Qatar, also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qatar, is an Arab emirate in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the larger Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south; otherwise the Persian Gulf surrounds the state. A strait of the Persian Gulf separates Qatar from the relatively-nearby island nation of Bahrain.

Qatar is an oil- and gas-rich nation, with the third largest gas reserves and the second highest GDP per capita in the world.  An absolute monarchy, Qatar has been ruled by the al-Thani family since the mid-1800s and has since transformed itself from a poor British protectorate noted mainly for pearling into an independent state with significant oil and natural gas revenues.