Qatar Coat of Arms Playing Cards

Qatar, officially the State of Qatar , is a sovereign Arab emirate, located in Western Asia, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its territory surrounded by the Persian Gulf. A strait in the Persian Gulf separates Qatar from the nearby island state of Bahrain. Qatar is an absolute monarchy that has been ruled by the Al Thani family since the mid-19th century. Before the discovery of oil, Qatar was noted mainly forpearl hunting and sea trade. It was a British protectorate until it gained independence in 1971. In 1995, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani became Emir when he deposed his father, Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, in a peaceful coup d'état.,only to later step down in favour of his son, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, on June 2013. Qatar's semi-elected Majlis al Shura has limited legislative authority to draught and approve laws, but the Emir has final say on all matters.[10] Its legal system is a mixture of civil law and Islamic law. Qatar has the world's third largest natural gas reserves and oil reserves in excess of 25 billion barrels which has fuelled Qatar to become world's richest country per capita and achieve the highest human development in the Arab World and 36th highest globally; furthermore, it is recognised as a high income economy by the World Bank and also the 19th most peaceful country in the world. Qatar is currently undergoing transformation under the National Vision 2030, in which it expects to achieve an advanced, sustainable, and diversified economy. In order to promote tourism, Qatar has invested billions into improving infrastructure, it held the 2006 Asian Games and will be the host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, becoming the first Arab country to host either of the events.