Qatar among world's richest nations per capita in FY 2019 - World Bank

Mubasher: The World Bank (WB) has amended Qatar’s rating to be among the world's richest nations per capita for fiscal year 2019.

The Washington-based lender relied on several local economic indicators such as per capita gross national income and the level of economic growth, in addition to inflation rates and exchange rate.

The gas-rich country has witnessed an economic recovery after the siege on the back of addressing all challenges in the last few years by building economic relations with other nations.

Since 5 June 2017, Qatar has been facing outflows of foreign customers' deposits after four Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia cut their diplomatic and trade ties with the gas-rich state, accusing Qatar of financing terrorism. Doha forcefully denies the charges.

By the end of the full-year 2017, gross national income per capita in Qatar registered QAR 236,500 ($64,972), according to initial statistics.

In the same vein, Qatar Central Bank’s (CBQ) financial statements showed that the inflation rate recorded 0.5% in 2017, compared to 2.7% in 2016.

Total national income of the world’s biggest supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG) reached QAR 586.7 billion ($161.18 billion) last year, while the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) recorded QAR 610.08 billion ($167.60 billion) during the same period, according to the WB’s data.