Petroleum and natural gas are the cornerstones of Qatar's economy and account for more than 70% of total government revenue, more than 60% of gross domestic product, and roughly 85% of export earnings.

Qatar’s economy has been shaped by a unique development model that leverages revenues from its natural gas and oil sectors to drive modernization and economic diversification.

Through initiatives like Qatar National Vision 2030, the country aims to reduce its reliance on hydrocarbons while promoting sustainability, human development, and private sector growth.

This strategy includes significant investment in state-led projects, such as infrastructure development and sovereign wealth funds, which have supported diversification and global competitiveness.

Qatar’s approach distinguishes it from traditional resource-dependent states by prioritizing strategic investments and fostering a diversified, knowledge-based economy.

This model emphasizes sustainability, innovation, and global competitiveness, reflecting a long-term commitment to development and economic resilience that extends beyond reliance on natural resource wealth.

In order to control the influx of expatriate workers, Qatar has tightened the administration of its foreign manpower programs over the past several years.

The government considers industry to be an integral part of its plan to diversify the economy and maximize its huge natural gas reserves, which serve as the primary feed stock for the sector.

Indeed, over the past few years, demand for construction materials experienced a major surge as the development boom swept the Persian Gulf region.

But the global financial crisis has put a significant dent in demand in the region, as project credit lines dry up and investor sentiment remains cautious.

The crisis has in fact impacted the whole of the industrial sector – IQ saw its net profit drop in the fourth quarter of 2008 more than 90% over the same period the previous year.

[21][22] On 20 June 2022, Minister of State for Energy Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said at a press conference at the QatarEnergy that the expected production increase from this project will be 32.6 million tonnes annually.

[26] The Qatari banking sector managed to escape the direct impact of the global subprime fallout, but was not altogether unscathed by its aftershocks.

[27] The Qatari government also announced in March 2009 that it was planning to buy the investment portfolio of the banks in the hope this would encourage them to continue lending.

Cautious sector sentiment has also been compounded by the Qatar Central Bank's (QCB's) lending restrictions, which demand a loan-to-deposit ratio of 90%.

Given the high level of integration between Qatar's economy and the Persian Gulf region, as well as the wider world, a slowdown in business and banking activity seemed inevitable.

The International Monetary Fund in its spring assessment 2019 said that Qatar has "successfully absorbed the shocks" of the blockade imposed in 2017 and the dropped oil prices from 2014 to 2016.

[28] In August 2019, Qatar Central Bank stated that the country's economic growth will see a boost over the next two years amid expectations of stable oil prices and continued strong exports.

[31] The Islamic finance sector enjoyed increased activity in 2008 and is expected to continue to grow into 2009 as more sophisticated financial instruments spark the interest of investors.

Overall, challenges to further growth remain, including a lack of qualified staff to meet the growing demand for sharia-compliant banking services.

That said, there is considerable optimism that Qatar's bourse, the Doha Securities Market (DSM), will remain relatively resilient to the ongoing international turbulence.

In an effort to stave off further losses, the government announced in February 2009 that it would step in to buy up shares of troubled banks amounting to about 10% of the market's capitalisation.

Under the ambitious five-year development plan of the Qatar Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (QTEA), the government aimed to boost the number of visitors from 964,000 as of 2007 to 1.5m by 2010.

[35] In addition to financial support, the government has also worked to ease business regulations in a bid to increase private sector activity.

Mass-transit options, such as a Doha metro, light-rail system and more extensive bus networks, are also under development to ease road congestion.

In addition, the railway system is being significantly expanded and could eventually form an integral part of a GCC-wide network linking all of the six member states.

[42] This table is of Qatar's gross domestic product at market prices as estimated by the International Monetary Fund with figures in millions of Qatari Rials.