Featured by OBG
Qatar is channeling its hydrocarbons wealth into long-term economic transformation, with diversification accelerating after the FIFA 2022 World Cup. In 2024 non-oil sectors accounted for over 60% of GDP, led by tourism, logistics and financial services. Strong fiscal buffers, a US dollar peg and prudent management of the $475bn Qatar Investment Authority support macroeconomic stability. Reforms in labour laws, green investment, and small and medium-sized enterprise development have boosted private sector participation and competitiveness. The trade and investment sector is a key area of the country’s growth due to the government’s ability to leverage associated international exposure to attract higher inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI), aligning with its broader economic diversification agenda. The energy sector continues to be a boon for the economy and FDI inflows due to Qatar’s abundant natural gas reserves and its liquefied natural gas exports. Qatar’s economy is strong and stable, coupled with a population of around 3.1m, endow Qatar with vast sovereign wealth and one of the highest GDP per capita figures in the world.
While hydrocarbons continue to make up the lion’s share of the emirate’s GDP, oil revenues are supporting long-term efforts to diversify the economy. Oil and gas accounts for about 52% of real GDP, down on previous years, followed by construction, manufacturing and real estate. High-quality transport infrastructure, meanwhile, is boosting trade activity and free zones in Abu Dhabi.
Stretching over 17,500 islands and home to around 245m people, Indonesia is a vast, diverse nation with a rapidly growing economy, extensive natural resources and a range of sectors ripe for investment. By far the largest country in ASEAN in terms of both population and area, Indonesia is responsible for one-third of the 10-nation bloc’s total GDP.
Over the past four decades, Dubai has become one of the most important economic centres in the Middle East and a key destination for investors, tourists and corporations from around the world. The emirate boasts a diversified economy, an open business environment, and a multinational population and workforce, all of which have contributed to its reputation as a leading investment destination.
While a significant nomadic population still pushes its herds across the steppe, young adults in Ulaanbaatar use fibre-optic networks to access the internet. Heir to the legacy of Chinggis Khan, Mongolia is fast emerging as a land rich with economic potential – a country that is seeking growth while also working to preserve its unique national culture.
At the base of the Arabian Peninsula, occupying a landmass slightly larger than Italy, Oman is the largest country in the GCC after Saudi Arabia. In recent years, the non-OPEC oil exporter’s economy has been undergoing a steady transformation, reorienting from oil toward a more diverse set of service and industry-based economic activities. So far, progress has been promising. In 2011 oil and gas accounted for 38.8% GDP.
