Economy

Qatar has one of the largest and fastest growing economies of the world. Oil and gas have contributed to the transformation of Qatar into one of the richest countries, with some analysts suggesting that Qatar GDP will be the highest in the world putting it ahead of Switzerland.

The discovery of one of the largest natural gas fields in Qatar waters, known as the North Field, has entrenched gas production that has outstripped oil production. Qatar has begun to diversify its economy by heavily investing in liquid natural gas (LNG) and is aiming to produce 77 million tons of LNG by 2012. It is also a major gas to liquids (GTL) exporter. Currently Qatar enjoys the third highest natural gas reserve in the world.

Recently, emphasis has been placed further on industrial development, whereby government has allocated healthy budgets for industrial projects. The current economic growth is excellent and an estimated annual growth of 7.9%.

Qatar is a founding member of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the World Trade Organisation, OPEC and Islamic Development Bank, among others. Qatar’s major trading partners are Japan, South Korea and lately, India.