The strength and resilience of Qatar’s economy has once again been validated by global institutions. After the World Bank, another international organisation has predicted a strong recovery for Qatar’s economy. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected a growth of 3.9 percent for Qatar’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in its World Economic Outlook released recently.
This year’s growth forecast for Qatar’s economy is substantially higher than the growth recorded last year. According to International Monetary Fund, Qatar’s economy grew by 1.5 percent last year.The optimism by global organisations about Qatar reflects the strength and resilience of local economy.
The growth registered by the economy is result of many proactive measures taken by the government departments and agencies.Many indicators have indicated that the country’s economy is on a strong footing. Exports from Qatar con-tinue to maintain growth momentum.
The growth in exports has also helped the trade surplus, which is the difference between total exports and imports, of Qatar.Figures released the Planning and Statistics Authority show that Qatar’s trade surplus has shown impressive growth in January this year. Qatar’s foreign merchandise trade balance showed a surplus of QR25.9bn in January this year, an increase of about QR12.4bn or 91.3 percent compared to January 2021.
The surge in trade surplus was a result of strong momentum in exports. Qatar recorded a merchandise trade surplus of QR71.4bn in the fourth quarter of 2021, an increase of 189 percent from QR24.7bn during the corresponding period in the previous year.
Positive trend has also been witnessed from private sector expansion. The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) survey data from QFC has indicated a swift rebound in growth in the non-energy private sector in February this year. The rates of expansion in output, new orders and backlogs of work all re-accelerated and were among the fastest registered throughout the near five-year history of the survey.
Moreover, employment rose for a record seventeenth successive month, and the 12-month outlook improved as firms continued to report opportunities linked to the FIFA World Cup. The PMI rebounded from Janu-ary’s six-month low of 57.6 to 61.4 in February, indicating a rapid improvement in overall business conditions.Various sectors of the economy, including industrial production, hospitality, automobile, real estate and mar-itime, are showing signs of strong rebound in activity.
The recovery in Qatar’s economy is consistent and is unmatched in the region. The long term growth pros-pects of Qatar’s economy are bright and the economy is expected to grow at a faster pace over the next decade.
