Real estate in Qatar - A growth story: The economic background
The Qatari financial services sector
A burgeoning real estate sector
In recent years, Qatar’s story has been one of breathtaking economic growth. Between 2003 and 2006 alone, nominal GDP growth averaged 24.6%, bringing GDP to $52.7 billion, meaning that in those four years the economy tripled in size. The result, according to a recent Standard & Poor’s report, is that GDP per capita reached $57,000 in 2007, compared with $27,000 as recently as 2002. That makes Qatar one of the world’s wealthiest nations, closing the gap on the leaders in the most recent ranking published by the IMF – which made Luxembourg the richest country, with a GDP per capita in 2005 of just over $80,000, followed by Norway ($64,193).
Other macroeconomic yardsticks paint a similarly impressive picture of Qatar’s recent economic development. The fiscal balance, which was in deficit throughout much of the 1990s, has recorded an average surplus of almost 8% of GDP since the start of this decade. The current account deficit has also swung from being in deficit in the 1990s to a surplus of more than 30% of GDP in 2006.