Qatar (Standard Arabic: IPA-ar?q?t??r; IPA-enk??t?r respellk?-TAR; local pronunciation (Gulf Arabic): IPA-all?it?ar), also known as the State of Qatar or locally UnicodeDawlat Qa?ar, is an Arab emirate in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south; otherwise the Persian Gulf surrounds the state (Sovereign state). A strait of the Persian Gulf separates Qatar from the nearby island nation of Bahrain.
Qatar is an oil- and gas-rich nation, with the third largest gas reserves (List of countries by natural gas proven reserves) and the second highest (List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita) 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 (UK) protectorate noted mainly for pearling (pearl hunting) into an independent state with significant oil and natural gas revenues.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Qatari economy was crippled by a continuous siphoning off of petroleum revenues by the Emir (Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani), who had ruled the country since 1972. His son, the current Amir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, overthrew him in a bloodless coup in 1995. In 2001, Qatar resolved its longstanding border disputes with both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Native Name: ???? ??? ,''UnicodeDawlat Qa?ar''
Conventional Long Name: State of Qatar
Common Name: Qatar
Image Flag: Flag of Qatar.svg
Image Coat: Coat of arms of Qatar.svg
Image Map: LocationQatar.png
National Anthem: ''As Salam al Amiri''
Official Languages: Arabic
Demonym: Qatari
Capital: Doha
Latd: 25latm=18latNS=Nlongd=51longm=31longEW=E
Largest City: capital
Leader Title1: Emir (Emir of Qatar)
Leader Name1: H.H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (Hamad bin Khalifa)
Leader Title2: Prime Minister (List of prime ministers of Qatar)
Leader Name2: Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani
Established Event1: current ruling family came to power
Established Date1: December 18, 1878
Established Event2: Termination of special treaty with the United Kingdom
Established Date2: September 3, 1971
Area Rank: 164th
Area Km2: 11,437
Area Sq Mi: 4,416
Percent Water: negligible
Population Estimate: 1,409,000 1,309,000 from the same ref under "Population"
Population Census: 744,029
Population Census Rank: 150th
Population Density Km2: 123.2
Population Density Sq Mi: 319.1
Population Density Rank: 123rd
Gdp Ppp: $102.147 billion
Gdp Ppp Per Capita: $83,840
Gdp Nominal: $83.910 billion
Gdp Nominal Per Capita: $68,871
Hdi: increase 0.910
Hdi Rank: 33rd
Hdi Category: very high
Currency: Riyal (Qatari riyal)
Currency Code: QAR
Time Zone: AST
Utc Offset: +3
Time Zone Dst: (not observed)
Utc Offset Dst: +3
Drives On: right
Cctld: .qa
Calling Code: 974
Iso 3166-1 Alpha2: QA
Iso 3166-1 Alpha3: QAT
Iso 3166-1 Numeric: 634
Sport Code: QAT
Vehicle Code: Q