The State of Qatar is an independent emirate (11,400 km2) located on a primarily barren peninsula in the Persian Gulf. It shares a border with Saudi Arabia to the south, and the Persian Gulf surrounds the rest of the state. From the 1700s until the mid-1800s, Qatar was ruled by the Kingdom of Bahrain, and was then a British protectorate from 1916 until it gained its independence and became an absolute monarchy ruled by the Al Thani family in 1971. It has an estimated population of 2.3 million. Qatar has long been a destination for businessmen throughout the Gulf, but Qatar’s authorities are now focusing on developing a broader tourism industry that includes leisure tourism and brings in non-Gulf tourists.