Qatar: Visió econòmica i política
Qatar's trade policy is essentially focused on creating a modern and liberal economy. This is reflected in its promotion of investment (both domestic and foreign), its trade diversification programs at the regional and international levels and membership in several organisations, such as the WTO. Trade represents 93% of the country's GDP in 2021 (World Bank, 2023). Mineral fuels, oils and distillation products represented over 85% of the country’s exports in 2022 (mainly natural gas, followed by crude and other oil products), while imports were led by manufactured products, especially machinery, boilers, Electrical and electronic equipment and Vehicles other than railway and tramway.
In 2021, the main trading partners were China (15.5%), Japan (13.6%), India (15%) and South Korea (12.8%). Qatar’s leading suppliers were China (16.3%), the United States (11.8%), India (6.4%) and Germany (5.8%). Qatar has very few trade barriers and relatively low customs duties. It has signed a number of free trade agreements, both bilaterally and via the Gulf Cooperation Council, and has concluded a new trade deals with Pakistan on February 2020.
Benefiting from strong oil and gas revenues, Qatar's merchandise trade balance is structurally positive (27.1 billion USD in 2020 and 60.33 billion USD in 2021). The fluctuation in oil prices, the COVID19 pandemic and the global effect of the war in Ukraine has impacted on the surplus in recent years. Exports increased in 2021 to 87.20 billion USD from 51.50 billion USD a year earlier) while imports increased from 25.83 billion USD to 27.98 billion USD). As many countries in the region, Qatar remains a net importer of services: imports reached USD 34.34 billion in 2021, while exports amounted to USD 18.34 billion. The trade surplus including services was estimated to have sharply increased to USD 44.34 billion in 2021, from USD 11.86 billion the year before (WTO, 2023).
Qatar’s trade balance surplus has surged to hit QAR 28.2 billion (7.75 billion USD) in December 2022. The figure reflects a 10% increase on an annual basis and a 7.6% climb on a monthly basis. The surge in the Gulf country’s trade balance surplus is mainly attributed to the increase in exports and the curbing of imports (Qatar Planning and Statistics Authority, 2023).
Foreign Trade Values | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
Imports of Goods (million USD) | 30,887 | 31,696 | 29,178 | 25,835 | 27,985 |
Exports of Goods (million USD) | 67,500 | 84,288 | 72,935 | 51,504 | 87,203 |
Imports of Services (million USD) | 29,715 | 30,735 | 33,648 | 32,897 | 34,340 |
Exports of Services (million USD) | 17,527 | 17,780 | 18,336 | 18,378 | 18,346 |
Source: World Trade Organisation (WTO) ; Latest available data
Foreign Trade Indicators | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
Foreign Trade (in % of GDP) | 91.5 | 91.8 | 90.3 | 90.0 | 93.0 |
Trade Balance (million USD) | 36,733 | 50,981 | 41,581 | 27,137 | 60,339 |
Trade Balance (Including Service) (million USD) | 23,012 | 36,750 | 25,276 | 11,869 | 44,345 |
Imports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) | -3.5 | 4.6 | 1.9 | -8.9 | n/a |
Exports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) | 1.3 | -1.2 | -2.2 | -1.5 | n/a |
Imports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) | 38.6 | 35.9 | 38.0 | 40.9 | 34.1 |
Exports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) | 52.9 | 55.9 | 52.3 | 49.1 | 58.9 |
Source: World Bank ; Latest available data
Foreign Trade Forecasts | 2022 | 2023 (e) | 2024 (e) | 2025 (e) | 2026 (e) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Volume of exports of goods and services (Annual % change) | 3.7 | -1.8 | -0.2 | 5.1 | 4.5 |
Volume of imports of goods and services (Annual % change) | 4.2 | 2.4 | 1.8 | 3.3 | 2.9 |
Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook ; Latest available data
Note: (e) Estimated Data
Member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
The country is also part of the Greater Arab Free Trade Area(GAFTA), a pact of the Arab League entered into force in January 2005 which aims to form an Arabic free trade area.
Main Customers (% of Exports) |
2021 |
China | 15.5% |
Japan | 13.6% |
India | 12.8% |
South Korea | 12.8% |
Singapore | 6.1% |
See More Countries | 39.2% |
Main Suppliers (% of Imports) |
2021 |
China | 16.3% |
United States | 11.8% |
India | 6.4% |
Germany | 5.8% |
United Kingdom | 5.7% |
See More Countries | 54.1% |
Source: Comtrade, 2022. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.
Source: Comtrade, 2022. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.
To go further, check out our service Import Export Flows.
18.3 bn USD of services exported in 2018 | |
55.06% | |
30.46% | |
4.28% | |
3.89% | |
3.62% | |
2.70% |
29.7 bn USD of services imported in 2018 | |
38.57% | |
31.23% | |
10.65% | |
8.11% | |
5.96% | |
5.48% |
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, 2023. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.
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Actualitzacions: May 2023