From pearl fishing to prosperity
Life in Qatar before 1930 involved widespread poverty, malnutrition and disease
Most people worked in the pearl fishing industry but that collapsed when the Japanese began to make artificial pearls
In 1935 the arrival of oil prospectors signalled a new future for the state
The Second World War of 1939-45 delayed oil production for ten years but, once production began, the oil income changed this tiny, impoverished nation into one with the second highest per capita income in the world
Progress was rapid. Qatar's first school opened in 1952; first hospital in 1959
In 1971 it became an independent state and began to use oil revenue to develop the country
Since 1995, increasing oil prices and political stability have helped to create one of the fastest-growing economies in the world
This has been helped by having 6 per cent of the world's natural gas reserves
Gaining such enormous wealth in a short time span has meant that the development of the country has relied on using overseas companies who employ foreign migrants to construct houses, hotels, offices, and infrastructure such as schools and roads
Because of the rapid increase in wealth (GDP per capita is US$92 501), most of the indigenous population either do not have the necessary skills or do not need to work, so it is difficult to find local people to do many jobs, especially if they are low-paid service jobs such as waitresses and taxi drivers
