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 90% of the country's GDP in 2020 (World Bank, 2022). Mineral fuels, oils and distillation products represented over 85% of the country’s exports in 2021 (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.
The main trading partners were Japan (16%), China (16%), India (15%) and South Korea (13%). Qatar’s leading suppliers were the US (16%), China (15%) and the UK (7.3%). 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 (41.5 billion USD in 2019 but USD 27.1 billion USD in 2020). The fluctuation in oil prices and the COVID19 pandemic has weighed on the surplus in recent years. Exports decreased in 2020 to 51.5 billion USD, from USD 72.9 billion a year earlier) while imports were reduced significantly (25.8 billion USD against 29.1 billion USD a year earlier). As many countries in the region, Qatar remains a net importer of services: imports reached USD 32.9 billion in 2020, while exports amounted to USD 18.3 billion. The trade surplus including services was estimated to have fallen to USD 11.8 billion in 2020, from USD 25.2 billion the year before (WTO, 2021).
The trade surplus in Qatar rose to QAR 25.6 billion in December of 2021 (7.03 billion USD) from QAR 8.6 billion in the same period of last year. Exports soared 107.8% to QAR 35.6 billion (9.77 billion USD), due to higher sales of petroleum gases & other gaseous hydrocarbons (+147.1%), crude petroleum oils & oils obtained from bituminous minerals (+47.9%), and non-crude petroleum oils & oils obtained from bituminous minerals with an increase of 77.9% in sales (Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics, 2022).
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) | 3.6 | -1.4 | -0.4 | 4.9 | 4.4 |
Volume of imports of goods and services (Annual % change) | 3.4 | 2.4 | 1.7 | 2.8 | 2.7 |
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: January 2023