Doha, Qatar: The Capital Intelligence Ratings (CI Ratings or CI) announced yesterday that it has affirmed the Long-Term Foreign Currency Rating (LT FCR) and LT Local Currency Rating (LT LCR) of Qatar at ‘AA’. At the same time, CI Ratings has affirmed the sovereign’s Short-Term (ST) FCR and ST LCR at ‘A1+’. The outlook on the ratings remains stable, it noted.
The ratings reflect Qatar’s strong fiscal and external buffers, which provide the country with the capacity to cope with external shocks and have enabled the authorities to absorb the financial impact of the severe disruption to hydrocarbon production and exports since late February 2026.
The ratings continue to be supported by the country’s comfortable net external creditor position – which benefits from the very large portfolio of foreign assets held by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) – substantial hydrocarbon reserves and very low-cost upstream production base, as well as very high GDP per capita and low domestic political stability risks, according to the rating agency.
The gross official reserves stood at $72bn in June 2026, up marginally from $71.9bn in December 2025. Reserve adequacy is good, with official reserves at end-2025 about 2.3 times the level of short-term external debt on a remaining maturity basis.
The gross external debt is expected to rise significantly to 309.3% of current account receipts (CARs) in 2026, from 211.2% in 2025, due to the sharp contraction in CARs. Despite the increase, Qatar remains a comfortable net external creditor, with the external assets of the central bank and QIA alone estimated to be significantly higher than the external debt stock, the report noted.
The central government deposits stood at 14.6% of GDP in June 2026, while total government and government institution deposits in the domestic banking system were around 65.0% of GDP, providing substantial and immediately accessible financing flexibility.
It further stated that growth is expected to rebound strongly, to around 8.6% in 2027 and 4.4% in 2028, reflecting the recovery of export volumes as transit normalises and NFE production ramps up. Nominal GDP per capita remains extremely high at around $71,000 in 2025.
Qatar’s ratings continue to be underpinned by sizeable hydrocarbon reserves (around 12.9% of global gas reserves) and associated export capacity, which in turn provide the government with substantial financial means.
CI assesses the strength of the banking sector as moderate, the report noted.
Meanwhile Qatar’s banking sector continued to post steady lending growth and resilient deposit levels during May 2026, underscoring the sector’s stability despite a modest decline in total assets.
The sector’s gross loan book expanded by 0.7% month-on-month to QR1.471 trillion, taking cumulative loan growth to 2.5% since the end of 2025.
Deposits remained broadly unchanged from April at QR1.103 trillion but were 5.6% higher than year-end 2025 levels, reflecting sustained confidence in the country’s banking system.
