This could just be the most interesting fact you'll ever hear today but according to The Telegraph, the State of Qatar is one of the most urbanised places in the world, together with tourism giants Singapore and Hong Kong, with 99% of its residents counting themselves as town or city dwellers despite the tiny Arabian peninsula not even occupying 0.01% of the planet's entirety.
Well, the above statement could be true especially with figures pointing out to Qatar's total land area amounting to only 11,571 km².
But despite its relatively minuscule size, it still comes big with several other factors, with the country's ever-soaring population count (approximately 2.7M according to World Bank) topping the list.
The capital Doha is Qatar's biggest municipality and also one of the world's quickest developing metropolis. It has a population of almost 2M, meaning more than 80% of Qatar's inhabitants reside in Doha as it is also the economic centre of the country.
Slightly smaller in area than the US state of Connecticut and only about a third the size of Belgium, Qatar is about 100 miles (160 km) from north to south, 50 miles (80 km) from east to west, and is generally rectangular in shape—a landmass that local folklore describes as resembling the palm of a right hand extended in prayer.
Not so surprisingly, there are also not many trees in this part of the world, though a recent report disclosed that in a bid to tackle climate change, the government of Qatar is preparing to launch a national initiative to plant 1 million trees across the country. Same with forests, permanent bodies of fresh water are also nowhere to be found in the four corners of Qatar.
Qatar Media Corporation CEO Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Hamad al-Thani once tweeted:
“As some think of it, Qatar is geographically a very, very, very small country, but it is an independent state and is not led by outsiders. Also geographically,” he continued “there is a very, very, very big country which is not independent and is being controlled by a very, very, very small emirate”
Now that you've already gained a basic knowledge of Qatar's size in terms of land area, it's time to give you guys a better understanding on how big or small (depending on your interpretation) many expatriates' second home is by comparing it with other countries (in terms of square kilometres)!
Legend: Bigger than Qatar (+), smaller than Qatar (-)
Let's start it off with the Top 5 expatriate communities residing in Qatar.
There are approximately 700 thousand Indians living in Qatar and the country measures approximately 3,287,263 sq km, meaning 284 Qatars can fit inside India!
There are approximately 400 thousand Nepalis living in Qatar and the country measures approximately 147,181 sq km, meaning 13 Qatars can fit inside Nepal!
There are approximately 300 thousand Bengalis living in Qatar and the country measures approximately 148,460 sq km, almost the same size as Nepal, meaning 13 Qatars can fit inside Bangladesh!
There are approximately 280 thousand Filipinos living in Qatar and the country measures approximately 300,000 sq km, meaning 26 Qatars can fit inside The Philippines!
There are approximately 220 thousand Egyptians living in Qatar and the country measures approximately 1,001,450 sq km, meaning 86 Qatars can fit inside Egypt!
What about if we compare Qatar's land mass with its blockading neighbours?
It measures approximately 2,149,690 sq km, meaning 186 Qatars can fit inside Saudi Arabia!
It measures approximately 83,600 sq km, meaning 7 Qatars can fit inside the United Arab Emirates!
It measuere approximately 760 sq km, meaning 15 Bahrains can fit inside Qatar!
Qatar is not that small after all and these figures will prove you that! Now, let's try to compare it with the five smallest countries in the world!
This Italian microstate measures only 61 sq km, meaning 190 San Marinos can fit inside Qatar!
This island country located in Oceania measures only 26 sq km, meaning 446 Tuvalus can fit inside Qatar!
The smallest independent republic in the world measures only 21 sq km, meaning 552 Naurus can fit inside Qatar!
This sovereign city-state located in Western Europe measures only 2 sq km, meaning 5,793 Monacos can fit inside Qatar!
The home of Pope Francis doesn't even measure a single sq km, meaning 26,332 Vatican Cities can fit inside Qatar!
To sum it up, out of the 241 countries and territories recognized by the United Nations, 163 are bigger than Qatar in terms of square kilometre and 77 are smaller.
We've written more Qatar-related Myth Busting articles in the past and you can find the last five that we've published on the links provided below:
Do you find this article interesting? If yes, what other Myth Busting topics would you like us to tackle? Drop us a line in the comments and also, don't forget to like and share this article—it keeps us going!
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