Reasons Behind Qatar's Wealth

Qatar is a relatively small country in size with an area of 11,586 squared km and home to a population of 2.9 million people. It is situated in the Middle East and this very tiny country is one of the richest nations in the world in terms of GDP per capita beating Macau, Luxembourg, Singapore, and even the US.

Here we would like to share with you some of the reasons behind Qatar's immense wealth and how it all happen.

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Background

Qatar is not a monarchy country as it is now being ruled by Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani that ascend the throne on 25 June 2013. The interesting part is that among the 2.6 million people living in the country, 75% of them are men showing that women are very scarce here.

In the business world, Qatar has many valuable assets across the globe such as in Singapore, the United States, and Europe. AlJazeera, QNB, and Qatar Airways are some of the company giants based in this country.

The economic history of Qatar in the early 19th century was not that great. But all of this changed in 1939 when the discovery of oil and gas took place in this country. In 1950, Qatar managed to produce 46,500 barrels per day, and in 2018 that figure drastically increase to 1.8 million barrels in a day.

Due to this, many foreign investments start pouring into the country ultimately improving Qatar's overall economy. Who knew such a small country that used to be an abandoned desert managed to change its fate towards becoming one of the richest nations on the planet.

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With an immense oil and gas commodity source in the country, it has provided 50% of the country's GDP. In 2005, Qatar Investment Authority(QIA) was successfully established to regulate the country's funds.

As of writing, the asset value of QIA amounts to $461 billion placing it in the 9th position of the highest wealth fund in the world. On the other hand, the job opportunities in this country are relatively high with 99% of them being accepted for a job or only a 1% unemployment rate.

The wealth currently owned by Qatar today has made the country's GDP per capita stand at $84,514. Despite Qatar's GDP is $225 billion, it is definitely something amazing to be achieved especially with the low population of 2.8 million people.

This allowed the government to provide many services to its people. Qatar is also among the countries that are resided by millionaires. In one report, 1050 out of 6000 households in Qatar will have at least $1 million.

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Qatar's Vision

Qatar's national vision 2030 has led to many international investments made by Qatar to be at its highest level. Qatar has a 34% shareholder of 15 skyscrapers in London whereas companies in the UK itself only hold 21% of the shares.

Qatar has also got the authority to make the old US Embassy in London into a marvelous hotel. Several shares in the aviation industry are also owned by Qatar. There are several other investments that have been made, some of which are the takeover of the most renowned fashion brand, Valentino as well as the purchase of one of the best football clubs in the world, Paris Saint-Germain(PSG).

It can be said that QIA has played a major role in turning Qatar's economy into a productive state. QIA has brought in immense profit from Europe, Asia, and the US for the importance of its nation.

However, what is clear here is that the discovery of black gold has brought drastic change to the state of the country and ultimately changed the country's landscape into what we see today.

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