The Report Qatar 2014

2013 saw the transition of power from the former Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, to Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, his fourth son and second son with Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, a move unprecedented elsewhere in the Gulf but not unexpected in Qatar. With sustained, long-term economic growth, the highest per capita income in the world, a stable and well-capitalised banking sector, a sovereign wealth fund that is of true global significance and one of the largest reserves of natural gas just offshore, Qatar today has many advantages. It is clear that the country is in a strong position from which to continue its robust economic performance, and the years ahead will see a vast construction drive, in line with the principles of Qatar National Vision 2030 and catalysed by preparations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Oil and gas accounted for around 51.5% of Qatar’s economic output in 2013, while developing downstream facilities that add value to energy by-products, for example, has helped build a portfolio of petrochemicals, chemicals and fertiliser companies and looks set to see Qatar’s economic strength continue. With more than $222bn of projects in the pipeline, the construction sector’s growth has been forecast at 15% for 2014, while spending on infrastructure is set to reach $150bn in the run-up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Against this backdrop, Qatar looks set to continue offering a wide variety of opportunities for foreign investors.

Qatar's sizeable oil and natural gas reserves have underpinned its rapid economic growth over the past two decades. Home to the world's largest non-associated gas field, the country is the world's fourth-largest producer of dry natural gas and the largest producer of liquefied natural gas, with hydrocarbons revenues forming the bulk of national income as a result. Although the drop in global energy prices has impacted export revenues, rigorous economic diversification drives in recent years have paid dividends, and in 2015 non-hydrocarbons growth reached 7.7%, compared to a 0.1% contraction for hydrocarbons growth during the same period. The country's financial sector has continued to evolve; Islamic banking in particular has witnessed significant progress. Meanwhile,

Qatar’s sizable oil and natural gas reserves have underpinned its rapid economic growth over the past two decades. Home to the world’s largest non-associated gas field, the country is the world’s fourth-largest producer of dry natural gas and the largest producer of liquefied natural gas, with hydrocarbons revenues forming the bulk of national income as a result. Although the drop in global energy prices has impacted export revenues, rigorous economic diversification drives in recent years have paid dividends, and in 2015 non-hydrocarbons growth reached 7.7%, compared to a 0.1% contraction for hydrocarbons growth during the same period. The country’s financial sector has continued to evolve; Islamic banking in particular has witnessed significant progress. Meanwhile, as the country gears up to host several important sporting events in the coming years, most notably the 2022 FIFA World Cup, numerous big-ticket infrastructure builds continue to expand the construction sector.

"In December 2010, the small Gulf state of Qatar won its bid to host the 2022 World Cup--a first for an Arab country. Over the next decade the country will undertake massive new construction to support the quadrennial world championship soccer games. Underpinning this push is a vast army of migrant workers, who comprise a staggering 94 percent of Qatar's workforce--1.2 million of its 1.7 million residents--the highest percentage of migrants to citizens in the world. Qatar's World Cup selection means that worker recruitment will reach new heights: media have reported that over a million additional workers may be needed to carry out World Cup-related construction. Yet the deeply problematic working conditions of migrant workers throughout the country mean that realizing Qatar's World Cup vision may depend on their abuse and exploitation unless adequate measures are taken to address the human rights problems widespread in the construction industry in Qatar. This report documents pervasive employer exploitation and abuse of workers in Qatar's construction industry, made possible by an inadequate legal and regulatory framework that grants employers extensive control over workers and prohibits migrant workers from exercising their rights to free association and collective bargaining. It also addresses the government's failure to enforce those laws that at least on paper are designed to protect worker rights. It examines why violations of workers' rights go largely undetected, and looks at the barriers that workers face in reporting complaints or seeking redress. The report includes recommendations to the government on legal reforms and implementation mechanisms, and to the relevant private sector actors on public commitments that could alleviate such abuses moving forward."--P. [4] of cover.

This is the first book to examine challenges in the healthcare sector in the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain). These countries experienced remarkably swift transformations from small fishing and pearling communities at the beginning of the twentieth century to wealthy petro-states today. Their healthcare systems, however, are only now beginning to catch up. Rapid changes to the population and lifestyles of the GCC states have completely changed—and challenged—the region’s health profile and infrastructure. While major successes in combatting infectious diseases and improving standards of primary healthcare are reflected in key health indicators, new trends have developed; increasingly “lifestyle” or “wealthy country” diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, have replaced the old maladies. To meet these emerging healthcare needs, GCC states require highly trained and skilled healthcare workers, an environment that supports local training, state-of-the-art diagnostic laboratories and hospitals, research production and dissemination, and knowledge acquisition. They face shortages in most if not all of these areas. This book provides a comprehensive study of the rapidly changing health profile of the region, the existing conditions of healthcare systems, and the challenges posed to healthcare management across the six states of the GCC.

The book offers a critical evaluation of Qatar’s path from oil- and gas-based industries to a knowledge-based economy. This book gives basic information about the region and the country, including the geographic and demographic data, the culture, the politics and the economy, the health care conditions and the education system. It introduces the concepts of knowledge society and knowledge-based development and adds factual details about Qatar by interpreting indicators of the development status. Subsequently, the research methods that underlie the study are described, which offers information on the eGovernment study analyzing the government-citizen relationship, higher education institutions and systems, its students and the students’ way into the labor market. This book has an audience with economists, sociologists, political scientists, geographers, information scientists and other researchers on the knowledge society, but also all researchers and practitioners interested in the Arab Oil States and their future.

Includes statistics.