Qatar’s economy continues to grow steadily as the state progresses towards economic diversification and sustainable development. Oil and gas sector has traditionally contributed the most to the state’s coffers but the country’s successful economic diversification plans are bearing fruit with increased contribution from sectors such as travel and tourism, hospitality, and services sector. With the prudent government policies in place, the private businesses have also continued to flourish even amid global challenges and slowdown. Qatar’s banking sector, for example, posted an increase in aggregate earnings year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2024 as the sector registered a surge of 7.6 annually. Aggregate earnings for companies listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange rose 16.2% during the quarter to QR11.5bn, with a strong contribution from the insurance sector, which flipped from a QR1.2bn loss in 4Q2023 to QR313.5m in profits. Most sectors s aw positive earnings growth. Full-year earnings on the QSE increased 8.4% to QR51.5bn, according to a report by QNB Financial Services. Along with growth in the non-oil and gas sectors, the state is also poised to reap dividends from tapping into its huge gas reserves, and from the ongoing North Field expansion projects. Qatar’s total LNG production will reach about 142 mtpa when this new expansion is completed before the end of this decade. This represents an increase of about 85% compared to current production levels. With the project’s completion, Qatar’s total hydrocarbon production will exceed 7.25 million oil equivalent barrels per day. The expansion is set to increase Qatar’s LNG production capacity from 77 to 126 million tonnes per annum. Qatar’s economy is expected to grow 2.4 percent in 2025 and by an average of 4.1% in the five-year period between 2025 and 2029. The increased LNG production from the ongoing expansion projects will play a significant role in expanding the national GDP in coming years.
