🇶🇦 Qatar

Qatar is a tiny Persian Gulf peninsula of 2.9 million people (only 380,000 are citizens) with a GDP of about $220 billion and the highest GDP per capita in the world at over $80,000. The country has the world's third-largest natural gas reserves, and the North Field is the single largest non-associated gas field on earth. Qatar hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup — the most expensive sporting event in history at an estimated $220 billion in total spending. Al Jazeera, the most influential Arabic-language news network, is Qatari-funded. The country has positioned itself as a mediator in conflicts from Afghanistan to Gaza. Doha's skyline has been transformed in two decades from a fishing village to a futuristic cityscape.

LNG exports are the backbone — Qatar is the world's largest LNG exporter, and the North Field expansion will increase capacity by 64% by 2027. Japan, South Korea, China, and India are the main gas customers. The Qatar Investment Authority sovereign wealth fund holds about $475 billion in assets, with stakes in companies from Volkswagen to Barclays. The country has diversified into aviation (Qatar Airways), finance, and sports ownership (Paris Saint-Germain). Construction spending for the World Cup was astronomical but has wound down.

Qatar's Pearl-Qatar island is an artificial island with 12,000 residents living on reclaimed land — it's the first area in Qatar where foreigners can own property. The country has the highest ratio of men to women in the world (about 3:1) due to the massive male migrant worker population. Qatar's National Museum, designed by Jean Nouvel, is shaped like a desert rose crystal and cost $434 million.

Qatar's gas expansion ensures revenue for decades, and the diplomatic positioning gives it outsized influence. The post-World Cup economic adjustment is manageable. For a country this small, the global footprint is remarkable.