[7] In the mid-first century A.D., Pliny the Elder referred to the inhabitants of the Qatar peninsula as the Catharrei and described them as nomads who continuously wandered to find water and suitable grazing lands.

[9] Following the Qatari–Bahraini War in 1867–1868, Qatar was recognized as an independent political entity in September 1868 with the signing of a treaty between Mohammad bin Thani and the British representative Lewis Pelly.

[10] Due to the country's highly arid environment, traditional professions were largely centered around maritime activities, primarily fishing and pearl hunting.

[12] The Bedouins, comprising approximately 10% of Qatar's native population,[13] are traditionally nomadic tribes who roamed the vast deserts of the Arabian Peninsula, unconcerned with political boundaries and recognizing only the authority of their tribal sheikhs.

These tribes often monopolized specific coastal areas or neighborhoods, which are still known by their tribal names today, such as the As Salatah and Al Khulaifat districts of old Doha.

[14] Huwala refers to Sunni Arab families who historically lived on the southern Persian coast before returning to the Arabian Peninsula.

[16] The Baharna, predominantly Shia Muslims, have faced discrimination within Qatari society due to their religious beliefs, despite their Arab roots.

[14] Transitional tribes include those that originally led nomadic lifestyles but later adopted a dual existence, living seasonally between the Qatari desert and coastal villages.

The ruling Al Thani family belongs to this category, having migrated from Najd to Qatar in the late 17th century and settled in various coastal towns, eventually becoming prominent through trade and pearling activities.

[13] Unlike in the Atlantic slave trade, African descendants in the Gulf did not typically possess a diasporic consciousness or desire to return to their ancestral continent.

Exhibits at the Bin Jelmood House at Msheireb Museums document this history through photographs, installations, and oral interviews with Qataris of enslaved ancestry, such as musician and actress Fatma Shaddad.

[13] Qatar's government has supported population growth through extensive subsidies and social welfare programs, including housing loans, reduced dowries, and family allowances that grow with the number of children per couple.

Estimates by 1975 suggested the population had risen to 60,300, with the naturalization of foreign-born wives of Qatari men believed to contribute to a large percentage of this increase.

In 2021, a law was signed by Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani restricting the rights to vote in local elections for those whose families' arrival post-date the 1930s, leading to minor demonstrations and public disapproval.

[21] Qatar has been described as a rentier state that has allocated a significant portion of its wealth from hydrocarbon exports towards the social welfare of its citizens, in a sense, "buying their loyalty".

[22] Initially, the distribution of wealth in the rentier state model was exclusive, with only a select few involved in its creation and allocation, while the majority benefited as recipients.

Despite the perception of every Qatari holding a "winning lottery ticket," the reality was that hydrocarbon revenues were controlled by the state and channeled to citizens through specific mechanisms.

Initial efforts targeted basic needs like electricity, water, healthcare, and education, albeit with a significant portion of oil revenues redirected to the ruler's personal treasury.

His successor, Emir Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, furthered this trend, significantly increasing social aid, housing benefits, and salary increments.

As a result of these various benefits, some Western analysts have described Qatari citizens as "too rich to care" about disrupting the political system or questioning the legitimacy of its ruler.

Syntactically, Qatari Arabic exhibits structures that align with other Gulf dialects but with unique adaptations, such as specific verb forms and negation patterns.

The historical importance of pearl fishing have deeply resonated within the region's artistic expression, manifesting in melodies, tunes, and dances that reflect the bond between humanity and the sea.

[30] Music has served multiple cultural purposes in Qatar in the past, ranging from being used in weddings and other celebrations to religious rituals, as lullabies (hadhada), and in military parades.

[34] Some of Qatar's folktales have a distinctive local character while others have been imparted by nomadic tribes wandering between the present-day Arab states of the Persian Gulf.

[39] In Qatar, the clothing worn is similar to other Persian Gulf countries, typically consisting of a ghutra, agal, and thawb for men, and an abaya and shayla for women.

The Qatari Y-chromosome in large belongs to haplogroup J which comprises two thirds of the total chromosomes[47] Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) represents the female lineage.