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KOMPAS. com – Qatar is an emirate in Middle East which is located on a small peninsula in the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia.
Qatar is a relatively small country with an area of approximately 11,500 square kilometers. By way of comparison, the area of Banten Province is approximately 9,662 square kilometers.
Even though it is recorded to have only a population of less than 3 million people, Qatar is one of the richest countries in the world.
As a guest World Cup 2022Qatar cost 220 billion US dollars or Rp equivalent. 3.344 trillion.
Unsurprisingly, the 2022 Qatar World Cup is the most expensive soccer tournament of all time.
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Starting with the poorest country in the Middle East
Gaining independence from Britain in 1971, Qatar was then one of the poorest countries in the Middle East region, cited by medium.
Similar to the UAE, their economy is heavily dependent on the fishing industry.
Over the past three decades, Qatar has developed into one of the richest economies in the world.
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The discovery of oil and natural gas was instrumental in changing the country.
Qatar is not only blessed with rich natural resources like oil and natural gas but also knows how to use them effectively.
Additionally, the demand for oil and natural gas has been on the rise for decades.
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Discovery of oil and gas
In reality, the oil fields were first discovered in the 1940s. However, this has not turned Qatar into a wealthy country.
It wasn’t until the 1970s that they found their greatest asset, The North Field, which is the largest gas field in the world.
However, the requirement for natural gas at that time was not much as it was only transported by pipeline.
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Qatar is also far from places needing natural gas. They soon forgot about their gas field.
In 1996, Emir Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani staged a coup while his father was in Switzerland.
Under his leadership, Qatar has returned to exploiting its large gas fields.
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The new face of Qatar
Emir Hamad has begun investing in rare technologies, such as liquefaction that could transport natural gas in liquid form.
With this technology, natural gas can be transported via large ships like oil.
To do this, the natural gas must be cooled to minus 161 degrees Celsius. This technology makes Qatar the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas.
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Qatar also has the lowest mining and liquefaction costs of any country in the world, allowing them to turn a profit even at low prices.
Most of its natural gas goes to Asian economies, such as Japan, South Korea and China.
Unsurprisingly, Qatar has gone from being an underdeveloped desert country to being the richest economy in the world Middle East.
Qatar’s per capita GDP increased from 2,755 in 1970 to 61,276 in 2021. This is one of the highest in the world.
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