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Constitutional framework
A constitutional emirate with one advisory body, Qatar is ruled by a hereditary emir from the Āl Thānī. Members of the ruling family hold almost all the major ministerial posts, which are appointed by the emir. The family, however, is large and fragmented. As oil revenues rose after World War II, contention within the ruling family grew, and there have been several bloodless palace coups.
The emir’s power is constrained by the need to maintain the support of important family members, many of whom occupy high governmental posts. The homogeneity of the ruling family and the country’s wealth contribute to Qatar’s political stability. Sheikh Hamad, the emir from 1995 to 2013, cautiously expanded political participation, allowing the first municipal elections to take place in 1999, with an electorate that included both female and male Qataris. Under a provisional constitution enacted in 1972, the emir ruled in consultation with a Council of Ministers (Majlis al-Wuzarāʾ) and an advisory Shura Council (Majlis al-Shūrā) whose members were appointed. A new constitution, which was approved by referendum in 2003 and enacted in 2005, provided for the popular election of two-thirds of the members of the Shura Council. Elections were repeatedly delayed, however. When they were finally held in 2021, the political process faced controversy over who was eligible to vote. In 2024 a hastily organized referendum—the November 5 poll date was set on November 3—amended the constitution to abolish the election of the Shura Council.
Justice
Qatar’s legal system has several sources: the sharia (Islamic law), Ottoman law, and European civil and (to a lesser extent) common law. The latter was introduced through the borrowing of codes of other European-influenced Arab states. Personal status law is governed largely by the sharia, while criminal law is influenced but not governed by it. In addition to a Higher Judicial Council, there are also several lower courts and a system of appeals courts. The emir sometimes acts as the final court of appeal. Formal civil and criminal codes were introduced in the 1970s.
Political process
There are no political parties in Qatar. Qataris have been allowed to vote in municipal elections since 1999, but the only parliamentary election was held in 2021. Voting is restricted to citizens aged 18 years and older whose paternal grandfather was born in the country. Women are allowed to stand for public office.
Security
Military service is voluntary for males aged 18 years and older. Qatar has a small defense force—of some 12,000 troops, most of whom serve in the army—and the country depends on the protection of its neighbors and allies to deter possible external threats. The country’s military expenditure as a percentage of GDP, however, is high: five times the world average, more than almost any other country’s.
Health and welfare
Health care and medical services are provided free to all residents through government programs. The government also funds recreational and cultural clubs and facilities for young people as part of its extensive “youth welfare” campaign.
Education
Education is free but not compulsory for all citizens between the ages of 6 and 16. Classes are segregated by sex. Qatar spends generously on education, having one of the highest per-pupil expenditures in the world. Its system has expanded rapidly. Two teacher-training faculties, one for men and one for women, were established in 1973, and together they were given university status, as the University of Qatar, in 1977. The university has continued to expand, and a new campus was completed in Doha in 1985. Interest in establishing Qatar as a major regional research hub led to the foundation of Education City, a multi-university facility located on the outskirts of Doha. By the early 21st century several American institutions had branches in Education City, including Virginia Commonwealth University, Weill Cornell Medical College (part of Cornell University), Carnegie Mellon University, Texas A&M University, Northwestern University, and Georgetown University. The universities offered programs such as premedical and medical studies, business administration, chemical, electrical, and mechanical engineering, journalism, and fine arts.
The government also provides adult education classes in schools and centers throughout the country, with an emphasis on increasing adult literacy. About four-fifths of the country’s population is literate, with roughly equal proportions of males and females.
Cultural life
Daily life and social customs
The Qatari people are descendants of Bedouin and have maintained a tradition of generous hospitality. Qatari society, however, tends to be conservative in most respects and is heavily influenced by Islamic customs. The consumption of alcohol, for example, is frowned upon, although alcohol may be served in a limited number of hotels catering mainly to foreigners. Likewise, dress is generally traditional and conservative. Qatari Arab men usually dress in a flowing white shirt (thawb) and a head scarf (kaffiyeh) held in place by a cord (ʿiqāl). Dress for Qatari women, although still conservative, is much less formal than in neighboring Saudi Arabia. Many women still wear the full length black cloak (ʿabāyah), generally over Western clothing, but others simply wear the veil (ḥijab). Their traditional dress is often decorated with gold or silver embroidery. In public the sexes are customarily separated.
Qatari cuisine features fresh fish and rice cooked with Indian spices. A typical meal might include broiled fish served on a bed of spiced rice with curry and potatoes. Coffee is the beverage of choice and is usually served strong, boiling hot, and without sugar. The capital of Doha also abounds in restaurants offering cuisines from throughout the world.
Qataris celebrate the standard Islamic holidays, including Ramadan and the two ʿīds, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. They also celebrate several secular holidays, such as Independence Day and the anniversary of the emir’s ascension to power.
The arts
The Qatari Fine Arts Society promotes and exhibits work by local painters, as do the handful of galleries to be found in Doha. The National Council for Culture, Arts, and Heritage and several other agencies and departments oversee literary, artistic, and cultural activities as well as recreation and tourism. The traditional Bedouin arts of weaving (mostly rugs and pillows), poetry, and singing are still practiced. A genre of music known as nahmah (shanty), once popular among pearl divers in Qatar and the broader Persian Gulf region, virtually disappeared with the decline of the pearling industry, although the Qatari government has made great efforts to preserve it. Arab, Pakistani, Indian, and other expatriate workers have brought their musical styles to the country, but Qatari youth listen more to Western and Arab popular music than to Bedouin or other traditional forms.
Cultural institutions
The National Museum of Qatar, designed by Jean Nouvel and inaugurated in March 2019, takes visitors through interactive exhibits that feature 700 million years of Qatari history. At its center is a former palace which had previously housed an earlier national museum. A fort at Doha has been converted into a museum for traditional crafts. Qatar’s National Theatre performs programs in the capital.
Sports and recreation
Qatar’s sports culture blends the traditional sports of Arabia’s desert society with contemporary sports of Western origin. Popular traditional sports include Arabian horse racing, camel racing, and falconry, all rooted in the country’s nomadic past. Western sports such as basketball, golf, handball, football (soccer), swimming, table tennis, track, and volleyball are practiced widely, but primarily by the expatriate population; football is overwhelmingly the most popular of these. In 2010 it was announced that Qatar would be the site of the World Cup football competition in 2022, making it the first Middle Eastern country scheduled to host the event. It had previously hosted the Asian Cup football tournament in 1988 and 2011 (and subsequently in 2024). The country also hosts several annual sporting events, of which tennis, golf, and automobile racing are the most notable. The Qatar National Sport Federation, founded in 1961, serves as an organizing body for sports education. Qatar made its Olympic debut at the 1984 Summer Games; the country has never participated in the Winter Games.
Media and publishing
Government-owned radio and television stations broadcast in Arabic, English, French, and Urdu. Satellite television transmissions from outside the country are easily accessible through local providers, and Qatar receives radio broadcasts from the neighboring Gulf states and from such international broadcasters as the BBC World Service. In 1996 media restrictions in Qatar were relaxed—the country’s press is among the freest in the region—and that year Al Jazeera, a satellite television network, was founded by a member of the ruling family. The outspoken news channel is received throughout much of the Muslim world and has become one of the most popular stations in the Middle East, as well as one of the most important sources of news in a region where there is little toleration for a free press. It became internationally known in 2001 after broadcasting several speeches and interviews of the militant Islamist Osama bin Laden. Several local daily newspapers and weekly publications are also available in Qatar.