Qatar Economic Outlook Issue Number 13

Part 1: Economic Outlook 2021 - 2023 
45 
and 8.1 percentage points, respectively, 
which resulted in their total increase from 
435.7 thousand workers in the 2010 census 
to 612.4 thousand workers in the 2020 
census, which constitutes 31.6% of the total 
of non-Qatari employment for the year 2020. 
Economic Development and 
Population Growth 
From the perspective of benefits derived from 
the technical developments in the field of 
liquefying and exporting natural gas during 
the two decades of the eighties and the 
nineties of the last century, the State of 
Qatar, since the beginning of the nineties, 
has started to work on the principles of 
economic openness and liberalization of 
trade and foreign investment by expanding its 
trade and economic relations in the field of 
industrialized liquefied natural gas, which has 
led to the flow of financial returns that was 
pivotal in providing sufficient financial 
resources to expand economic activities in all 
fields.
In summary, this has led to the expansion of 
the base of economic activities horizontally 
and vertically, as the nominal GDP rose from 
QR 222 billion in 2006, equivalent to $61 
billion dollars, to QR 751 billion in 2014, 
equivalent to $183 billion, before declining to 
QR 526 billion in 2020, equivalent to $144.4 
billion, due to the drop in oil and gas prices 
caused by the repercussions of Covid-19. 
The significant development in the nominal 
GDP has led to the expansion of the scope of 
domestic and foreign investments and the 
accompanying provision of job opportunities 
in various disciplines available to all 
international labor markets (Box 1-10). The 
partners of the State of Qatar have played a 
pivotal role in the process of economic and 
social development, whether in providing 
financing and expertise, or in the provision of 
skilled and unskilled labor, which has led to 
an increase in the number of expatriate 
workers, as shown in Figure (1-12). 
It is worth noting that the rapid increase in the 
population largely derives from the influx of 
expatriate laborers to work in the field of 
infrastructure construction that the State of 
Qatar has undertaken since 2011, when it 
was chosen to be the host country for the 
World Cup 2022, which led to the horizontal 
and vertical expansion of urban and 
construction activities throughout the 
country, thus required more labor, which led 
to a cumulative increase in the population by 
67.5% during the period (2011 - 2020). 
When looking at the path of development of 
the proportion of workers by economic 
activities and by nationality, as shown in 
Figure (1-13), the rise in the level of nominal 
GDP and the total incoming labor force led to