Other sources say the name may derive from "Qatara", believed to refer to the Qatari town of Zubara, an important trading port and town in the region in ancient times. The word "Qatara" first appeared on Ptolemy's map of the Arabian Peninsula.

In Standard Arabic, the name is pronounced , while the local dialect pronounces it Johnstone, T.M. "." Encyclopaedia of Islam. Edited by: P. Bearman , Th. Bianquis , C.E. Bosworth , E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2008. Brill Online. 04 April 2008 http://www.brillonline.nl/subscriber/entry?entry=islam_SIM-4018 In English-language broadcast media within Qatar—for example, television commercials for Qatar Airways and advertisements concerning economic development in Qatar—the name is pronounced "KA-tar", with a distinct differentiation between the syllables from the forming of the 't' sound.

History

left|thumbnail|250px|Zubara fort, in northeastern QatarDuring the pre-Islamic era, the peninsula was often dominated by various Persian dynasties, the last of which (the Sasanians) included the Qatar peninsula, which they called ''Meshmahig'' ("Big Island"), in their province of ''Bahran/Bahrain'' with its capital at ''Shirin'' (probably, the modern Qatif). This province included the island of Bahrain and the costal regions of modern Saudi Arabia.

In the Islamic era, Qatar was one of the earliest locales occupied by the Muslims. Qarmatians arrived in the area very early during the Islamic era and spread their influence widely, as they did in the neighboring Hasa region. In medieval times, Qatar was more often than not independent and a participant in the great Persian Gulf-Indian Ocean commerce. Many races and ideas were introduced into the peninsula from Africa, South and Southeast Asia, as well as the Malay archipelago. Today, the traces of these early interactions with the oceanic world of the Indian Ocean survive in the small minorities of races, peoples, languages and religions, such as the presence of Africans and Shihus.

After centuries-long domination by the Ottoman and British empires, Qatar became an independent state on September 3, 1971.

Although the Al Saud (which would later ascend thrones of pearling villages.

The British initially sought out Qatar and the Persian Gulf as an intermediary vantage point ''en route'' to their colonial interests in oil and other hydrocarbons in the early twentieth century would re-invigorate their interest. During the nineteenth century, the time of Britain’s formative ventures into the region, the Al Khalifa clan reigned over the Northern Qatari peninsula from the nearby island of Bahrain to the west.

Although Qatar had the legal status of a dependency, resentment festered against the Bahraini Al Khalifas along the eastern seaboard of the Qatari peninsula. In 1867, the Al Khalifas launched a successful effort to quash the Qatari rebels, sending a massive naval force to Wakrah. However, the Bahraini aggression was in violation on the 1820 Anglo-Bahraini negotiate with a representative from Qatar. The request carried with it a tacit recognition of Qatar’s status as distinct from Bahrain. The Qataris chose as their negotiator the respected entrepreneur and long-time resident of Doha, Muhammed bin Thani. His clan, the Al Thanis, had taken relatively little part in Gulf politics, but the diplomatic foray ensured their participation in the movement towards independence and their hegemony as the future ruling family, a dynasty that continues to this day. The results of the negotiations left Qatar with a new-found sense of political selfhood, although it did not gain official standing as a British protectorate until 1916.

thumb|right|250px|The Emiri Diwan. The reach of the Indian independence in 1947. Pressure for a British withdrawal from the Arab emirates in the Persian Gulf increased during the 1950s, and the British welcomed sovereign state.

In 1991, Qatar played a significant role in the Gulf War, particularly during the Battle of Khafji in which Qatari tanks rolled through the streets of the town providing fire support for Saudi Arabian National Guard units which were fighting with units of the Iraqi Army. Qatar also allowed Coalition troops from Canada to use the country as an airbase to launch aircraft on CAP duty.

Since 1995, Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani has ruled Qatar, seizing control of the country from his father Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani while the latter vacationed in Switzerland. Under Emir Hamad, Qatar has experienced a notable amount of sociopolitical liberalization, including the endorsement of women's suffrage or right to vote, drafting a new constitution, and the launch of Al Jazeera, a leading English and Arabic news source which operates a website and satellite television news channel.

The International Monetary Fund states that Qatar has the highest GDP per capita in the world, followed by Luxembourg. The World Factbook ranks Qatar at second, following Luxembourg.

Qatar served as the headquarters and one of the main launching sites of the US invasion of Iraq http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5437.htm in 2003.

In 2005, a suicide-bombing killed a British teacher at the Doha Players Theatre, shocking for a country that had not previously experienced acts of terrorism. It is not clear if the bombing was committed by an organised terrorist group, and although the investigation is ongoing there are indications that the attack was the work of an individual, not a group.

Administrative divisions

right|100px Qatar is divided into ten ''municipalities'' (Arabic: ''baladiyah''), also occasionally or rarely translated as ''governorates'' or ''provinces'': #Ad Dawhah #Al Ghuwariyah #Al Jumaliyah #Al Khawr #Al Wakrah #Ar Rayyan #Jariyan al Batnah #Ash Shamal #Umm Salal #Mesaieed

Economy

Before the discovery of oil, the economy of the Qatari region focused on pearling. After the introduction of the Japanese cultured pearl onto the world market in the 1920s and 1930s, Qatar's pearling industry faltered. However, the discovery of oil, beginning in the 1940s, completely transformed the state's economy. Now the country has a high standard of living, with many social services offered to its citizens and all the amenities of any modern state.

Qatar’s national income primarily derives from oil and kmآ³), while gas reserves in the giant north field (800|Tcuft|km3}} to (1 trillion cubic foot is equivalent to about of oil). Qatar is sometimes referred to as the Saudi Arabia of natural gas. Qataris’ GDP per capita in the Arab World according to the CIA (2007), though it was previously the [[United Arab Emirates that was the wealthiest Arab country according to the University of Pennsylvania (2003).Alan Heston, Robert Summers and Bettina Aten, Penn World Table Version 6.2, Center for International Comparisons of Production, Income and Prices at the University of Pennsylvania, September 2006. [http://pwt.econ.upenn.edu/php_site/pwt62/pwt62_form.php With no income tax, Qatar is also one of the two least-taxed sovereign states in the world (the other is Bahrain).

thumb|left|350px|Doha's bay right|thumbnail|200px|Aspire Tower, located in the Doha City.">Sports">City.

The Asian Games, is visible across Doha, and is now a hotel. While oil and gas will probably remain the backbone of Qatar’s economy for some time to come, the country seeks to stimulate the private sector and develop a “Aspire Sports Academy, aquatic centres, exhibition centres and many other sports related buildings and centres. Following the success of the Asian Games, Doha kicked off its official bid to host the title= Doha 2016 bid brings wind of change|url= http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/5CB341CF-C302-41B2-B376-FE6A4103A3D8.htm?FRAMELESS=true&NRNODEGUID=%7b5CB341CF-C302-41B2-B376-FE6A4103A3D8%7d|format= |work= aljazeera.net|publisher= Al Jazeera|location= [[Doha|date= 2007-10-26|accessdate=2008-03-25}} Qatar also plans to build an "entertainment city" in the future.

Qatar is aiming to become a role model for economic and social transformation in the region. Large scale investment in all social and economic sectors will also lead to the development of a strong financial market.

The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) provides financial institutions with a world class financial services platform situated in an economy founded on the development of its hydrocarbons resources. It has been created with a long term perspective to support the development of Qatar and the wider region, develop local and regional markets, and strengthen the links between the energy based economies and global financial markets.

Apart from Qatar itself, which needs to raise the capacity of its financial services to support more than $130 billion worth of projects, the QFC also provides a conduit for financial services providers to access nearly $1 trillion of investment across the GCC as a whole over the next decade.

The largest project ever in Qatar, the new town of Lusail, is under construction.

Geography

The Qatari 100|mi|km|0}} north into the Persian Gulf from Saudi Arabia and is slightly smaller than Connecticut. Much of the country consists of a low, barren Inland Seaâ€‌), an area of rolling sand dunes surrounding an [[inlet of the Gulf. There are mild winters and very hot, humid summers.

The highest point in Qatar is Qurayn Abu al Bawl at in the Jebel Dukhan to the west, a range of low oil deposits, while the natural gas fields lie offshore, to the northwest of the peninsula.

Population

Nearly all Qataris profess oil industry. Arabic serves as the official language. However, English as well as many other languages are spoken.

Expatriates form the majority of Qatar’s residents. The petrochemical industry has attracted people from all around the world. Most of the expatriates come from South Asia and from non-oil-rich Arab states. Because a large percentage of the expatriates are male, Qatar has a heavily skewed sex ratio, with 1.8528 males per female.

In July 2007, the country had a growing population of approximately 907,229 people, of whom approximately 350,000 were believed to be citizens. Of the citizen population, Sunni Muslims form a majority, while the Shi'a Muslims count up to 20-23% of the population. The Wahhabi Muslims form the third group in size, probably no more than 10% of the population, to include the ruling dynasty and a large number of the elite families. The ancient Shia community of Qatar are historically related to the Shia majority in Bahrain and the al-Hasa coastal province of Saudi Arabia, while the Wahhabis arrived from Najd only in the 19th century.

The majority of the estimated 800,000 non-citizens are individuals from South and South East Asian and Arab countries working on temporary employment contracts in most cases without their accompanying family members. They are of the following faiths: Bahأ،'أ­s. Most foreign workers and their families live near the major employment centers of Doha, Al Khor, Messaeed, and Dukhan.

No foreign missionary groups operate openly in the country but in 2008 the government allowed some churches to conduct mass. In March 2008 the Roman Catholic church “Our Lady of the Rosaryâ€‌ was consecrated in Doha.

{| class="wikitable" ! Year ! Month ! Population | | | Shi'as comprise 10% of the Muslim population in Qatar.

Qatari law

The country has undergone a period of liberalization and modernisation during the reign of the current Emir, first= Nima|last= Elbagir|authorlink= |title= The role of Saudi women|url= http://www.channel4.com/more4/news/news-opinion-feature.jsp?id=527|publisher= Channel 4|location= |date= 2007-02-08|accessdate=2008-03-25 }} Link to the full Channel 4 video report. as well as holding senior positions in government. Also, women can dress mostly as they please in public (although in practice local Qatari women generally don the black alcohol to a certain extent. However, public bars and nightclubs in Qatar operate only in expensive hotels and clubs, much like in the UAE, though the number of establishments has yet to equal that of [[UAE. Non-Muslim expatriates resident in Qatar are eligible to receive liquor permits permitting them to purchase alcohol for personal use through Qatar Distribution Company, the exclusive importer and retailer for alcohol in Qatar. Qatar has further been liberalised due to the 15th Asian Games, but is cautious of becoming too liberal in their law. Overall Qatar has yet to reach the more western laws of UAE or Bahrain, and though plans are being made for more development, the government is cautious.

Education

thumbnail|250px|left|The Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar In recent years Qatar has placed great emphasis on American universities have opened branch Weill Medical College. In addition, accredited International Baccalaureate school, Qatar Academy. Two Canadian institutions, the College of the North Atlantic and the University of Calgary, also operate campuses in Doha.

Hamad Medical Corporation is the primary, publicly funded healthcare provider for the State of Qatar. It has formed partnerships with Western healthcare concerns, including University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Toronto's Sick Children's Hospital.

In November 2002, the Emir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani created the Supreme Education Council. The Council directs and controls education for all ages from the pre-school level through the university level, including the “Education for a New Eraâ€‌ reform initiative.

The Emir’s second wife, Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned, has been instrumental in new education initiatives in Qatar. She chairs the Qatar Foundation, sits on the board of Qatar’s Supreme Education Council, and is a major driving force behind the importation of western expertise into the education system, particularly at the college level.

Communications

Qtel’s ISP branch, Internet Qatar, uses SmartFilter to block websites they deem inappropriate to Qatari interests and morality.

Vodafone, in partnership with Qatar Foundation, has been announced to be opening in Qatar in mid 2008.

Al Jazeera (Arabic: ط§ظ„ط¬ط²ظٹط±ط©â€ژ, al-ؤںazؤ«rأ¤, al.dت’aثˆziثگ.ra, meaning “The Islandâ€‌) is a television network headquartered in Doha, Qatar. Al Jazeera initially launched as an Arabic news and current affairs satellite TV channel of the same name, but has since expanded into a network of several specialty TV channels. Print media is going through expansion, with over 3 English dailies and Arabic titles. The magazine segment is dominated by Qatar Today, which is the country's only news, business monthly magazine. It is published by Oryx Advertising Co, which is the largest magazine publisher of the country. The group also brings out several titles like Qatar Al Youm, Qatar's only Arabic monthly business magazine, Woman Today, the only working women's magazine and GLAM, the only fashion title.

Human rights and labour