Qatar
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 in a bloodless coup by his own son in 1995. Oil and natural gas revenues enable Qatar to have a per capita income not far below the leading industrial countries of Western Europe.
While there are no known direct threats to travelers to or expatriates in Qatar, we advise of caution because of the high threat of terrorist attack. Reports continue that terrorists are planning attacks against a range of targets.
In March 2005 a car bomb was detonated by a suicide bomber in the capital, Doha, killing a number of people. This was the first attack of its type to occur in Qatar and was aimed at a theater frequented by foreigners. Places known to be terrorist targets include commercial and public areas known to be frequented by foreigners such as key transport installations including airports, premises and buildings associated with foreign government and companies, hotels, clubs, restaurants, bars, cinemas and theatres, supermarkets, schools, places of worship, outdoor recreation events and tourist areas.
In addition, visitors should avoid contact with any suspicious, unfamiliar objects, and to report the presence of the objects to local authorities. Vehicles should not be left unattended, if at all possible, and should be kept locked at all times.
Sheikh Hamad Bin-Khalifah Al Thani seized power from his father, Sheikh Khalifah Bin-Hamad Al Thani, in 1995. The new emir survived an attempted coup in 1996. Later that year, Sheikh Hamad tried to take his father to court for the return of state funds he believed his father had kept. However, the two men were reconciled at the end of 1996 and the financial dispute was settled out of court. Since coming to power, Sheikh Hamad has continued in the roles of commander-in-chief of the armed forces and defense minister and has ensured Qatar's military development.
Since seizing power, the Emir has brought in several liberal reforms. Press freedoms have been extended and the Qatari satellite TV station Al Jazeera has become one of the most important broadcasters in the Arab world.
In the economic sphere, Qatar has suffered from many of the same problems as other oil-dependent Persian Gulf states, especially the need to diversify economic development beyond crude oil exports and scale back the generous state subsidies for consumers. However, due to new revenue streams from rapidly increasing exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), as well as its very small population, Qatar has not experienced the erosion of per capita gross domestic product (GDP) that has been seen in Saudi Arabia and some other Persian Gulf oil exporters in recent years.
Qatar 's real gross domestic product (GDP) is projected to by 6.7% in 2005, after growth of 7.0% in 2004. Inflation in Qatar has accelerated somewhat over the last two years, and is projected at 4.1% for 2005.
Qatar 's policy of economic diversification has led to a surge in investment in projects for the export of LNG and petrochemicals. The government expects that it will be able to earn more per barrel of crude oil produced if it can export refined products and petrochemicals, as well as create private sector jobs - in a country which has been heavily dependent on government ministries to provide employment for the population.
Qatar has a relatively large foreign debt -- around $17 billion as of 2004. Qatar accumulated this debt largely for infrastructure investment in oil and gas projects, which sharply increased Qatar 's oil production capacity, plus construction of facilities for the export of LNG, and petrochemical plants.
Qatar recorded a large budget surplus for the 2003/2004 fiscal year, which ended in March 2004. Government budget allocations for the 2004-2005 fiscal year increased by 22%, continuing a policy of spending heavily on infrastructure development. Surging oil and natural gas export revenues have enable Qatar to maintain a significant budget surplus despite the sharply increased spending.
