Qatar, formally the State of Qatar, is a sovereign nation in Western Asia that occupies the tiny Qatar Peninsula on the Arabian Peninsula’s northeastern coast. It shares its only land boundary with Saudi Arabia to the south, while the remainder of its area is encircled by the Persian Gulf. Qatar is separated from the neighboring island nation of Bahrain by a strait in the Persian Gulf, and it has maritime boundaries with the United Arab Emirates and Iran.
Following Ottoman control, Qatar became a British protectorate in the early twentieth century until achieving independence in 1971. Qatar has been governed by the Thani family since the early nineteenth century. The State of Qatar was founded by Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani. Qatar is a hereditary monarchy ruled by Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. It is debatable whether it should be considered a constitutional or absolute monarchy. The constitution was decisively adopted in a referendum in 2003, with almost 98 percent voting in favor. Qatar has a total population of 1.8 million people in 2013: 278,000 Qataris and 1.5 million expats.
Qatar is a developed nation with a high-income economy and the world’s third-largest natural gas and oil reserves. The nation boasts the world’s highest per capita income. The United Nations classifies Qatar as a nation with extremely high human development, and it is the most advanced Arab state in terms of human development. Qatar is a major force in the Arab world, financially and via its worldwide media network, Al Jazeera Media Network, it supported many rebel organizations during the Arab Spring. Qatar has excessive global influence for its size and has been designated as a medium power. Qatar will host the FIFA World Cup in 2022, making it the first Arab nation to do so.
