Qatar » Outlook

The country with one of the best economic outlooks in the world is Qatar. The economy is now the top performer in the Middle East with average annual real GDP growth of around 6.5% over the past five years .The latest QNB Economic Review estimates GDP growth of 20.5 percent in 2004, slightly up on 19.8 percent in 2003.

Qatar's GDP per capita last year stood at $36,476 and at this sort of growth rate will overtake Switzerland next year. Qatar's GDP per capita is estimated at $61,540 in 2006, placing the country among the world's highest income nations.

Over the next five years Qatar is to spend around $75 billion developing its hydrocarbon assets and $15 billion on infrastructure. There is a real estate boom with rents spiraling upwards and five additional hotels are to be built along with The Pearl-Qatar, a $3.5 billion luxury land reclamation project with freehold ownership.