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This article is about the demographic features of the population of Qatar, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Natives of the Arabian Peninsula, many Qataris are descended from a number of migratory tribes that came to Qatar in the 18th century to escape the harsh conditions of the neighboring areas of Nejd and Al-Hasa. Some are descended from Omani tribes. Qatar has over 900,000 people, the majority of whom (about 90%) live in Doha, the capital. Foreign workers with temporary residence status make up about four-fifths of the population. Most of them are South Asians, Egyptians, Palestinians, Jordanians, and Iranians. About 5,000 U.S. citizens resided there as of 2001.

For centuries, the main sources of wealth were pearling, fishing, and trade. At one time, Qataris owned nearly one-third of the Persian Gulf fishing fleet. With the Great Depression and the introduction of Japan's cultured-pearl industry, pearling in Qatar declined drastically.

The Qataris are mainly Sunni Muslims. Islam is the official religion, and Islamic jurisprudence is the basis of Qatar's legal system. Arabic is the official language and English is the lingua franca of business. Education is compulsory and free for all residents 6–16 years old. Qatar has an increasingly high literacy rate.

Genetics

Y-chromosome DNA

Y-Chromosome DNA Y-DNA represents the male lineage, The Qatari Y-chromosome in large belongs to haplogroup J which comprises two thirds of the total chromosomes^[1]

• J1 ~ 58.3%
• J2 ~ 8.3%
• E* ~ 7.0% --- E(xE1b1b)
• R1a ~ 6.9%
• E1b1b ~ 5.6%
• Other Haplogroups ~ 13.9%

Mitochondrial DNA

Mitochondrial DNA mtDNA represents the female lineage The Qatari mitochondrial DNA shows much more diversity than the Y-DNA lineages, with more than 35% of the lineages showing African ancestry (East African & Subsaharan) & the rest of the lineages being Eurasian.^[2]

• R0 ~ 22% (14% R0*, 8% H)
• JT ~ 22% (18% J & 4% T)
• UK ~ 20% (11% K & 9% U)
• L3 ~ 10% (East African & Subsaharan lineages)
• Other lineages ~ 26%

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Population

824,789 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure

0–14 years: 21.8% (male 92,896/female 87,201) 15–64 years: 76.8% (male 451,127/female 182,330) 65 years and over: 1.4% (male 6,545/female 4,690) (2008 est.)

Population growth rate

1.093% (2008 est.)

Birth rate

15.69 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate

2.47 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate

-2.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 2.47 male(s)/female
65 years and over: Qatari men to women is 1.3 male(s) / female or including foreigners 1.4 male(s)/female
total population: 2.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.) (the reasoning is because of high immigration of male workers to Qatar)

Infant mortality rate

total: 13.09 deaths/1,000 live births male: 13.99 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.13 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 75.19 years
male: 73.5 years
female: 76.98 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.47 children born/woman (2008 est.)

Nationality

noun: Qatari(s)
adjective: Qatari

Ethnic groups

Arab 40%, Pakistani 18%, Indian 18%, Iranian 10%, other 14%

Religions

Muslim 71% - 77.5%, Christian 8.5% - 10.3%, Hindu 7.2% - 12.7%, Buddhist 5%, other 1% ^[3][4][5][6]

Languages

Arabic (official), English commonly used as a second language

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 89%
male: 89.1%
female: 88.6% (2008 est.)

See also : Qatar

References