Revenues from Qatari exports accelerated by 84.5% compared to $51.5 billion 5 years earlier during 2020.
Qatari exporters experienced a -2.8% drop in global sales in 2024 from $97.8 billion for 2023.
From a continental perspective, $83.7 billion or 88.5% of Qatari exports by value was delivered to Asian countries while 8.6% was sold to importers located in Europe.
Qatar shipped another 1.7% worth of goods to customers in North America, with 0.9% going to Africa. At 0.2%, a smaller percentage was bought by buyers in Oceania’s Australia and New Zealand. Just 0.1% arrived in Latin American nations excluding Mexico but including Caribbean countries.
Qatar’s Top 15 Trading Partners
Below is a list showcasing 15 of Qatar’s top trading partners, countries that imported the most Qatari shipments by dollar value during 2024. Also shown is each import country’s percentage of total Qatari exports.
- mainland China: US$18.9 billion (19.9% of total Qatari exports)
- South Korea: $12.8 billion (13.5%)
- India: $11.2 billion (11.7%)
- Japan: $6.72 billion (7.1%)
- Singapore: $6.67 billion (7%)
- United Arab Emirates: $6 billion (6.3%)
- Taiwan: $3.9 billion (4.2%)
- Pakistan: $3.7 billion (3.9%)
- Thailand: $3.1 billion (3.2%)
- Italy: $2.7 billion (2.9%)
- Kuwait: $2.3 billion (2.4%)
- Bangladesh: $2.1 billion (2.3%)
- United States: $1.5 billion (1.6%)
- Belgium: $1.2 billion (1.3%)
- Poland: $1.1 billion (1.1%)
Approaching nine-tenths (88.4%) of Qatari exports in 2024 was delivered to the above 15 trade partners.
Posting double-digit percentage increases in their import purchases from Qatar from 2023 to 2024 were buyers in Thailand (up 22.9%), Kuwait (up 17.7%), Taiwan (up 14.9%) and Pakistan (up 11.9%).
Leading the year-over-year decliners were Belgium (down -50.6% from 2023), Italy (down -20%), Japan (down -14%), Singapore (down -5.9%) and India (down -5.2%).
Qatar’s Trade Deficits by Major Country
As defined by Investopedia, a country whose total value of all imported goods is higher than its value of all exports is said to have a negative trade balance or deficit.
It would be unrealistic for any exporting nation to expect across-the-board positive trade balances with all its importing partners. Similarly, that export country doesn’t necessarily post a negative trade balance with each individual partner with which it exchanges exports and imports.
In 2024, Qatar incurred the highest trade deficits with the following countries.
- United States: -US$3.1 billion (country-specific trade deficit in 2023)
- Germany: -$1.3 billion
- United Kingdom: -$935.4 million
- Switzerland: -$444.2 million
- Sweden: -$404 million
- Australia: -$393.5 million
- France: -$352.5 million
- Brazil: -$343.4 million
- Türkiye: -$340.1 million
- Canada: -$220.7 million
Among Qatar’s trading partners that cause the greatest negative trade balances, Qatari deficits with Australia (up 32.3%), Switzerland (up 21%) and Brazil (up 6.3%) grew at the fastest pace from 2023 to 2024.
In addition, Qatar reversed multi-billion-dollar surpluses in 2023 with the United Kingdom and France to post the trade deficit listed above.
These cashflow deficiencies clearly indicate Qatar’s competitive disadvantages with the above countries, but also represent key opportunities for Qatar to develop country-specific strategies to strengthen its overall position in international trade.
Qatar’s Trade Surpluses by Major Country
Qatar posted an overall US$59.2 billion trade surplus during 2024, reducing by -10.7% from $66.3 billion in black ink for 2023.
Based on Investopedia’s definition of net importer, a country whose total value of all imported goods is lower than its value of all exports is said to have a positive trade balance or surplus.
In 2024, Qatar incurred the highest trade surpluses with the following countries:
- mainland China: US$13.5 billion (country-specific trade surplus in 2024)
- South Korea: $12.1 billion
- India: $9.2 billion
- Singapore: $6.1 billion
- Japan: $4.9 billion
- United Arab Emirates: $4.4 billion
- Taiwan: $3.8 billion
- Pakistan: $3.6 billion
- Thailand: $2.6 billion
- Bangladesh: $2.1 billion
Among Qatar’s trading partners that generate the greatest positive trade balances, Qatari surpluses with United Arab Emirates (up 25.1%), Thailand (up 19.4%) and Taiwan (up 14.9%) grew at the fastest pace from 2023 to 2024.
Nevertheless, these positive cashflow streams clearly indicate Qatar’s competitive advantages with the above countries, but also represent key opportunities for Qatar to develop country-specific strategies to optimize its overall position in international trade.
Companies Servicing Qatari Trading Partners
Eight Qatari corporations rank among Forbes Global 2000 for 2023 albeit many of these are in the financial services. Below are samples from the 2023 Forbes listing.
- Qatar National Bank (regional bank)
- Ooredoo Telecom (telecommunications services)
- Industries Qatar (specialized chemicals)
Wikipedia lists export companies from Qatar. Selected examples are shown below.
- Qatar National Cement Company (cement manufacturing)
- Qatar Petroleum (oil, gas)
- Qatar Steel (steel, other basic materials)
- Qatargas (natural gas)
- RasGas (natural gas)
See also Qatar’s Top 10 Exports, Top Middle Eastern Export Countries and Saudi Arabia’s Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on December 1, 2025
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on December 1, 2025
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on December 1, 2025
The World Factbook, Country Profiles, Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on December 1, 2025
Trade Map, International Trade Centre. Accessed on December 1, 2025
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Qatar. Accessed on December 1, 2025
Wikipedia, Qatar. Accessed on December 1, 2025