From November 21 to December 8, 2022, the XXII FIFA World Cup was held in Qatar, which was the first time in history that it was held in Qatar and Middle Eastern countries, and the second FIFA World Cup held in Asia (the first was the 17th World Cup jointly hosted by South Korea and Japan in 2002).
Qatar is a peninsula country, located in the middle of the west coast of the Arabian Gulf, a peninsula extending from Saudi Arabia to the north, Qatar is surrounded by the sea on the east, north and west, with a total coastline of 563 kilometers. The whole territory is 160 kilometers long from south to north, 80 kilometers wide from east to west, bordering Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in the southwest, the remaining three facing the sea, and Bahrain across the sea in the northwest, less than 30 kilometers apart, with a total area of 11,521 square kilometers, slightly smaller than Tianjin, about 1.8 Shanghai, becoming the "smallest" host country in the history of the World Cup.
Qatar has a total population of 2.94 million, about 1/10 of Shanghai's permanent population, and the main ethnic group is Arabs, of which Qatari citizens account for about 15%, and foreigners are mainly from India, Pakistan and Southeast Asian countries. Most of the country's inhabitants are Muslim, Arabic is the official language, and English is widely spoken. There are about 4,000 Chinese in Qatar, most of whom are engaged in construction projects, commerce and trade, and most of them Chinese work and live in the capital Doha. The capital Doha is an international metropolis, the largest city in the country, and the country's political, economic, cultural and transportation center. The population is about 1.5 million, accounting for about 50% of the country's population. There are many high-end hotels and business centers in the city, and deep-water ports, desalination plants, power stations, international airports and residential areas in the suburbs.
Qatar belongs to a tropical desert climate, hot and dry, the four seasons are not very obvious, March to October is summer, is the longest season of the year, of which July to September the temperature is the highest, up to 45 ° C, which is why the Qatar World Cup is not held in summer but in winter. The winter (November to February) is cool and dry, because Qatar is located near the Tropic of Cancer and is significantly affected by the subtropical high pressure zone throughout the year, and the air flow will become a strong sinking movement, the sinking air flow will be warmed by adiabatic compression, and there will be continuous sunny and hot weather, the average precipitation of the whole year is less than 100 mm, and the land area is desert or rocky Gobi.
In order to create a comfortable playing environment for players, the eight stadiums built at the Qatar World Cup for the first time adopted state-of-the-art cooling systems to maintain the entire stadium, including stadiums and spectator seats. Due to the perennial high temperature and lack of rain in Qatar and the serious shortage of water resources, there is a "joke that water is more expensive than oil in Qatar", it is said that in Doha No. 95 gasoline only costs 2.1 riyals per liter, equivalent to 4 yuan per liter. How much does mineral water sell for in supermarkets? Bottles of water from 330 ml to more than 500 ml are around 2 riyals and cost more per liter than 95 gasoline. The lack of water resources has led to poor development conditions for agriculture and animal husbandry, less output, no natural arable land in the country, the national arable land area is 28,000 hectares, 7,000 hectares of arable land, the output of agricultural products is less, grain, vegetables, meat mainly rely on imports, only the output of fish, shrimp and seafood can basically meet the domestic demand.
Why is Qatar rich "flowing oil"? The country is very rich in oil and gas resources, the third largest natural gas reserves in the world, with proven reserves of more than 25.49 trillion cubic meters, accounting for about 20% of the global share, second only to Russia and Iran, is the world's largest LNG production and exporter; Crude oil reserves rank 14th in the world, with proven reserves of about 25.2 billion barrels, accounting for about 1.5% of the global share. In 2021, Qatar had a GDP of US$169.2 billion and a per capita GDP of US$68,581, ranking eighth in the world and first in Asia, making it truly the richest country in Asia. Since taking the hosting rights in 2010, Qatar has spent more than $200 billion on World Cup matches, more than the amount spent on the 21 previous World Cups combined. In addition, the total prize money of this World Cup reached a record $440 million, and the prize money for the champion reached a whopping $42 million, $4 million more than the previous World Cup. Even teams that are eliminated in the group stage receive $9 million in prize money.
Due to the small population and strong demand for labor in Qatar, 96% of the employed population in Qatar works in government departments or state-owned enterprises, so it is necessary to bring in a large number of foreign talents and ordinary labor. Senior talents are mainly from European and American countries; Mid-level talent is mainly from other Arab countries, India and Pakistan; Ordinary labour comes mainly from countries such as Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
In such a rich country, there must be many people who want to know what their salary is. According to the Qatari government's labor force survey, the average monthly wage is 11,351 riyals (exchange rate: 1 US dollar = 3.64 riyals), and you can easily earn more than 100,000 yuan a month just three hours a day. The cost of living in Qatar ranks among the countries with higher levels in the world, a family of four living in Qatar, with an average monthly living expenditure excluding housing expenses exceeding 11,000 riyals; single living in Qatar, living expenses excluding housing expenses per month exceeding 3,000 rials. Although the price level is very high, Qatar's social welfare treatment is quite good, children from primary school to university are all free, medical care is completely free, even their own water, electricity, gas, etc., are paid by the state.
Qatar is an emirate, and all those who rule the Al Thani family are preceded by the name "Sheikh" ("Sheikh" for ladies). The head of state is not called "king", but "emir". Qataris are usually referred to as Mr. and Ms. and Miss. Qataris have a custom of hugging and kissing each other, and when relatives and friends are reunited or away from home, they will hug and kiss their cheeks three times (only between people of the same sex). Foreign guests generally shake hands when they first meet, but some very traditional men (such as religious figures) do not shake hands with women. Qatari men avoid wearing tank tops and shorts, and wear traditional white robes and white headscarves in the workplace, in public and when entertaining; Women should avoid wearing overly revealing and black robes in public, some women also wear veils in public places, some cover their heads with veils, and some only show their eyes. Men and women should not be excessively intimate in public. Please do not take pictures of local government departments and military institutions, otherwise you may be detained. Do not take pictures of local people, especially women and children, and ask for their prior consent if you do.
Qatar strictly banned alcohol, and before the World Cup matches, a "ban on alcohol" was issued that all fans in the stadium were prohibited from drinking alcoholic beverages, which caused great dissatisfaction among fans who watched the game while drinking beer, and Budweiser asked FIFA for $47.4 million in sponsorship. However, "Roma Sport newspaper" said that this rule does not apply to everyone, and VIPs in the stadium box can still drink alcohol, and if you want to drink, you must drink in a restaurant or bar with a license, otherwise it is considered illegal and drunk driving will be punished with a heavy sentence. Qatar also bans the import and sale of pork, taboos talking about pigs, mainly rice, beef and mutton, seafood, and commonly used drinks such as black tea, coffee and milk. Black tea is usually sweetened, coffee is usually added with some cardamom, the taste is slightly bitter, and it can be refreshing. Braised broad beans, a favorite dish for breakfast in Qatar, is made with broad beans, garlic and olive oil.
Although Qatar is a modern country, it is a polygamous country like many Arab countries. It is not surprising to see a man walking on the street with two women in his arms in Qatar, because they are also a polygamous country, and a man can have up to four wives at the same time, which also makes male friends in other countries very envious.