Economy of Qatar

Economy of Qatar

West Bay, Doha, the financial centre of Qatar
Currency	Qatari riyal (QAR, QR)
Trade organisations	WTO and GCC
Country group	Developed country[1] High-income economy[2] [3]
Statistics
Population	3,098,866 (2024)[4]
GDP	$244.69 billion (nominal, 2024)[5] $337.52 billion (PPP, 2024)[5]
GDP rank	55th (nominal, 2024) 60th (PPP, 2024)
GDP growth	4.1% (2022)[6] 1.6% (2023)[5] 2% (2024f)[5]
GDP per capita	$81,400 (nominal, 2024)[5] $112,283 (PPP, 2024)[5]
GDP per capita rank	8th (nominal, 2024) 4th (PPP, 2024)
GDP by sector	agriculture: 0.2% industry: 50.3% services: 49.5% (2017 est.)
Inflation (CPI)	3.1% (2023)[5] 2.6% (2024f est.)[5]
Human Development Index	0.855 very high (2021)[7] (42nd) N/A IHDI (2021)[8]
Labour force	2,035,269 (2023)[9]
Unemployment	0.6% (2017 est.)
Main industries	Liquefied natural gas crude oil ammonia fertilizer petrochemicals reinforcing steel cement ship repair
External
Exports	$86.51 billion (2018 est.)
Export goods	Liquefied natural gas, Petroleum Products, Fertilizers, Steel
Main export partners	Japan 17.1%  South Korea 15.6%  India 13.6%  China 13.4%  European Union 7.64%  Singapore 7.05%  Thailand 3.77%  Taiwan 3.28%  Pakistan 2.6%  United Kingdom 2.5%  United States 1.64% (2019)[10]
Imports	$26.69 billion (2017 est.)
Import goods	Machinery and Transport Equipment, Food, Chemicals
Main import partners	European Union 29.13%  United States 14.6%  United Kingdom 9.35%  China 8.56%  India 4.17%  Turkey 3.65%  Japan 3.6%  Oman 2.67% (2019)[11]
Gross external debt	$168 billion (31 December 2017 est.)[12]
Public finances
Government debt	44.5% of GDP (2022)
Revenues	$297.70 billion (2022)
Expenses	$208.70 billion (2022)
Credit rating	Standard & Poor's:[13] AA (Domestic) AA (Foreign) AA+ (T&C Assessment) Outlook: Stable[14] Moody's:[14] Aa2 Outlook: Stable
Main data source: CIA World Fact Book All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

The Economy of Qatar is one of the highest in the world based on GDP per capita, ranking generally among the top ten richest countries on world rankings for 2015 and 2016 data compiled by the World Bank, the United Nations, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).^[15][16] The country's economy has grown despite sanctions by its neighbors, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Mainly because the country exports primarily to Japan, South Korea, India and China, making the sanctions effectively redundant as neither Saudi Arabia nor the United Arab Emirates have imposed trading penalties such as tariffs or embargoes on any of these countries for trading with Qatar, or offering incentives such as discounts for their own energy exports to reduce Qatari exports.

Petroleum and natural gas are the cornerstones of Qatar's economy and account for more than 70% of total government revenue, more than 60% of gross domestic product, and roughly 85% of export earnings. Qatar has the world's third largest proven natural gas reserve and is the second-largest exporter of natural gas.