QAR

Exchange rates:

Qatari rials (QAR) per US dollar - 3.64 (2007), 3.64 (2006), 3.64 (2005), 3.64 (2004), 3.64 (2003)

Communications
Qatar

Telephones - main lines in use:

237,400 (2007)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

1.264 million (2007)

Telephone system:

general assessment: modern system centered in Doha domestic: combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular telephone density is roughly 165 telephones per 100 persons international: country code - 974; landing point for the Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) submarine cable network that provides links to Asia, Middle East, Europe, and the US; tropospheric scatter to Bahrain; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and the UAE; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios:

256,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:

1 (plus 3 repeaters) (2001)

Televisions:

230,000 (1997)

Internet country code:

.qa

Internet hosts:

563 (2008)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

1 (2000)

Internet users:

351,000 (2007)

Transportation
Qatar

Airports:

5 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 3 over 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007)

Heliports:

1 (2007)

Pipelines:

condensate 322 km; condensate/gas 209 km; gas 1,970 km; liquid petroleum gas 87 km; oil 741 km (2007)

Roadways:

total: 7,790 km (2006)

Merchant marine:

total: 22 by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 2, chemical tanker 2, container 8, liquefied gas 4, petroleum tanker 4 foreign-owned: 7 (Kuwait 7) registered in other countries: 5 (Liberia 4, Panama 1) (2008)

Ports and terminals:

Doha, Ra's Laffan

Military
Qatar

Military branches:

Qatari Amiri Land Force (QALF), Qatari Amiri Navy (QAN), Qatari
Amiri Air Force (QAAF) (2007)

Military service age and obligation:

18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2008)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 320,383 females age 16-49: 167,475 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 258,159 females age 16-49: 143,999 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 6,224 female: 4,845 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures:

10% of GDP (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues
Qatar

Disputes - international:

none

Trafficking in persons:

current situation: Qatar is a destination country for men and women from South and Southeast Asia who migrate willingly, but are subsequently trafficked into involuntary servitude as domestic workers and laborers, and, to a lesser extent, commercial sexual exploitation; the most common offense was forcing workers to accept worse contract terms than those under which they were recruited; other conditions include bonded labor, withholding of pay, restrictions on movement, arbitrary detention, and physical, mental, and sexual abuse tier rating: Tier 3 - Qatar failed, for the second consecutive year, to enforce criminal laws against traffickers, or to provide an effective mechanism to identify and protect victims; it continues to detain and deport victims rather than providing them protection; the government made little progress to increase prosecutions for trafficking in a meaningful way in 2007; workers complaining of working conditions or non-payment of wages were sometimes penalized (2008)

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

@Romania

Introduction
Romania

Background:

The principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia - for centuries under the suzerainty of the Turkish Ottoman Empire - secured their autonomy in 1856; they united in 1859 and a few years later adopted the new name of Romania. The country gained recognition of its independence in 1878. It joined the Allied Powers in World War I and acquired new territories - most notably Transylvania - following the conflict. In 1940, Romania allied with the Axis powers and participated in the 1941 German invasion of the USSR. Three years later, overrun by the Soviets, Romania signed an armistice. The post-war Soviet occupation led to the formation of a Communist "people's republic" in 1947 and the abdication of the king. The decades-long rule of dictator Nicolae CEAUSESCU, who took power in 1965, and his Securitate police state became increasingly oppressive and draconian through the 1980s. CEAUSESCU was overthrown and executed in late 1989. Former Communists dominated the government until 1996 when they were swept from power. Romania joined NATO in 2004 and the EU in 2007.

Geography
Romania

Location:

Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and
Ukraine

Geographic coordinates: