Five Facts About Qatar You Might Not Know

The sovereign state of Qatar is currently at the centre of a storm1at the centre of the storm直译为“处在风暴中心”，这里意译为“处在风口浪尖”。,with its neighbours cutting off diplomatic relations. But this is not a country which often finds itself dominating the headlines.

[2] So what do people actually know about Qatar, apart from it hosting the football World Cup in 2022?

Here are five facts to get you started.

Men outnumber women—hugely

[3] In a country of about 2.5 million people, there are fewer than 700,000 women.

This imbalance can be attributed to Qatar’s sudden population explosion:this is a state built by immigrants, who are overwhelmingly young and male.

[4] The promise2promise前景；指望。of a job has meant people have flooded into Qatar—which is about the same size as Yorkshire—in recent years, taking its population from less than 700,000 in 2003, to an estimated 2.5 million in 2016.

随着邻国纷纷与其断交，卡塔尔被推到了舆论的风口浪尖。其实这个国家并不经常上头条。

[2]那么，关于卡塔尔，除了它将主办2022年的世界杯之外，我们对它又了解多少呢？

让我们通过以下五个事实开始了解这个国家。

男女比例严重失调

[3]卡塔尔的总人口约为250万，女性人口不足70万。

性别失衡的原因在于突然的人口激增：卡塔尔是一个由移民构成的国家，而移民中青年男性占绝大多数。

[4] 2003年，卡塔尔人口不到70万。近几年，这个只有英国约克郡大小的国家因工作机会多，吸引了大量的移民涌入。2016年，卡塔尔总人口数已达250万左右。

[5] While there are female migrants,the vast majority are men building the infrastructure needed for the upcoming World Cup. They come from all over the world, although the largest numbers come from India and Nepal, making Hindus3Hindu印度教教徒。the third largest religious group in the country, after Muslims and Christians, according to the CIA’s World Factbook4《世界各国纪实年鉴》，由美国中央情报局出版，每年一期，内容主要包括国家社会、地理、政治、军事、人口、交通等概况。.

London’s biggest landlords?

[6] Qatar has been busy over the last decade or so buying up large swathes of London. Its portfolio includes, but is not limited to, the Shard5碎片大厦，位于伦敦泰晤士河南岸，高达1017英尺（309.6米），是全欧洲第二高的大厦。, Harrods, Chelsea Barracks6切尔西营，原为伦敦威斯敏斯特市一军事营地，近年来被重建开发成豪宅区。and the Olympic Village, as well having a stake in Canary Wharf7金丝雀码头位于伦敦市中心的东部，伦敦的主要金融中心之一。.

[7] In 2017, Ali Shareef al-Emadi, the country’s finance minister, estimated the country had “more than £35bn to£40bn ($45bn to $51bn) of investments already in the UK”. What’s more, Mr Emadi said the country was planning to invest another £5bn in the UK over the next three to five years—including more property.

[5]虽然移民中也有女性，但绝大部分是兴建世界杯场馆及配套设施的男建筑工人。他们来自世界各地，但大部分是印度人及尼泊尔人。据中情局《世界各国纪实年鉴》所载，在卡塔尔，印度教教众已成为该国继穆斯林和基督徒之后第三大宗教团体。

伦敦最大的“地主”？

[6]过去十年间，卡塔尔一直大量购入伦敦的土地，其投资包括但不限于碎片大厦、哈罗德百货、切尔西营以及奥运村，同时还持有金丝雀码头的地产股份。

[7]据卡塔尔财政部长阿里·谢里夫·埃马迪估计，2017年卡塔尔在英国的投资已超过350亿到400亿英镑（约合450亿到510亿美元）。此外，埃马迪先生还表示，未来三到五年间，该国将在英国再投资50亿英镑，包括收购更多房产。

Qatar really loves art

[8] Qatar is known as a conservative country, yet, in the last few years it has sponsored a number of exhibitions—including hosting the somewhat controversial artist Damien Hirst8英国最具影响力的艺术家，争议在于其作品：《母亲与孩子分离》是浸泡在甲醛中的奶牛和小牛；《脱离羊群》是甲醛溶液中的绵羊；《看在上帝的份上》采用婴儿头颅作为艺术品的模子，并在表面镶满8000颗粉色和白色的钻石。’s first solo retrospective9soloretrospective个人回顾展。in the Middle East,in 2013.

[9] The country also boasts the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, which opened in 2008. It is said to house one of the most comprehensive collections of Islamic art in the world, exhibiting works from across three continents and 1,400 years.

A rather large teddy bear

[10瑞士艺术家，其作品平衡失调，无论是创作手法还是创作目的都流露出模糊感和残缺美。] Qatar’s love of art has spilled over from the museums and into its public spaces. Indeed, anyone who has ever been through Doha’s Hamad International Airport could not have missed the 23-foot yellow teddy sitting in the middle of the terminal.

[11] Lamp/Bear was created by Swiss artist Urs Fischer10瑞士艺术家，其作品平衡失调，无论是创作手法还是创作目的都流露出模糊感和残缺美。more than a decade ago, is cast from bronze and weighs almost 20 tonnes. According to Hamad International Airport’s official description, the bear is a “playful piece that humanises the space around it and reminds travellers of childhood or precious objects from home”.

卡塔尔人着实热爱艺术

[8]众所周知，卡塔尔是一个相对保守的国家。然而，过去几年，它赞助了许多展览，其中包括2013年颇具争议的艺术家达明·赫斯特在中东举办的首个个人回顾展。

[9]卡塔尔还拥有2008年开馆的多哈伊斯兰艺术博物馆。据说，该馆收藏了世界上最全面的伊斯兰艺术作品，展品来自三大洲的不同文化，横跨1400年的历史长河。

超大泰迪熊坐镇机场

[10]卡塔尔人对艺术的热爱已不止于博物馆，公共地域也有所体现。事实上，任何来过多哈哈马德国际机场的人，都不会看不到那只坐在航站楼中央、高达23英尺的泰迪熊。

[11]这个名为“灯下泰迪熊”的雕塑是十多年前瑞士艺术家乌尔斯·费舍尔创造的作品，它由青铜铸造，重达20吨。据哈马德国际机场官方描述，这只巨型泰迪熊“童趣满满，赋予周围浓浓的人情味，也让旅客忆起童年或是家里的珍贵之物”。

[12] The cast bronze sculpture was bought at auction in New York for $6.8m(£5.3m) back in 2011.

Qatar has record riches—for some

[13] How does such a small country pay for all this? Well, thanks to its oil and gas reserves, as well as some good investments, Qatar has the highest GDP per capita in the world.

[14] In 2016, it was $129,700(£100,500)—more than $20,000 higher than the next closest country, Luxembourg, the CIA’s World Factbook said.

At the other end of the scale, Somalia’s GDP was estimated to be just $400 per head.

[15] However, Qatar’s wealth is in no way equally spread. The former Emir11埃米尔，某些穆斯林国家的酋长或王子、长官。,Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, is reportedly worth $2.4bn. But migrants interviewed by the BBC in 2015 revealed they were earning as little as$350 a month. ■

[12]这座铜铸的雕塑是2011年以680万美元（约合530万英镑）从纽约拍卖会上购得。

卡塔尔富得流油——但贫富悬殊

[13]如此小的一个国家如何付得起这笔巨款呢？这得归功于其丰富的石油和天然气储量，以及一些优质投资。卡塔尔的人均GDP（国民生产总值）是世界上最高的。

[14]据中情局《世界各国纪实年鉴》描述，2016年，该国人均GDP为129700美元（约合100500英镑），比排名第二的卢森堡高出2万多美元。

排在最后的是索马里，据估计，其人均GDP只有400美元。

[15]然而，卡塔尔的财富分配极不均衡。前元首谢赫·哈马德·本·哈利法·阿勒萨尼据称坐拥24亿美元身家。但2015年BBC采访的移民们透露，他们每月收入少得可怜，仅350美元。 □