Madinat ash Shamal

"Ash Shamal" redirects here. For other uses, see Ash Shamaliyah (disambiguation).
Ash Shamal
الشمال
Municipality

Zubara Fort

Map of Qatar with Ash Shamal highlighted
Coordinates (Ar Ru'ays (Madinat ash Shamal)): 26°08′N 51°13′E / 26.14°N 51.22°E / 26.14; 51.22Coordinates: 26°08′N 51°13′E / 26.14°N 51.22°E / 26.14; 51.22
Country  Qatar
Capital Al Shamal City (Madinat ash Shamal)
Area
 • Total 902 km2 (348 sq mi)
Population (2010)[1]
 • Total 7,975
 • Density 8.8/km2 (23/sq mi)
Time zone East Africa Time (UTC+03)
ISO 3166 code QA-MS

Madinat ash-Shamal (Arabic: الشمال‎‎) is a municipality in the state of Qatar. Its capital is called Al Shamal City and it is considered to be one of the major cities in Qatar.[2] The name means "City of the north" - although the population is barely over 5,000. Ash Shamal will be home to the proposed 45,330-seat Al-Shamal Stadium, one of 12 venues used in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Madinat ash Shamal includes Ras Rakan, the northernmost point of the Qatari peninsula, and as such is surrounded by the Persian Gulf in all directions except for the south. It borders the municipality of Al Khor.

The municipality is divided into three primary zones.

Overview

Ash-Shamal Municipality was created by virtue of law No.19 passed on 17 July 1972, stating the creation of new municipalities: Al-Rayyan, Al-Khor and Al-Thakhira, Al-Wakrah, Umm Salal, and Al-Shamal.[3]

Accommodating less than 8,000 inhabitants, Al Shamal is the least populous municipality in the country. As it comprises the northernmost portion of the country, its historic importance is attributed to its more moderate weather and close proximity to Bahrain. The traditional mainstay of its inhabitants was fishing and pearling. Al Zubarah, a town located in the western section of the municipality, was previously the largest and most important settlement in Qatar. Proceeding the discovery of oil, most of Al Shamal's population migrated to the capital Doha.[4]

Localities

The Municipality supervises its administrative limits, which are:

Census zones

The following zones were recorded in the 2010 population census:[1]

Zone Area (km²) Population (2010)
Abu Dhalouf
Zubarah 		427.2 1,009
Ain Sinan
Madinat Al Kaaban
Fuwayrit 		307.3 1,970
Al Shamal City
Ar Ru'ays 		166.6 4,996
Municipality 901.1 7,975

Organizational structure

Ash-Shamal Municipality comprises four principal departments headed and managed by Mr. Jabr Ben Ali al-Naee'mee, director of ash-Shamal Municipality.

The director's office, heading the director's assistants and the heads of the following departments:

Sports

Al-Shamal SC Stadium

Al-Shamal SC, a sports club most notable for its football team which competes in the Qatargas League, is situated in the city. Their home games are played at Al-Shamal SC Stadium in Al Shamal City. Al-Shamal Stadium, a 45,120 capacity multi-purpose stadium is currently under construction for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[4]

Development projects

Currently, the Public Works Authority (Ashghal) in Qatar is constructing Al Ruwais Port in ash-Shamal. The port will include construction of a basin, deepening the channel at 2900 meter length, passenger jetty, commercial crew jetty, protection wall, Infrastructure, storage areas, government offices, workshops, and passenger terminal building.[5]

Tourism

A park in Madinat ash Shamal.

The Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) is in the process of developing Al Shamal's historic villages, archaeological sites and natural areas into tourist attractions. As the municipality currently has the highest annual precipitation rate in the country, the QTA has prioritized the establishment of eco-reserves in certain areas. Islands such as Ras Rakan and Umm Tais have been developed as nature reserves in order to boost eco-tourism.[4]

Visitor attractions

Forts

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1986[7][8]4,380—    
1997[7][8]4,059−7.3%
2004[7][8]4,915+21.1%
2010[1]4,996+1.6%
c-census; e-estimate

The following table is a breakdown of registered live births by nationality and sex for Madinat ash Shamal. Places of birth are based on the home municipality of the mother at birth.[9][10]

Registered live births by nationality and sex
Year Qatari Non-Qatari Total
M F Total M F Total M F Total
2001 19 32 51 9 12 21 28 44 72
2002 27 30 57 11 16 27 38 46 84
2003 29 37 66 17 18 35 46 55 101
2004 7 8 15 3 4 7 10 12 22
2005 36 47 83 14 12 26 50 59 109
2006 46 33 79 19 15 34 65 48 113
2007 36 42 78 18 19 37 54 61 115
2008 29 26 55 23 29 52 52 55 107
2009 26 31 57 9 15 24 35 46 81

References

  1. 1 2 3 "2010 population census" (PDF). Qatar Statistics Authority. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ "Al Shamal Municipality". Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 "Al Shamal Regaining past glory". The Peninsula Qatar. 6 January 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  5. ↑
  6. ↑ "Umm Al Maa". Qatar Museums Authority. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 "Population from 1986–2009". Qatar Statistics Authority. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 "Population and social statistics". Qatar Statistics Authority. 2004. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  9. ↑ "Population statistics". Qatar Information Exchange. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  10. ↑ "Qatar Statistics Authority website". Qatar Statistics Authority. Retrieved 28 June 2015.

Madinat ash Shamal travel guide from Wikivoyage

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