Qatar is a sheikdom on a peninsula on the west coast of the Persian Gulf, population (1982) of 250,000. The official language is Arabic and the capital is Doha.
The country became a British Protectorate in 1916 and enjoyed British rule until 1971, when it was granted status as a sovereign independent state.
The chief source of revenue is oil. Per capita income is the seventh highest in the world, behind Denmark and ahead of the United States.[Citation Needed]
Qatar is home to the Al Jazeera news network.