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The National Planning Council data released on Monday showed non-hydrocarbon activities expanding steadily through the first three months of 2026 while hydrocarbon GDP contracted 25.8 percent year-on-year because of regional shipping constraints and geopolitical tensions. Overall real GDP therefore fell 7 percent compared with the same period a year earlier. The council attributed the non-hydrocarbon resilience to broad-based gains across construction, trade and services that together cushioned the energy-sector shock. Government efforts to maintain supply chains during the regional disruptions helped preserve momentum in non-energy segments.
Construction grew 6.2 percent and contributed 1.374 billion riyals or 1.2 percentage points to non-hydrocarbon expansion according to the council figures. Wholesale and retail trade rose 9 percent adding 1.314 billion riyals and 1.1 percentage points while real-estate activities increased 6.1 percent for an 814-million-riyal contribution equivalent to 0.7 percentage points. Financial and insurance services posted 4.8 percent growth with a 774-million-riyal impact and public administration advanced 4 percent contributing 580 million riyals or 0.5 percentage points. These five sectors alone accounted for a substantial share of the 3.5 percent non-hydrocarbon rise the council reported.
HE Dr. Abdulaziz bin Nasser bin Mubarak Al Khalifa Secretary-General of the National Planning Council stated that recent indicators demonstrate the resilience of the Qatari economy. Despite geopolitical escalation the strength of Qatar’s institutions sound fiscal management and strategic investments have enabled the country to maintain stability and continue advancing towards its development goals he added. The council noted that these outcomes reflect successful implementation of economic-diversification policies that have steadily enlarged the non-hydrocarbon base.
Oxford Business Group research published earlier in August placed non-hydrocarbon sectors at 65.5 percent of Qatar’s total GDP underlining the progress achieved since the launch of Qatar National Vision 2030. Qatar Central Bank figures show that non-hydrocarbon activities grew 4.8 percent in 2025 helping overall real GDP expand 2.9 percent for the full year. The Third National Development Strategy running through 2030 targets average annual non-hydrocarbon growth of 4 percent alongside reforms designed to attract 100 billion dollars in foreign direct investment by the end of the decade.
Inward foreign direct investment stocks rose 3.3 percent to 172.2 billion riyals by the end of the first quarter according to a separate National Planning Council survey released in recent months. Mining and quarrying together with financial and insurance activities continued to attract the largest shares of that capital the council data indicated. The combined trends point to sustained private-sector interest in diversified clusters even as hydrocarbon revenues face periodic volatility.
The National Planning Council has aligned its quarterly reporting with the goals of the Third National Development Strategy which emphasises productivity gains in logistics tourism manufacturing and financial services. Earlier planning-council estimates had projected steady non-hydrocarbon expansion through 2026 before the latest regional disruptions altered hydrocarbon trajectories. Updated figures will continue to inform policy adjustments aimed at preserving the diversification trajectory set under Qatar National Vision 2030.
