Countries That Start With The Letter Q

Out of the world’s 195 countries, only one starts with the letter “Q”: Qatar. A mere 8% of all languages use the /q/ sound, although English speakers often pronounce it as /k/ (like in "Kangaroo"), which appears in 90% of the world's 3,000 languages and dialects. Additionally, Qatar, being the only country in English that starts with the letter, “Q” is clearly an uncommon letter and sound.

In English, the “Q” sound appears in about 0.11% of all words. This fact comes from researchers at Cornell University. How Qatar got its name, as well as its current economic and political situation, is a fascinating story, so keep reading to learn more.

Qatar Demographics

Qatar is located in the western part of the Asian Continent, in the coastal region of the Arabian Peninsula. The population of Qatar is approximately 2.7 million, with Qatari locals only making up about 15%. Additionally, Qatar has the lowest population of women in the world, with only 24.7% of the population being women. This drastic difference between the percentage of women and men in the country is mainly due to most migrant workers being men. 99.2% of Qataris live in a city, meaning that the rural population is nearly non-existent.

History and Government of Qatar

For thousands of years, various tribes and empires reigned over the Qatar peninsula thus there not being one central power in the region. The name “Qatar” dates back to approximately the third century, when settlers referred to it by its Syriac name of “Beth Qatraye.” In the mid-19th century, the Al Thani family gained control over the region of Qatar. However, shortly after, during the late 19th century, the Ottoman Empire began to exert influence over the region, threatening the Al Thani family’s power. Due to this conflict and other neighboring tribal threats, the Al Thani family signed a treaty with the British in 1916 to become a British protectorate, which ceded territory to the British in exchange for protection from potential land and sea attacks. They expanded this treaty in 1934 to include more protection. During the 1950s and 1960s, oil became an increasingly relevant part of Qatar's economy, and Qatar declared independence in 1971.

Currently, Qatar is a monarchy under the control of Sheikh Tamim ibn Hamad Al Thani. Members of the Al Thani family hold almost all government positions. However, Qatar citizens have been able to vote in municipal elections since 1999 and, most recently in 2021, participate in the first parliamentary election. The government restricts voting to citizens who are over 18 years of age and requires that voters’ paternal grandfathers were born in the country.

Economy of Qatar

Prior to the 1920s, Qatar mainly concentrated on pearl hunting and fishing. However, pearl hunting collapsed in the 1920s when the Japanese introduced the cultured pearl to the world market. The oil reserves were later discovered in Dukhan Field in 1940 after the crash of the pearling industry. Today, Qatar is the seventeenth biggest producer of crude petroleum and the sixth biggest of natural gas worldwide. The oil industry has dramatically increased the living standards of Qatari citizens and currently, Qatar has one of the highest per-capita incomes in the world, largely explaining its 85% immigrant population. Qatar additionally has a very low unemployment rate of 0.10%. The country has participated in foreign direct investment projects in the United States, Asia Pacific, and Europe. While the government of Qatar does not have an income tax for individuals, they do tax people who partake in commercial activities for profit in the country.

Religion & Language

The dominant religion in the state of Qatar is Islam, constituting about 62.5% of the total population. The following most practiced religion is Hinduism, with about 15.9% of the population; Christianity, with 13.7%, and Buddhism, with 3.8%. Immigrants in the country are more frequently Hindus, Roman Catholics, and Buddhists. Most citizens, on the other hand, are Sunni Muslims. The official language used in Qatar is Arabic, with English being the second most common. Due to the high population of immigrants, a lingua franca is also on the rise, mostly in the commercial sectors.

While Qatar is spelled with a Q in English, many other countries have alternative spellings for this Middle Eastern country. For example, it is spelled as “Katar” in Spanish, German, Croatian, and Dutch. In Portuguese, it is spelled as “Catar”. In Albanian, they also spell it with a “K” and add an “i” to the end, making the spelling “Katari.” Although Qatar is the only country in the English language spelled with a “Q,” it is a fascinating country rich in history and diversity.