Qatar: External balance on goods and services (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2022, Qatar's external balance on goods and services (% of GDP) rose 12.31 percentage points on 2021 (from 24.67% to 36.98%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1992 to 2021), the average change was +0.36 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 9.4 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 23.22 percentage points in 1999 and the biggest yearly fall was 16.55 percentage points in 2015. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2013 to 2022 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 6% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

Closest to Qatar in the 2022 ranking

• Virgin Islands (US) — 2nd of 6: -10.89%
• Syrian Arab Republic — 3rd of 6: -21.88%
• American Samoa — 4th of 6: -30.77%

What this measures

The balance of international trade in goods and services is the difference between the exports and imports of goods and services. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 43 values

External balance on goods and services (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Algeria — -5.31% (2025)
• Bahrain — 17.49% (2024)
• Djibouti — 14.69% (2025)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — -11.69% (2025)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — -8.73% (2025)
• Iraq — 2.39% (2024)
• Israel — 2.13% (2025)
• Kuwait — 17.52% (2024)
• Lebanon — -35.6% (2024)
• Libya

More economic policy & debt data for Qatar

• Total reserves, including gold (current US$) — US$55.85 billion (2025)
• Total reserves, excluding gold (current US$) — US$39.67 billion (2025)
• Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$) — US$3.03 billion (2025)
• Foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP) — 1.41% (2025)
• GDP (current US$) — US$215.56 billion (2025)
• GDP (current LCU) — 784.64 billion (2025)
• GDP (constant 2015 US$) — US$183.49 billion (2025)
• GDP (constant LCU) — 736.64 billion (2025)
• GDP per capita (current US$) — US$72,525 (2025)
• GDP per capita (current LCU) — 263,991 (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Qatar's external balance on goods and services (% of GDP)?

36.98% in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1980?

It is down 10.64 percentage points from 47.62% in 1980. The highest value was 47.62% in 1980 and the lowest 1.01% in 1995.

Is the latest change in external balance on goods and services (% of GDP) unusual for Qatar?

In 2022, Qatar's external balance on goods and services (% of GDP) rose 12.31 percentage points on 2021 (from 24.67% to 36.98%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1992 to 2021), the average change was +0.36 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 9.4 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Where does this data come from?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NE.RSB.GNFS.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks; National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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