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Doha is the capital city of Qatar. With a population of 400,051 according to the 2005 census it is located in the AD Dawhah municipality on the Arabian Gulf. Doha is Qatar's largest city, with over 80% of the nation's population residing in Doha or its surrounding suburbs, and is also the economic center of the country. Doha is home to the Education City, an area devoted to research and education. Doha was the site of the first ministerial-level meeting of the Doha Development Round of World Trade Organization negotiations. The city of Doha also held the 2006 Asian Games, which was the world's largest Asian Games held.
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In 1850, the city of Doha was founded under the name Al-Bida. The name "Doha" came from the Arabic ad-dawha, "the big tree."
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The city was made capital of the British protectorate of Qatar in 1916, and when the nation gained independence in 1971, Doha remained the capital of Qatar. In 1917, the Al Kout fortress, which is located in the center of the city, was built by Sheikh Abdulla Bin Qassim Al-Thani. In 1949, oil exportation began in Qatar. Today the nation as a whole produces over 800 000 barrels of oil daily. In 1969, the Government House opened. Today it is considered to be Qatar's most prominent landmark.
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Today, the population is growing rapidly with thousands coming to the country in a month, it is estimated that Qatar will soon reach the 1 million mark within a few years, as of October 2007, 37,819 people went for medical check up, due to the high influx of incoming residents, there is a high shortage of housing. There are many estimates of the population of Doha and even Qatar, most sources show Doha is close or surpasses the one million mark.
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Even though the official religion is Islam, the wise Emir gave land for church building, in March 2008, the first Catholic Church opened without any public displays of Christian symbols to respect the locals, there are 5 other churches as well that will open.
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Much of Qatar's oil and natural gas wealth is visible in Doha, which is the economical centre of Qatar. Doha is home to the headquarters of the country's largest oil and gas companies, including Qatar Petroleum, Qatargas and RasGas. Doha's economy is built on the revenue the country has made from its oil and natural gas industries, and the Qatari government is rapidly trying to diversify the Qatari economy in order to move away from this dependence on oil. As a result, Doha is currently experiencing a very large boom, with the city developing very rapidly - this is mostly the result of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa's modernization program.
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Doha's economy is moving away from its dependency on the oil and natural gas industries, although unlike Dubai, Doha's main focus is not tourism. Doha is seeing huge amounts of growth, with the population of the city increasing by more than 60,000 between 2004 and 2006; this has caused a boom in the real estate sector, with real estate prices skyrocketing. This rate of growth has led to projects such as the Lusail City project, which is being constructed north of Doha and will eventually house 200,000 people. Construction is also booming in Doha, a result of increasing corporate and commercial activity in Doha; this is most visible with the changing skyline of the city, as Doha has over 50 towers currently being constructed.
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Doha is situated in the Arabian Peninsula, and as such its climate is very hot. Temperatures average over 40 degrees from May to September, and humidity is variable. Dewpoints can reach above 25 degrees Celsius in the summer. During the summer months, the city averages almost no precipitation, and less than an inch (25 mm) during other months.Rainfall is scarce (average 70 mm per year), falling on isolated days mostly between October to March. During cool winter nights the temperature can rarely drop below 7 degrees Celsius.
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