As it contemplates a near-term future seemingly guaranteed by soaring hydrocarbon revenues and burnished by international acceptance in the form of a winning the rights to host football's 2022 World Cup, Qatar’s economy and society are forging ahead, eager to embrace the outside world. With world-leading growth rates, and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita set to cross the $100,000 mark next year, the outlook could not be brighter.
Like its Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) partners, Qatar’s wealth stems from abundant hydrocarbon resources. In total, it produces the equivalent of 4.5 million to 5 million barrels of oil per day, matching the combined production of Kuwait and Abu Dhabi, in a country with a total population of only 1.7 million. It has, over the past 10 to 15 years, invested heavily in gas infrastructure and is now reaping the benefits of its global seaborne liquefied natural gas (LNG) strategy.
