Located in Western Asia, Qatar, formally known as the State of Qatar (Arabic: دولة قطر Dawlat Qaṭar), is an independent nation. It is located on the tiny Qatar Peninsula on the Arabian Peninsula’s northeastern shore. The Persian Gulf encloses the majority of its area, with the exception of its southern border with Saudi Arabia. Qatar shares maritime borders with Iran and the United Arab Emirates, and it is divided from Bahrain, a close island nation, by a strait in the Persian Gulf.