The ratings on Qatar reflect Standard&Poor's view of its high economic wealth and strong fiscal and external balance sheets. The ratings are constrained by limited monetary policy flexibility, still-nascent public institutions, and limited disclosure, particularly with respect to government assets and their returns. Qatar is one of the wealthiest economies we rate, with GDP per capita estimated at $98,000 in 2013. Relative to peers, real GDP per capita growth has been strong in recent years, but slowed sharply in 2012. We expect it will contract by about 0.5% on average 2013-2016 as the large investment program to boost liquid natural gas production capacity to about 77 million tons annually tails off. We project population growth to average around
