Qatar (/ˈkæˌtɑr/, /ˈkɑːtɑr/, /ˈkɑːtər/ or /kəˈtɑr/; Arabic: قطر‎ Qatar [ˈqɑtˤɑr]; local vernacular pronunciation: [ɡɪtˤɑr]), officially the State of Qatar (Arabic: دولة قطر‎ Dawlaṫ Qatar), is a sovereign Arab country located in Southwest Asia, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the 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 kingdom of Bahrain.