DOHA: - Qatar is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, as its gross domestic product (GDP) grew at a rate of 19 per cent annually between 2005 and 2014, Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported Yousuf Mohammed Al-Jaida, deputy chief executive officer of the Qatar Financial Centre Authority (QFCA) as saying.

Al-Jaida added the GDP growth is expected to range between US$224 billion and US$248 billion by 2017, representing a growth of between six and 17 per cent when compared with 2014.

Speaking during the opening session of Qatar-United Arab Emirates (UAE) economic forum Tuesday, Al-Jaida said that Qatar, which holds the third largest natural gas reserves in the world after Russia and Iran, has an estimated wealth of 872 trillion cubic feet, equivalent to about 188 billion barrels of oil.

He added that these reserves can last for 156 years taking into account the current production rates.

Qatar continued to occupy its position among the countries with the highest GDP per capita in the world over the past five years, Al-Jaida said.

He pointed out that the country's per capita value of oil and gas reserves also remained the highest in the world, as hydrocarbon sector generated an income of about US$400,000 per Qatari citizen in 2013, the highest among its counterparts in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Qatar reserves of oil and gas represented 687,000 barrels of oil equivalent per Qatari citizen, Al-Jaida said, adding that this economic policy brought about large surpluses for the state.

Exports increased from about US$48 billion in 2009 to US$136 billion in 2014 while trade surplus grew significantly from US$23 billion in 2009 to US$110 billion in 2013, a surplus of 54 per cent of GDP in 2013, he said.

Qatar used these surpluses to support economic development, promote foreign investment, develop business environment and create a stable investment climate, he said. Al-Jaida said that the significant decline in oil prices recently, which coincided with an increase in state investment, caused a decline in financial surpluses in Qatar from 16 per cent to eight percent in 2014.

This, he said could lead to a slight deficit as of 2015 to 2017, but he noted that despite the allocation of huge sums for investment and the decrease of oil revenues, Qatar continued its strategy to reduce debt.

Al-Jaida expected the balance of trade to drop between 2015 and 2018 with current account surpluses in Qatar amounting to 31 per cent in 2014 but noted that they might fall to five per cent this year.

He said the projections are based on an oil price of US$55 but if it surges to US$70, the ratio would be eight or nine per cent. -- BERNAMA