State of Qatar
Western Asia
Desert · Opulent · Modern
Qatar (officially State of Qatar) is a country located in Western Asia. Its capital city is Doha, with other major cities including Al Rayyan and Al Wakrah. With a population of approximately 2.7M, the main language spoken is Arabic. The country covers an area of 11,586 km². The official currency is the Qatari riyal (ر.ق). Traffic drives on the right side.
Qatar hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup — becoming the first Middle Eastern and first Muslim-majority country to do so — and built entirely new stadiums in a desert, including the Al Bayt stadium shaped like a traditional Bedouin tent.
Doha serves as the political, cultural and economic heart of Qatar, positioned in Western Asia. As the seat of government and often the most populous city, it concentrates the country's main institutions, universities and cultural landmarks. Beyond the capital, major cities include Al Rayyan, Al Wakrah — each a hub of regional culture, economy and history. Doha's skyline of glass towers rising from the desert along West Bay created itself within 30 years — a fishing village transformed by petroleum revenues into the Middle East's most ambitious city-building project, whose Museum of Islamic Art (designed by I.M. Pei) anchors a waterfront corniche where the 7-kilometre Doha Pearl artificial island development represents the scale of ambition that petrodollar wealth enables.
With a population of approximately 2.7M, Qatar is a vibrant society with a rich mix of traditions and communities. The official language is Arabic, which reflects the country's cultural heritage and connects it with a wide international community. Internationally, Qatar is reached via the dialling code +974. Qatari nationals constitute only 11% of a population of 2.7 million — the world's highest proportion of migrant workers (89%) — with Bangladeshi, Indian, Nepali, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, and Filipino workers building, driving, cooking, and cleaning in a country whose kafala sponsorship system that ties workers to employers was only partially reformed following international criticism during the FIFA World Cup 2022 construction scrutiny.
Qatar spans 11,586 km², in the Western Asia subregion of Asia. Geographically centred around 25.5°N, 51.3°E, the country offers a diverse range of landscapes shaped by its location, climate and geology. Road traffic follows the right-hand rule, in line with surrounding Asia convention.
The official currency is the Qatari riyal (ر.ق), used for everyday transactions and commerce throughout the country. Qatar's economy is shaped by its geography, natural resources and trade relationships. Business and daily life operate under UTC+03:00, aligning the country with its regional neighbours.
Football holds a special place in the heart of Qatar's national identity. Qatar's 2022 FIFA World Cup was the first held in a Middle Eastern country and the first in winter (November-December) due to the desert summer heat — a tournament that drew global attention to migrant worker conditions in Qatar while simultaneously showcasing the country's ability to deliver world-class infrastructure, and whose Lusail Stadium hosted the Argentina-France final watched by a global audience of 1.5 billion.
The highest point in Qatar is Qurayn Abu al Bawl, rising to 103 metres above sea level. The Inland Sea (Khor al Adaid) is a tidal inlet penetrating 10 kilometres into Qatar from the Gulf, surrounded by 60-metre red sand dunes — one of the world's few places where sea and desert meet dramatically, accessible only by 4WD vehicle through the dunes, and whose status as a UNESCO recognised natural area protects hawksbill sea turtle nesting beaches on its shore.