Arab countries, who build and run the economy. The treatment of these migrant workers has drawn international scrutiny. Almost everyone lives in or around the capital, Doha, a city of dramatic modern skyscrapers risen from the desert and the Gulf.