Qatar’s non-oil GDP witnessed a rapid growth of 5.1 percent or QR18.7bn in nominal terms during the fiscal 2016, compared to a growth rate of 3.2 percent growth in the previous year. The real output of the non-oil sectors witnessed an increase of QR21.4bn or 5.6 percent to more than QR400bn, while the real output of the oil and gas sector fell by QR4bn and by not exceeding 1 percent to reach QR394bn, Qatar Central bank (QCB) noted in its 2016 annual report.
The continuing decline in oil prices in international markets has had a direct effect on Qatar’s nominal GDP’s decline in 2016, with oil output falling by more than 27 percent despite the near stability of the real output of oil sector. The continuing decline in oil prices during 2016 has had a negative effect on nominal GDP to reach QR555bn compared to QR599.3bn in the previous year. Thus nominal GDP continued its decline, albeit less severe than in the year 2015, by 7.4 percent compared to 20.2 percent in the previous year.
The country’s real GDP grew by 2.2 percent in 2016, compared to 3.6 percent in the previous year, reaching QR796.2bn, compared to QR778.9bn in 2015. The growth in real GDP was driven by non oil sector by 5.6 percent with oil output falling by 1.0 percent.
During the year 2016, the oil and gas sector witnessed a decline of QR63.1bn or 27.3 percent, to reach QR168.3bn compared to QR231.3bn in the previous year. Its relative share in nominal GDP declined by 8.3 percentage points, to 30.3 percent compared to 38.6 percent in the previous year.
Domestic credit growth continued to grow in 2016, although its sources varied from the previous eyar 2015. Despite the growth rate was stable at 12.6 percent, the sources of this growth varied between the two years. In 2016, the growth rate of credit to the public sector accelerated to jump from about 2 percent in the previous year to 23.3 percent in 2016, bringing the balance to about QR293.9bn compared to QR238.8bn at the end of 2015, while the growth rate of the credit to the private sector slowed to 6.5 percent compared to 19.7 percent in the previous year.
The slowdown in growth in credit to the private sector during 2016 partly reflects the sharp growth in public sector credit, particularly government credit, which rose by 80.5 percent to QR138.7bn.
