Claim: The Arabian Peninsula consists of a sovereign country called Qatar.

The Arabian Peninsula , simplified Arabia -LRB- الجزيرة العربية , `` Arabian island '' -RRB- is a peninsula of Western Asia situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian plate . From a geological perspective , it is considered a subcontinent of Asia .   It is the largest peninsula in the world , at 3237500 sqkm . The Arabian Peninsula consists of the countries Yemen , Oman , Qatar , Bahrain , Kuwait , Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates , and parts of Jordan and Iraq . The peninsula formed as a result of the rifting of the Red Sea between 56 and 23 million years ago , and is bordered by the Red Sea to the west and southwest , the Persian Gulf to the northeast , the Levant to the north and the Indian Ocean to the southeast . The Arabian Peninsula plays a critical geopolitical role in the Middle East and the Arab world due to its vast reserves of oil and natural gas .   Before the modern era , it was divided into four distinct regions : Hejaz , Najd , Southern Arabia -LRB- Hadhramaut -RRB- and Eastern Arabia . Hejaz and Najd make up most of Saudi Arabia . Southern Arabia consists of Yemen and some parts of Saudi Arabia -LRB- Najran , Jizan , Asir -RRB- and Oman -LRB- Dhofar -RRB- . Eastern Arabia consists of the entire coastal strip of the Persian Gulf .