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.
As the single most populous nation in Africa, Nigeria recently overtook South Africa as the largest economy on the continent. Natural resources, oil and gas in particular, comprise the country’s single largest revenue-earner but the 170m person economy also has seen significant activity in recent years into the industrial, financial, telecoms and – as of 2013 – power sectors.
The wealth of the Nile River and its fertile banks and delta, together with Egypt’s location at the confluence of Africa, Asia and Europe, have made the country a valuable prize for centuries, as well as a centre of trade and ideas.
Bolstered by burgeoning cement and ceramics industries that draw on the natural resources of the Hajar Mountains, Ras Al Khaimah has one of the GCC’s more diversified economies. Continued investment in infrastructure is enabling further economic growth and encouraging foreign investment.
Long viewed as a bastion of stability in the Central African region, thanks in part to large hydrocarbon revenues that have helped it maintain one of the highest levels of per capita income in the region, Gabon has been able to leverage its diplomatic clout throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
The Republic of Ghana has experienced two peaceful handovers of power in the two decades since it has returned to civilian, multiparty democracy and has gained a deserved reputation as a bastion of stability. However, in recent years, it has been the country’s economic performance in the headlines.
