The rise in liquefied gas prices and the imminent hosting of the FIFA World Cup appeared among the most prominent factors that contributed to the Qatari economy recording a real growth of 6.3% during the second quarter of this year on an annual basis compared to the same period last year.

Data issued by the Qatar Planning and Statistics Authority indicated that the gross domestic product (GDP) at constant prices increased to about 171.97 billion riyals (US dollar 3.64 riyals) in the second quarter of this year, compared to the same period last year, when it reached the level of 161.71 billion, which resulted in a growth rate of 6.3%.

The same figures revealed a growth of 3.6% compared to the first quarter of 2022, in which the gross domestic product reached the level of 165.93 billion riyals.

A group of vital economic activities achieved positive growth during the second quarter of this year, which contributed to supporting the growth of the non-oil sector in the country.# GDP_Qatar#Qatar_Economy#Economic Activities pic.twitter.com/VeLHnlChqX

— Planning and Statistics Authority - Qatar (@psa_qatar) October 4, 2022

many factors

Professor of Economics at Qatar University Rajab Al-Ismail believes that the great boom witnessed by the Qatari economy during the recent period is due to many factors, the most important of which is the rise in oil and gas revenues due to the significant increase in energy prices, which formed a surplus in the trade balance.

Al-Ismail added, in a statement to Al-Jazeera Net, that the geopolitical factors also represented in the Russian-Ukrainian war, and its consequences on Russian oil and gas, and the significant rise in Europe's demand for liquefied gas to meet its energy needs, also contributed to the opening of new markets for Qatari gas, In addition to the start of the global economic recovery after the Corona pandemic, which also constituted an increase in the demand for oil and gas to operate the factories, coinciding with the recovery of the commercial sector also in various countries of the world, including the State of Qatar.

He attributed the growth in the Qatari economy, also in the second quarter, to the country's hosting of the FIFA World Cup during the coming November and December, and its impact on the service sector in the country.

Al-Ismail: Qatar’s hosting of the World Cup has a major role in supporting economic growth (Al-Jazeera)

foreign companies

Dr. Al-Ismail stressed that many foreign companies entered the Qatari market during the recent period to invest during the World Cup, which was evident in the increase in the country’s population by 15%, reaching nearly 3 million people, with an unprecedented increase in the population nearly 50 days before hosting the World Cup. .

He added that the World Cup led to a significant recovery of the economy due to the demand for tourism, as all hotels in Qatar, for example, will have an operational percentage of 100% in the coming period, in addition to the start of the operation of many projects that the state was working on during the last period.

Dr. Al-Ismail expected that the World Cup would have a positive impact, whether on the tourism movement or the economy in general, or on the high rate of economic growth in the third and fourth quarters of this year.

For his part, economic analyst Abdul Rahim Al-Hour believes that Qatar's achievement of an accelerating economic growth rate of 6.3% during the second quarter of this year must take into account the heavy government spending in light of the requirements to complete a group of huge projects within a predetermined period of time, especially those related to World Cup.

The Qatari economy grew by 6.3% in the second quarter of this year on an annual basis # Qena # Qatar # Economy https://t.co/nLMJ80BnLR pic.twitter.com/vd5kUzDvmT

— Qatar News Agency (@QatarNewsAgency) September 30, 2022

government revenue

In a statement to Al-Jazeera Net, Al-Hour attributed the growth also to the increase in government revenues, whether from energy revenues through increasing global liquefied gas prices or through diversifying other sources of income such as tourism and others, considering that "the size of the increase in large government spending was one of the most important reasons for the increase in employment." Thus, increasing income.

He believed that the positive impact of this growth will continue during the coming period, pointing out that the current stage is exceptional in the history of the Qatari economy.

The statement of the Planning and Statistics Authority had indicated that the gross domestic product at current (nominal) prices jumped by 40.7% on an annual basis, rising to 219.87 billion riyals in the second quarter of this year, compared to the second quarter of last year, in which it amounted to 156.29 billion.

Estimates of the added value at current prices of the mining and quarrying sector activity in the second quarter of this year amounted to 98.09 billion riyals, recording an increase of 70.6% compared to the same period last year.

As for constant prices, the estimated value added at constant prices for this sector amounted to 63.88 billion riyals - during the second quarter of 2022 - registering an increase of 1.2% compared to the estimates of the same quarter of 2021.