I agree that Qatar can be called a county but it appears that it wants to be called the "State of Qatar".
Check out the Ministry web sites and they refer to the State of Qatar, as also does by its name, the State Audit Bureau.
The national anthem is also described on government websites as "The National Anthem of the State of Qatar".

This probably stems from when Qatar was originally to be one of the British governed Trucial States in 1916. However, because Qatar couldn't agree to the terms it became a British protectorate. That 1916 treaty was renewed in 1934 and continued until Qatar achieved independence in 1971.
Just a thought.