President: Francois Hollande Prime minister: Jean-Marc Ayrault
Population
1,951,591
65,630,692
Life Expectancy
78.090 years
81.460 years
Capital City
Doha
Paris
Largest city
Doha (population: 344,939)
Paris (population: 2,138,550)
Human Development Index
0.899
0.955
GDP per capita
$104,300 US
$35,600 US
Literacy Rate
89%
99%
Corruption Perception Index
6.5
6.9
Percentage of Women in Parliament
0%
19.6%
Wealthiest Citizens
NA
Bernard Arnault ($16.5bn US)
Unemployment Rate
0.400%
9.300%
Death Penalty
Legal
Abolished
Political System
emirate
republic
Independence date
3 September 1971 (from UK)
486 (Frankish tribes unified); 843 (Western Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire)
Religions
Muslim 77.5%, Christian 8.5%, other 14% (2004 census)
Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4% overseas departments: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, pagan
Languages
Arabic (official), English commonly used as a second language
French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish) overseas departments: French, Creole patois
Exports
liquefied natural gas (LNG), petroleum products, fertilizers, steel
machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages
External Debt
$125,300,000,000 $
$5,633,000,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Qatari rials (QAR) per US dollar - 3.64 (2008 est.), 3.64 (2007), 3.64 (2006), 3.64 (2005), 3.64 (2004)
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6799 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
10.000%
2.600%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
40
Location
Middle East, peninsula bordering the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia
Western Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay and English Channel, between Belgium and Spain, southeast of the UK; bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Italy and Spain
Area
11,586 km sq
643,801 km sq
Coastline
563 km
0 km
Climate
arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers
