Qatarization (or Qatarisation) is a governmental initiative devised to increase the number of
Qatar
Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...
i citizens employed in public and private sectors.
The target is 50% of the workforce in the Industry and Energy sector. Qatarization is one of the focuses of the
Qatar National Vision 2030
Qatar National Vision 2030 (; abbreviated as QNV 2030) is a development plan launched in October 2008 by the General Secretariat for Development Planning in the State of Qatar. The aim of QNV 2030 is to "transform Qatar into an advanced society ...
.
While the expatriate population has rapidly grown since the late 20th century, the
Qatari population has increased only at a marginal rate. Therefore, as a means to decrease dependence on foreign labor, the Qatari government has heavily prioritized Qatarization in recent years.
History
The first Qatarization scheme was formulated in 1962, with Qatari Labor Law No. 3, which stipulated that Qatari nationals are to be given first priority for filling vacant positions in the workforce.
A government census conducted in 1970 revealed that only 16% of the economically active population were Qatari nationals.
The only industry with a higher proportion of Qatari citizens to foreigners was the oil industry, which was a result of Qatarization policies.
In the early 1970s, after Qatar gained independence, administrative posts in the public sector were Qatarized. This resulted in 97% of the top administrative positions in the school system being occupied by Qataris by the 1990s.
In May 1997, an emiri decree stipulated that at least 20% of the employees of private sector businesses must be Qatari citizens. On 1 June 2000, the most comprehensive Qatarization program went into effect with the aim of reaching a 50% national workforce in the energy sector by 2005.
The program fell short of its target, with Qataris comprising only 28% of the labor force in the energy sector by the deadline.
Challenges
A study by the
RAND Corporation
The RAND Corporation, doing business as RAND, is an American nonprofit global policy think tank, research institute, and public sector consulting firm. RAND engages in research and development (R&D) in several fields and industries. Since the ...
found that Qatari women are twice as likely to be university-educated as males. However, as a result of gender-exclusionary degrees in public universities, certain sectors are unable to benefit from the more proportionately educated female population.
See also
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Economic nationalism
Economic nationalism or nationalist economics is an ideology that prioritizes state intervention in the economy, including policies like domestic control and the use of tariffs and restrictions on labor, goods, and capital movement. The core bel ...
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Nativism
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Emiratisation
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Omanisation
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Saudization
References
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Economy of Qatar