Qatar: Flag and Facts
Qatar's flag is maroon with a wide white band on the left, and the two colors meet along a zigzag edge with nine points.
- Official name
- State of Qatar
- Capital
- Doha
- Region
- Western Asia
- Population
- 2.6 million (2025)
- Languages
- Arabic
- Currency
- Qatari riyal
- Area
- 11,586 km² (4,473 sq mi)
- People
- Qatari
- Calling code
- +974
- Highest point
- Tuwayyir al Hamir 103 m
- Independence
- 3 September 1971 (from the UK)
- National symbols
- a white serrated band with nine white points on top of a maroon field
- Borders
- Saudi Arabia
About Qatar
Maroon honors blood shed in Qatar's wars, and white stands for peace. The nine points carry a history lesson. After a treaty with Britain in 1916, Qatar became the ninth of the reconciled emirates, the other eight being Bahrain and the seven that now form the UAE.
The Al Thani family has ruled since the mid-1800s. Within roughly 60 years, Qatar went from a poor British protectorate that lived off pearl diving to a rich independent state built on oil and gas. Britain let go on 3 September 1971. In 1995, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani took power from his father without bloodshed and launched big reforms. By 2007, no place on earth had a higher income per person than Doha. The land is almost entirely flat desert, and the top point, Tuwayyir al Hamir, is only 103 meters high.
Did you know?
- Ar-Rayyan, with about 798,000 people, is bigger than the capital, Doha, at 658,000.
- National Day, 18 December, marks the Al Thani family taking the throne in 1878.
- Qatar is almost twice the size of Delaware and a little smaller than Connecticut.
Want to test yourself? The random flag generator has a quiz mode, and the full flags of the world page shows every flag at once.
Questions about Qatar
What currency does Qatar use?
The Qatari riyal.
Which country borders Qatar?
Saudi Arabia is its only land neighbor.
Sources
- CIA World Factbook, checked October 8, 2026
- REST Countries data (mledoze/countries), checked October 8, 2026
- Flag artwork: flag-icons (MIT), checked October 8, 2026
Facts are compiled from these open sources and rewritten in our own words. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.