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While known primarily for its vast gas reserves prior to 2010, Qatar’s global profile received a major boost that year when it was chosen to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, leading to a significant increase in infrastructure development throughout the country. Qatar is now leveraging its natural resources to become a knowledge-based, diversified economy, and it is looking to attract greater foreign direct investment to further develop its non-oil growth engines, such as tourism, sports, financial services, technology, real estate and logistics.
2016 witnessed the launch of the Kingdom’s historic Vision 2030 and the accompanying National Transformation Programme, both of which call for a major overhaul of the state’s economic apparatus and envision a more open market framework and more dynamic, private sector-led growth moving ahead.
Morocco benefits from its well-developed manufacturing sector, mining industry, agricultural output, proximity to Europe, sizeable diaspora community, low labour costs and market-oriented public policy.
The emirate of Dubai, by virtue of being less generously endowed with hydrocarbons than its regional neighbours, has worked hard over the past several decades to develop a wider, more diversified economic bedrock to power growth. As a result the emirate has several sectors whose growth is not wholly contingent on hydrocarbons revenues, and which continue to prosper in the current environment.
The fall in oil prices led to significantly reduced government revenues for Kuwait in 2015. Despite this the country’s 2016 spending remained largely in line with previous years as the government opted to draw on its considerable financial buffers to help make up for budgetary shortfalls.
The most populous country and arguably the largest economy on the continent, Nigeria is widely regarded as an African powerhouse.
