Countries · Middle East
Qatar
Qatar is one of the world's largest exporters of liquefied natural gas, and invests its surplus through the Qatar Investment Authority.
At a glance
Net inflows of foreign direct investment were $3.03bn in 2025, against an average of −$0.56bn a year in 2015–2024. Investors based in Qatar put a net $3.34bn into direct investment abroad in the same year, more than Qatar received. Foreign investors were net buyers of $0.19bn of shares in Qatar in 2025.
Qatar's current account surplus has been large since 2021. Its US Treasury holdings are not reported separately by the US Treasury.
Direct and equity investment
Annual net flows, $bn. Direct investment means building or buying businesses; portfolio equity means buying listed shares and fund units.
Net flows by year
Direct investment into and out of Qatar, and foreign buying of its shares, $bn.
Current account and reserves
The balance of trade and income with the rest of the world, and the reserves held by the central bank.
Current account balance
Each year, $bn. A surplus means the country lends to the rest of the world.
Foreign exchange reserves, including gold
End of year, $bn.
Remittances
Money sent home by people working abroad, compared with direct investment, $bn.
Remittances and direct investment
Each year, $bn.
The economy
GDP
Current US dollars, $bn. Dollar figures also move with exchange rates.
Growth and inflation
Real GDP growth and consumer price inflation, per cent.
All figures
Annual figures from the World Bank, as published. Download them for every country on the data page.
| Indicator | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (m) | 2.34 | 2.48 | 2.55 | 2.58 | 2.64 | 2.79 | 2.50 | 2.66 | 2.66 | 2.86 | 2.97 |
| GDP ($bn) | 161.7 | 151.7 | 161.1 | 183.3 | 176.4 | 144.4 | 179.7 | 235.7 | 213.0 | 216.3 | 215.6 |
| GDP per person ($) | 68,985 | 61,254 | 63,280 | 71,040 | 66,841 | 51,684 | 71,752 | 88,701 | 80,196 | 75,685 | 72,525 |
| Real GDP growth (%) | 4.8 | 3.1 | −1.5 | 1.2 | 0.7 | −3.6 | 1.6 | 4.2 | 1.2 | 3.1 | 2.9 |
| Inflation (%) | 1.8 | 2.7 | 0.4 | 0.3 | −0.7 | −2.5 | 2.3 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 1.3 | — |
| Current account ($bn) | 13.75 | −8.27 | 6.43 | 16.65 | 4.26 | −2.99 | 26.32 | 63.12 | 36.45 | 37.88 | 31.93 |
| Current account (% GDP) | 8.5 | −5.5 | 4.0 | 9.1 | 2.4 | −2.1 | 14.6 | 26.8 | 17.1 | 17.5 | 14.8 |
| Reserves incl. gold ($bn) | 37.3 | 31.9 | 15.0 | 30.4 | 39.7 | 41.0 | 42.2 | 47.4 | 51.5 | 54.0 | 55.8 |
| Direct investment in ($bn) | 1.07 | 0.77 | 0.99 | −2.19 | −2.81 | −2.43 | −1.09 | 0.08 | −0.47 | 0.46 | 3.03 |
| Direct investment out ($bn) | 4.02 | 7.90 | 1.69 | 3.52 | 4.45 | 2.73 | 0.16 | 2.38 | −0.19 | 1.56 | 3.34 |
| Portfolio equity in ($bn) | 0.12 | 1.73 | 0.29 | 2.27 | 1.34 | −0.50 | 1.94 | 4.80 | 0.48 | −0.73 | 0.19 |
| Remittances ($bn) | 0.44 | 0.38 | 0.67 | 0.47 | 0.58 | 0.65 | 0.86 | 1.03 | 1.44 | 1.44 | 1.26 |
The monthly read
A short email after each TIC release: where money moved, what changed among the big holders, and the charts that matter.
Sign-up and emails are handled by Substack.