Economy of Qatar

Qatar’s economy has emerged as one of the fastest growing in the world over the past few years. The strength of the economy is derived in large part from its massive oil and gas reserves, but like most other Gulf states, economic diversification remains a top priority and the non-oil sector has been returning promising growth figures. Even without government support, certain sectors, such as real estate, look set to enjoy sustained growth thanks to demand from a young and rapidly growing population. Tourism is another area of high potential as officials carve out Qatar’s identity as a centre of business and cultural tourism. While the government is still the leading force in overall economic development, it is encouraging the private sector to take a stronger role while bringing increased focus to small and medium-sized enterprises.

The vast gas wealth was only discovered in 1971 - with estimated reserves of more than 900 trillion standard cubic feet - or about 10 per cent of the world's known reserves. The problem was Qatar was not close enough to potential customers for it to be of any commercial benefit.

It was only in the mid 1990s that Qatar started to borrow heavily on international markets to invest in a series of industrial facilities to chill the gas to liquid form so it could be transported by ship around the world. It was a huge risk but one that set the tiny country on the road to becoming the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas.

As gas production increased every year so, too, did the country's economic output. Nominal GDP has grown tenfold in a decade to $186bn. In the five years to 2016, Qatar plans to spend $125bn on infrastructure projects alone.

During the last 5 years, the Qatari real economy has grown by an average of 15.5 percent per year as the country's gas and LNG output expanded.

The development of the country's manufacturing sector, which includes downstream processes such as gas-to-liquids (GTLs), petrochemicals and fertilizer production, has been proceeding apace and is a major focus of Qatar's diversification strategy.

The IMF has projected that growth in Qatar’s non-hydrocarbon sector will range between 9% and 10% in the medium term, while the hydrocarbon sector is projected to grow between 1.1% and 3.5%.
The government is aiming to bolster the non-energy sectors in an effort to help raise their share in the country’s GDP. This is in line with the national policy to diversify the economy away from oil and gas.
Qatar is expected to maintain an annual economic growth 5-6% in the next few years mainly supported by its non-hydrocarbon sector and fiscal deficit is not expected before 2017-18, according to global banking giant Barclays.

Essential Information

Area: 11,427 sq km
Population:  2,042,444 (2012 est.)
Capital: Doha
Principal Towns: Al-Khor, Ar-Rayyan, Al-Wakrah, Umm Salal.
Languages: Arabic is the official language, but English is widely spoken.
Gross Domestic Product: $184.6 billion (2012 est.)
GDP per capita: $90,382 (2012 est.)
GDP per capita (PPP): $102,800 (2012 est.)
International Reserves: $28.7 billion (2012 est.)
Climate: Qatar has a warm dry, and pleasant climate from autumn to the end of spring. In summer the heat can be intense with exceptionally high humidity. The average winter temperature is 17 degrees C
Currency: $1 = 3.641 Qatari Rial (QAR)
 
DEMOGRAPHY
Age Distribution (2012 est.)
0-14 years: 12.5%
15-24 years: 13.9%
25-54 years: 69.5%  
55-64 years: 3.3%  
65 years and over: 0.8%  
 
Population Growth: 4.93% (2012 est.)

Education: Of total population 96% age 15 and over can read and write. (2010)

NATURAL RESOURCES
Fossil Fuel
Petroleum, natural gas, fish

Visa Requirements:

Visas for visits of up to 30 days are not required by nationals of some Arab countries and those born and resident in the UK. Other passport holders, if staying for more than 72 hours, must obtain visas from Qatar representatives before arrival. In some cases a 'No Objection Certificate' (NOC) applies instead of a visa; one should check before departure.

Qatar National Day 18 December

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Diplomatic representation of Qatar to Switzerland