Qatar posted a budget surplus of $8.2 billion (QAR 30 billion) in the third quarter of 2022, the state news agency reported Tuesday, citing the finance ministry.
The country saw $22.5 billion (QAR 81.9 billion) in its total actual budget revenues for the third quarter of 2022. This included $20.9 billion (QAR 76.3 billion) in revenues from oil and liquified natural gas, while non-oil revenues reached $1.5 billion (QAR 5.5 billion).
Total spending reached $14.2 billion (QAR 51.8 billion) for the July-September quarter, including $4.01 billion (QAR 14.6 billion) for salaries, $5 billion (QAR 18 billion) for current expenses, $329.6 million (QAR 1.2 billion) for capital expenditures, and $4.9 billion (QAR 18 billion) for major projects.
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani said in late October that initial indicators show a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 4.3% in the first half of 2022. High energy prices have translated into a budget surplus of $13 billion (QAR 47.3 billion during the period, he added in a televised speech to the country's advisory Shura Council.
In August, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected Qatar's budget surplus to grow 57.6% in 2023 to $19.3 billion (QAR 70.3 billion), compared to the $12.2 billion (QAR 44.6 billion) forecast for 2022.
Ratings agency S&P upgraded in November Qatar's long-term sovereign credit rating to "AA" from "AA-," driven by improvements in the government's fiscal position. Higher oil prices should result in solid government surpluses in 2022-2023, S&P said.
In the same month, ratings firm Moody's also upgraded Qatar's outlook to positive from stable, affirming the nation's long-term issuer and foreign currency senior unsecured debt ratings at Aa3. The agency estimated Qatar's fiscal surplus to be around 9.5% of its GDP in 2022.
The country topped Arab countries with the highest GDP per capita for 2022, with an expected $83,000 per capita in 2022, up from $68,600 in 2021.
