has also been accused of extreme human rights violations, so just how powerful is Qatar?

Well, Qatar is located in the Middle East extending into the Persian Gulf, neighboring

Saudi Arabia to the west and the United Arab Emirates to the south.

At roughly 4500 square miles, Qatar is smaller than the state of Connecticut.

But despite its size, its population is booming, with more than 2.5 million residents as of

October 2016.

The Qatar Peninsula, as part of the Persian Gulf, is located on top of significant petroleum

deposits.

Qatar contributes around 13 percent of the entire world’s natural gas supply, with

gas and oil comprising 92 percent of the country’s export earnings.

Qatar’s rapid expansion over the past 30 years is a direct indicator of its high per

capita GDP – at just more than 74 thousand dollars per person, Qatar ranks as one of

the highest in the world as of 2015, just below Luxembourg, Switzerland and Norway,

and on some lists Macau.

While Qatar is primarily driven by its oil and gas revenues; manufacturing, construction

and financial services account for just over half of the country’s GDP, which is roughly

$167 billion dollars.

Unlike many of its neighbors, Qatar remains largely unaffected by social unrest and political

uprising and its military remains modest with 12,000 total active military personnel, the

lowest in the region . Statistics from 2010 show that Qatar spends only 1.5 percent of

its GDP on defense, considerably below neighboring Saudi Arabia’s current rate of 13.5 percent.

Qatar’s relations with the United States blossomed in 1991, after it helped American

forces repel an Iraqi attack in Saudi Arabia, the first ground engagement of the Gulf War.

Today, Qatar continues to host a large US military presence, and maintains a mutual

defense pact.

Qatar is peaceful and ranks highly in categories such as low unemployment and limited risk

for terrorism and natural disasters.

But it’s not without problems.

The country faces backlash against its treatment of migrant workers in preparation for the

World Cup.

Workers’ groups first complained in 2014 about harsh working conditions, non-payment

and forced labor camps for nearly 1.5 million people.

In March 2016, Qatar was given 12 months to end migrant worker slavery or face a UN investigation,

the fifth ever country to face such a formal inquiry.

Qatar has power in prosperity and political soundness, but its small military and the

treatment of its labor force raise doubts about its full potential.

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It’s hard to imagine what Qatar would look like without its enormous oil supply.

While petroleum has proven to be an invaluable resource to the country, declining oil prices

are having a huge impact on the economy.

So, could Qatar and other countries in the Middle East ever survive without oil?

Find out more in this video.

One particularly frightening report from the International Monetary Fund stated that most

Middle Eastern countries could run out of money in just five years, but the oil-rich

Middle East has spent significant wealth trying to find new sources of income once the petroleum

economy becomes unprofitable.

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