Qatar’s GDP jumps by over 30% in 2010

Qatar’s economy leaped by more than 30 per cent in current prices in 2010 as the Gulf country benefited from a surge in oil prices and higher gas exports following a sharp decline in 2009, according to government data.

The hydrocarbon sector alone rocketed by nearly 50.3 per cent while the non-oil GDP swelled by about 13.8 per cent, showed the figures published in the annual report released this week by the Qatari central bank.

As a result, nominal GDP jumped by 30.2 per cent from around QR355.9 ($97.5 billion) in 2009 to QR463.4 billion ($126.9 billion) in 2010.

High growth followed a decline by around 15.2 per cent in nominal GDP in 2009 because of a 30.7 per cent contraction in the hydrocarbon sector following a sharp fall in crude prices in 2009 compared with 2008. But the non-oil sector recorded a positive growth of around 3.8 per cent in 2010 albeit far lower than the 2008 growth of nearly 35 per cent.

Qatar, the world’s third largest gas power and the top LNG exporter, basked in one of its highest nominal growth rates of around 44.6 per cent in 2008 when crude prices hit a record high of $95 a barrel.

Qatari central bank governor Abdullah Bin Saoud Al-Thani said the country’s nominal economy performed well in 2010 despite global financial upheaval, adding that global recovery remains sluggish and even due to increasing concerns about sovereign and financial risks in Europe.

Another major factor has been the rise of “significant political discontent” in several countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with attendant economic and social consequences, he said.

“Despite these developments, Qatar recorded an impressive nominal GDP growth rate of 30.2% during the year in the wake of higher international oil prices,” he wrote in a foreword to the annual report.

“Along with record capacity expansion in the hydrocarbon sector, the increase in oil prices resulted in higher internal and external balances, leading to a surplus in the country’s budget of around QR 23 billion, and in the current account of the balance of payments by around QR 77 billion.”

Al Thani said Qatar’s successful bid to host FIFA World Cup 2022 further enhanced the international standing of the country which “would considerably boost business and investor confidence and brighten future economic outlook.”
The report showed the oil and gas sector expanded from around QR158.4 billion in 2009 to QR239.7 billion in 2010 after falling from QR230 billion in 2008.

The increase last year boosted the hydrocarbon’s contribution to GDP to around 51.7 per cent from 44.8 per cent in 2009 after peaking at 54.9 per cent in 2008.

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