The state of Qatar is an independent emirate, an Arabic Islamic monarchy, in the Gulf region. It occupies the small Qatar Peninsula on the north-eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula.
Before World War II, Qatar was one of the world’s poorest nations. Its main source of revenue came from pearling and fishing. But as oil reserves were discovered and developed in the 1940s, the country attained a high income. Today, Qatar has one of the world’s largest reserves of oil and natural gas. Qatar is classified by the UN as a country of very high human development.
Arabic is the official language of Qatar. The capital of the country is Doha, and the currency is the Riyal.