Qatar — Country Profile
Population, GDP, natural resources, leaders and history of Qatar: the Magna Factbook country file, with its Magna Power score (--/100, ranked #-- of 195).
Last updated: October 2026
Qatar — in Middle East, peninsula bordering the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia. Political status: absolute monarchy. It covers 11,586 sq km. Terrain: mostly flat and barren desert. Climate: arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers.
| Capital | Doha |
|---|---|
| Population | 2,568,426 (2025 est.) |
| GDP (PPP) | $317.064 billion (2024 est.) |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | $110,900 (2024 est.) |
| Real GDP growth | 2.8% (2024 est.) |
| Inflation | 1.3% (2024 est.) |
| Unemployment | 0.2% (2024 est.) |
| Public debt | 46.7% of GDP (2016 est.) |
| Exports | $125.216 billion (2024 est.) |
| Imports | $69.692 billion (2024 est.) |
| Life expectancy | 80.3 years (2024 est.) |
| Median age | 34.4 years (2025 est.) |
| Urbanization | 99.4% of total population (2023) |
| Government | absolute monarchy |
| Independence | 3 September 1971 (from the UK) |
| Languages | Arabic (official), English commonly used as a second language |
Qatar’s GDP is $317.064 billion (2024 est.) in purchasing-power-parity terms. At official exchange rates it stands at $217.983 billion (2024 est.). Real GDP grew 2.8% (2024 est.). See where Qatar ranks among all 195 countries by GDP.
POWER --/100 — The Magna Power score is our 0–100 composite of structural national power — nine components, 135 indicators. It is the Bureau's own assessment, not a mirror of World Bank or CIA figures.
Momentum 0 — Quarterly momentum: the Bureau's read on the country's trajectory over the last quarter, from −10 (deteriorating fast) to +10 (accelerating).
A calm quarter for Doha: mediation capital spent quietly, energy revenues steady, no headline event to move the score either way.
Qatar's trajectory remains set by long-cycle gas and diplomacy — Jul–Sep 2026 simply confirmed the course.
- What our model rewards: inflation tamed at 1.3%; a current-account surplus of $38 billion — the world pays it more than it pays out
- What drags it down: only 0% of electricity from low-carbon sources
Oil, Natural gas.
Energy is the physical base of economic power — what a country can generate, move and burn decides what it can build, sell and defend.
| Electricity access | 100% (2022 est.) |
|---|---|
| Installed capacity mix (CIA) | fossil fuels: 99.7% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) |
| Energy consumption per capita (CIA) | 814.308 million Btu/person (2023 est.) |
| Primary energy consumption (OWID) | 654.0 TWh (2024) |
| Electricity generation (OWID) | 58.6 TWh (2024) |
| Energy per capita (OWID) | 214,524 kWh per person (2024) |
| Electricity generation mix (OWID) | Gas 99.8%, Solar 0.0% (2024) |
| Low-carbon share of electricity (OWID) | 0.2% (2024) |
| Carbon intensity of electricity (OWID) | 602.8 gCO2/kWh (2024) |
Sources: CIA World Factbook, Energy section; Our World in Data (IEA/Ember), 2024.
Trade shows what the world buys from a country and what the country must buy from the world — the balance between the two is a direct measure of economic leverage.
| Exports | $125.216 billion (2024 est.) |
|---|---|
| Imports | $69.692 billion (2024 est.) |
| Trade balance (calculated) | Surplus of $55.5 billion (2024), calculated from the CIA export and import figures above. |
| Key industries | liquefied natural gas, crude oil production and refining, ammonia, fertilizer, petrochemicals, steel reinforcing bars, cement, commercial ship repair |
Source: CIA World Factbook, Economy section.
Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani — Prime Minister. Amir TAMIM bin Hamad Al Thani (since 25 June 2013)
Qatar maintains 107 embassies and 15 consulates abroad, holds permanent missions to EU Brussels, UN Geneva, UN New York. The breadth of a diplomatic network is a direct measure of diplomatic power — it shows how far a country’s influence, alliances and interests reach.
| Embassies abroad | 107 |
|---|---|
| Consulates abroad | 15 |
| Multilateral missions | EU Brussels, UN Geneva, UN New York |
Source: Outbound: Consular Affairs Center (Yonsei Univ.), diplomatic & consular networks database, March 2026 report (Zenodo). Multilateral: Wikipedia 'List of diplomatic missions of Qatar' (crawled 2026-10-01).
Transport networks are economic power made physical — ports, runways, railways and pipelines decide what a country can move, sell and defend.
| Sea access | Coastal — 563 km of coastline. |
|---|---|
| Airports (total) | 8 + 12 heliports (registration prefix A7) |
| Major seaports | Al Rayyan Terminal, Al Shaheen Terminal, Doha, Jazirat Halul, Ras Laffan, Umm Said |
| Pipelines | 288 km condensate, 221 km condensate/gas, 2,383 km gas, 90 km liquid petroleum gas, 745 km oil, 103 km refined products (2013) |
Major airports
Doha International Airport (DIA) — Doha; Hamad International Airport (DOH) — Doha.
Terminals
| LNG export terminals | Ras Laffan |
|---|
Sources: OurAirports public-domain extract (2026-10-02); per-entry Wikipedia links included; CIA World Factbook via cia_factbook snapshot (2026-09-28); theodora.com CIA mirror (CIA World Factbook Transportation section), scraped 2026-10-02
| Political system | absolute monarchy |
|---|---|
| Last election | 2021 — Shura Council (advisory); 2021-10-02; winner: n/a — no parties permitted (n/a); Advisory body only; Emir retains ultimate authority AP News / Reuters |
| Next election | No election currently scheduled. |
POWER --/100 Ranked #-- of 195 countries in the Magna Country Rankings. Full ranking breakdown for Qatar.
This profile covers the population, economy, natural resources, leaders, and history of Qatar — with the Bureau’s live national-power score of --/100, ranking #-- of 195 countries.
What is Qatar's power score?
Qatar has a Magna Power score of --/100. The score measures structural power — the proven capacity to shape events — across nine components.