Qatar is home to some 2.9 million people, but only a small fraction -- around one in 10 -- are Qatari citizens. They enjoy massive wealth and benefits fuelled by Qatar's shared control of one of the world's largest reserves of natural gas. Here's a look at Qatar's economy and how this tiny country was able to spend so much to host the FIFA World Cup.
Qatar is home to some 2.9 million people, but only a small fraction -- around one in 10 -- are Qatari citizens. They enjoy massive wealth and benefits fuelled by Qatar's shared control of one of the world's largest reserves of natural gas.
The country is now an international transit hub with a profitable national airline, a force behind the influential Al Jazeera news network and is paying for the expansion of the largest U.S. military base in the Mideast. Despite a massive spending spree to prepare for the World Cup, the country still earned more than it spent last year, giving it a cushy surplus that is continuing into 2022. Qatar's riches are likely to grow as it expands capacity to be able to export more natural gas by 2025.
Billions were also spent to build a metro line, new airport, roads and other infrastructure ahead of the matches. The country's citizens rely on labourers from other countries to fill jobs in the service sector, such as drivers and nannies, and to do the tough construction work that built modern-day Qatar.The country has faced intense scrutiny for its labour laws and treatment of hundreds of thousands of migrant workers, mostly from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and other South Asian countries.
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