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Qatar /
Religions & Peoples
Qatar has a Muslim dominance, with 93% Sunni Muslims. Christians are the second largest group with 6% of the population. Hindus represent 1% of the population. There is also a small Baha'i community of 0,2% of Qatar's total population.
The clear majority of Qataris belong to the Wahhabi tradition of today's Saudi Arabia, but their branch is not as strict in some fields as what is seen in Saudi Arabia.
Only 25% of the population of Qatar are Qataris. But the Qataris are mostly of Najdi (region in northwestern Saudi Arabia) ancestry. The other large group of inhabitants in Qatar are of Persian descent. Of the recent foreigners, most come from India and Pakistan, and other Arab countries like Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. Westerners are principally British citizens.
The dominating language is Arabic, but English is widely spoken. Urdu is spoken by the large group of Pakistani expatriates, who also have high skills in Arabic.
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By: Tore Kjeilen
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