National Day2026 · Date · History
Qatar Law No. 11 of 2007 establishes 18 December—the 1878 power-assumption date of Sheikh Jassim bin Mohamed bin Thani—as the State National Day and makes the annual National Day an official holiday.
About National Day
Qatar National Day is observed on 18 December. Law No. 11 of 2007 makes the date the National Day of the State and an annual official holiday.
The law ties December 18 to the day Sheikh Jassim bin Mohamed bin Thani assumed power in 1878, describing him as the founder of the State of Qatar.
Why National Day matters
The observance centers on Qatar’s state-founding narrative and national history. It should not be described simply as the anniversary of modern independence, because the 2007 law deliberately grounds the National Day in the 1878 milestone.
Official National Day programming can change by edition; this guide treats the recurring date and legal identity separately from year-specific event schedules.
History of National Day
Qatar previously had legislation treating Independence Day as an official holiday.
Law No. 11 of 2007, dated 21 June 2007 and published in the Official Gazette, established 18 December as the State National Day.
Article 1 links the date to Sheikh Jassim bin Mohamed bin Thani assuming power on 18 December 1878.
Article 2 makes National Day an official holiday every year, while the law also repeals the earlier 1971 Independence Day law.
How the observance developed
This timeline uses documented milestones from reviewed sources. Missing stages are left out rather than guessed.
Independence Day official-holiday framework
Law No. 11 of 2007 repealed Law No. 20 of 1971 and established the December 18 State National Day framework.
State of Qatar under Law No. 11 of 2007
Law No. 11 of 2007 considering the Power Assumption Day of Sheikh Jassim Bin Mohamed Bin Thani as a National Day of the State
State of Qatar / Qatar National Day Committee
Current government and National Day Committee material continue to present and organize the December 18 observance.
What the evidence establishes
Confirmed institutional roles and milestones are shown first. Details that could not be established from the reviewed sources are listed separately below.
4 fields not established in reviewed sources
Predecessor and precursor observances
Earlier or merged observances are kept separate from former names and later institutional actions.
Also known as
Qatar National Day
How to Observe National Day
Read Qatar’s National Day law through the official legal portal.
Use official Qatari historical material to learn about the 1878 milestone and the modern state-founding narrative.
Check official organizer channels for edition-specific public programming rather than assuming the same schedule every year.
Keep civic and historical descriptions factual and avoid treating the observance as a proxy for views about current politics.
National Day Facts
Qatar National Day is December 18.
Law No. 11 of 2007 establishes the annual National Day.
The same law makes National Day an official holiday.
The date is tied in the law to Sheikh Jassim bin Mohamed bin Thani’s 1878 assumption of power.
The reviewed sources do not establish a first recurring National Day observance date, so this guide does not invent one.
Topic and context
What this page does not assume
- Keep the source-defined country, community, organizer or institutional scope; do not silently broaden it.
- Do not treat the title alone as proof of government recognition or public-holiday status.
- Do not add a creator, founding story or origin claim unless the supporting evidence establishes it.
- Remembrance Civic Context Care.
Evidence & sources
Sources used across the guide are gathered here. Labels show how each source supports the page, and contextual references are kept separate from primary evidence.
Amiri Diwan — Key Information about Qatar (opens in a new tab)
Head Of State Government
Qatar Legal Portal (Al Meezan) — Law No. 11 of 2007 (opens in a new tab)
National Legislation
Qatar National Day Committee — History of Qatar / National Day (opens in a new tab)
Official National Day Organizer
Understand it, compare it, then explore further
Start with the most common factual questions, then compare closely related observances and explore useful connections.
Frequently asked questions
When is National Day?
18 December The documented recurrence rule is: 18 December.
Does National Day fall on the same date every year?
Yes. It uses a fixed annual date unless stronger evidence changes the pattern.
Is National Day an official public holiday?
Within the reviewed scope, it is identified as Qatar / statutory National Day and official holiday. That status is not automatically extended to other countries or jurisdictions.
Who established or recognizes National Day?
The reviewed sources identify State of Qatar under Law No. 11 of 2007 as the proclaiming or establishing body. Current facilitation or coordination is recorded as State of Qatar / Qatar National Day Committee.
Is National Day international or country-specific?
This observance is specific to Qatar. Its fuller verified scope is: Qatar / statutory National Day and official holiday.
How is this page verified?
The factual information is checked against reviewed sources, including the date pattern, scope and institutional history. This page was checked on 2026-10-03.
When is Qatar National Day?
It is observed on December 18 each year.
Why is it on December 18?
Qatar’s 2007 National Day law ties the date to Sheikh Jassim bin Mohamed bin Thani assuming power on December 18, 1878.
Is Qatar National Day an official holiday?
Yes. Article 2 of Law No. 11 of 2007 makes the annual National Day an official holiday in Qatar.
Is it the same as the former Independence Day holiday?
No. The 2007 law establishes the National Day around the 1878 founding milestone and repeals the earlier 1971 Independence Day law.
Other observances on December 18
These observances are also listed on December 18, 2026.
Arabic Language Day
United Nations language observance
Guru Ghasidas Jayanti
Chhattisgarh government sources identify 18 December as Guru Ghasidas’s birth anniversary and describe the Jayanti as celebrated every year in the state; the High Court’s 2026 calendar sepa…
International Migrants Day
A/RES/55/93
National Crime Junkie Day
Crime Junkie’s first-party fifth-anniversary page established National Crime Junkie Day for December 18, 2022 and ties the date to the podcast’s December 18, 2017 debut; a creator-linked cu…
National Underdog Day
Historical reporting directly attributes Underdog Day to P. Moeller of Clio, Michigan; modern observance histories identify 1976 as the first observed year and preserve the third-Friday-in-…