Qatar

Summary

Official Name: State of Qatar
Population: 2,931,000
Principal Languages: Gulf Spoken Arabic, Standard Arabic
Literacy Rate: 97% (2015 World Factbook)
International Conventions: CPPDCE (2006), CSICH (2012), ICCPR (1966), UNCRPD (2006), UNDRIP (2007)
Deaf Population: 31,100
Language Counts: The number of established languages listed for Qatar is 4. All are living languages. Of these, 1 is indigenous and 3 are non-indigenous. Furthermore, 3 are institutional and 1 is developing. Also listed are 15 unestablished languages.

Languages

Arabic, Egyptian Spoken arz: Users: 230,000 in Qatar (2017 Egypt Independent), based on nationality. Status: Unestablished. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic
Arabic, Gulf Spoken afb: Widespread. Users: 788,000 in Qatar (2019). Status: 3 (Wider communication). De facto national working language, absent from formal education. Alternate Names: Gulf Arabic, Qatari Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic
Arabic, Hijazi Spoken acw: Users: 27,800 in Qatar (2019). Status: Unestablished. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic
Arabic, Najdi Spoken ars: Users: 57,000 in Qatar (2019). Status: Unestablished. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic
Arabic, North Levantine Spoken apc: Widespread. Users: 561,000 in Qatar (2019). Status: Unestablished. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic
Arabic, South Levantine Spoken ajp: Widespread. Users: 380,000 in Qatar (2019). Status: Unestablished. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic
Arabic, Standard arb: Widespread. Users: 1,100,000 in Qatar (2015 SIL), all users. Status: 1 (National). Statutory national language (2003, Constitution, Article 1). Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic
Arabic, Sudanese Spoken apd: Users: 57,000 in Qatar (2019). Status: Unestablished. Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South, Arabic
Armenian, Western hyw: Users: 8,500 in Qatar (2019). Status: Unestablished. Classification: Indo-European, Armenian
Balochi, Southern bcc: Users: 57,000 in Qatar (2019). Status: Unestablished. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Western, Northwestern, Balochi
English eng: Users: 42,000 in Qatar (2019). Status: Unestablished. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, English
French fra: Scattered. Users: 114,500 in Qatar, all users. L1 users: 8,500 in Qatar (2019). L2 users: 106,000 (2018). Status: 4 (Educational). Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Western, Gallo-Iberian, Gallo-Romance, Gallo-Rhaetian, Oïl, French
Malayalam mal: Users: 78,900 in Qatar (2019). Status: Unestablished. Classification: Dravidian, Southern, Tamil-Kannada, Tamil-Kodagu, Tamil-Malayalam, Malayalam
Nepali npi: Users: 285,000 in Qatar (International Organization for Migration (IOM) 2019), based on nationality. Status: Unestablished. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Intermediate Divisions, Eastern, Eastern Pahari
Persian, Iranian pes: Scattered. Users: 283,000 in Qatar (2019). Status: 5* (Dispersed). Alternate Names: Persian, Western Farsi Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Western, Southwestern, Persian
Sinhala sin: Users: 57,000 in Qatar (2019). Status: Unestablished. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Outer Languages, Southern, Sinhalese-Maldivian
Tagalog tgl: Users: 127,000 in Qatar (2019). Status: Unestablished. Classification: Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Greater Central Philippine, Central Philippine, Tagalog
Tamil tam: Users: 27,800 in Qatar (2019). Status: Unestablished. Classification: Dravidian, Southern, Tamil-Kannada, Tamil-Kodagu, Tamil-Malayalam, Tamil
Urdu urd: Users: 180,000 in Qatar (2010). Status: Unestablished. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Western Hindi, Hindustani

Languages by Status

1 (National)

Arabic, Standard

[arb] 1 (National). Statutory national language (2003, Constitution, Article 1). 1,100,000 in Qatar (2015 SIL), all users.

3 (Wider communication)

Arabic, Gulf Spoken

[afb] 3 (Wider communication). De facto national working language, absent from formal education. 788,000 in Qatar (2019).

4 (Educational)

French

[fra] 4 (Educational). 114,500 in Qatar, all users. L1 users: 8,500 in Qatar (2019). L2 users: 106,000 (2018).

5 (Dispersed)

Persian, Iranian

[pes] 5* (Dispersed). 283,000 in Qatar (2019).

Unestablished

Arabic, Egyptian Spoken

[arz] Unestablished. 230,000 in Qatar (2017 Egypt Independent), based on nationality.

Arabic, Hijazi Spoken

[acw] Unestablished. 27,800 in Qatar (2019).

Arabic, Najdi Spoken

[ars] Unestablished. 57,000 in Qatar (2019).

Arabic, North Levantine Spoken

[apc] Unestablished. 561,000 in Qatar (2019).

Arabic, South Levantine Spoken

[ajp] Unestablished. 380,000 in Qatar (2019).

Arabic, Sudanese Spoken

[apd] Unestablished. 57,000 in Qatar (2019).

Armenian, Western

[hyw] Unestablished. 8,500 in Qatar (2019).

Balochi, Southern

[bcc] Unestablished. 57,000 in Qatar (2019).

English

[eng] Unestablished. 42,000 in Qatar (2019).

Malayalam

[mal] Unestablished. 78,900 in Qatar (2019).

Nepali

[npi] Unestablished. 285,000 in Qatar (International Organization for Migration (IOM) 2019), based on nationality.

Sinhala

[sin] Unestablished. 57,000 in Qatar (2019).

Tagalog

[tgl] Unestablished. 127,000 in Qatar (2019).

Tamil

[tam] Unestablished. 27,800 in Qatar (2019).

Urdu

[urd] Unestablished. 180,000 in Qatar (2010).

Maps

Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates

Graphs

Language Vitality Profile
Full explanation
This graph shows the profile of languages in Qatar with respect to their level of language vitality. Each individual language that has an entry for Qatar is included in the profile. The horizontal axis represents the estimated level of vitality. The height of each bar indicates the number of languages that are estimated to be at the given level.
The vitality levels and the color coding of the bars match the scheme used in the guide on How many languages are endangered? In this scheme, the levels and colors are as follows:
- Dark green = Institutional (EGIDS 0-4) — The language has been developed to the point that it is used and sustained by institutions beyond the home and community.
- Light green = Stable (EGIDS 5-6a) — The language is not being sustained by formal institutions, but It is still the norm in the home and community that all children learn and use the language.
- Red = Endangered (EGIDS 6b-9) — It is no longer the norm that children learn and use this language.
These three summary levels have been derived by grouping levels in the Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (EGIDS), which is the more fine-grained scale that Ethnologue uses to assess the status of every language in terms of development versus endangerment; see the Language Status page for a description of the levels of that scale. See also the pages on Development and Endangerment for more discussion.
Language Status Profile
Full explanation
This graph shows the profile of languages in Qatar with respect to their status of language development versus language endangerment. Each individual language that has an entry for Qatar is included in the profile. The horizontal axis represents the estimated level of development or endangerment as measured on the EGIDS scale. (See the pages on Development and Endangerment for a fuller explanation.) The height of each bar indicates the number of languages that are estimated to be at the given level. Consult the Status listings for Qatar in order to see the specific languages for each level.
The color coding of the bars matches the color scheme used in the summary profile graphs on the navigation maps for the site. In this scheme, the EGIDS levels are grouped as follows:
- Purple = Institutional (EGIDS 0-4) — The language has been developed to the point that it is used and sustained by institutions beyond the home and community.
- Blue = Developing (EGIDS 5) — The language is in vigorous use, with literature in a standardized form being used by some though this is not yet widespread or sustainable.
- Green = Vigorous (EGIDS 6a) — The language is unstandardized and in vigorous use among all generations.
- Yellow = In trouble (EGIDS 6b-7) — Intergenerational transmission is in the process of being broken, but the child-bearing generation can still use the language so it is possible that revitalization efforts could restore transmission of the language in the home.
- Red = Dying (EGIDS 8a-9) — The only fluent users (if any) are older than child-bearing age, so it is too late to restore natural intergenerational transmission through the home; a mechanism outside the home would need to be developed.
- Black = Extinct (EGIDS 10) — The language has fallen completely out of use and no one retains a sense of ethnic identity associated with the language.

Resources

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Digest of the languages of Qatar ($149.95, 23 page PDF)

Qatar

Summary

Languages

Languages by Status

Maps

Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates

Graphs

Language Vitality Profile

Language Status Profile

Resources

Contributions

Editorial Action