Abstract
2019 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report
Relations with the Fund
(As of February 28, 2019)
Membership Status: Joined on September 8, 1972, Article VIII on June 4, 1973
| General Resources Account | SDR Million | Percent Quota |
|---|---|---|
| Quota | 735.10 | 100.00 |
| Fund holdings of currency | 610.85 | 83.10 |
| Reserve position in Fund | 124.25 | 16.90 |
| General Resources Account | SDR Million | Percent Quota |
|---|---|---|
| Quota | 735.10 | 100.00 |
| Fund holdings of currency | 610.85 | 83.10 |
| Reserve position in Fund | 124.25 | 16.90 |
| SDR Department | SDR Million | Percent Allocation |
|---|---|---|
| Net cumulative allocation | 251.40 | 100.00 |
| Holdings | 273.65 | 108.85 |
| SDR Department | SDR Million | Percent Allocation |
|---|---|---|
| Net cumulative allocation | 251.40 | 100.00 |
| Holdings | 273.65 | 108.85 |
Outstanding Purchases and Loans: None
Projected Payments to Fund
(SDR million; based on existing use of resources and present holdings of SDRs):
| Forthcoming | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
| Principal | |||||
| Charges/Interest | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Total | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Forthcoming | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
| Principal | |||||
| Charges/Interest | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Total | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
Implementation of HIPC Initiative: Not Applicable
Safeguards Assessments: Not Applicable
Exchange Rate Arrangement
The Qatari riyal has been pegged to the U.S. dollar at QR 3.64 = US$1.00 since July 2001, following an unofficial peg that was in effect since June 1980. Qatar has accepted the obligations under Article VIII, Sections 2, 3, and 4(a) and maintains an exchange system that is free of restrictions on the making of payments and transfers for current international transactions. Qatar maintains exchange restrictions for security reasons, based on UN Security Council Resolutions, that have been notified to the Fund for approval under the procedures set forth in Executive Board Decision No. 144 (52/51).
Last Article IV Consultation
The discussions for the previous Article IV consultation took place in Doha during February 4–21, 2018. The staff report was considered by the Executive Board on May 18, 2018 and published on May 30, 2018.
FSAP and ROSC Participation
FSAP missions were conducted in 2007. LEG conducted a detailed assessment of the Qatari anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) framework against the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) 40+9 Recommendations during 2006–7. The report was also presented to the Middle East & North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF) and the FATF and adopted by these organizations as their own mutual evaluation at their respective plenary meetings in 2008. The final report was published on the Fund website and a ROSC was circulated to the Executive Board for information in September 2008.
Technical Assistance
| Department | Date | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| STA | April 2000 | Real Sector Statistics |
| STA | May 2001 | Balance of Payments Statistics |
| STA | January 2005 | Multisector Statistics |
| STA | April 2006 | Government Finance Statistics |
| LEG | November 2006 | AML/CFT Pre-assessment |
| STA | April 2007 | GDDS Assessment |
| LEG | October 2009 | AML/CFT Long-Term Advisor Providing TA |
| STA | October 2010 | Balance of Payments Statistics |
| STA | September 2012 | Coordinated Direct Investment Survey |
| LEG | March 2014 | AML/CFT follow up |
| FAD | April 2014 | Macro-fiscal unit |
| LEG | November 2014 | Risk-based approach to AML/CFT |
| STA | November 2016 | SDDS Assessment Mission |
| STA | May 2017 | External Sector Statistics |
| LEG | June 2017 | AML/CFT Legislative Mission |
| STA | March 2018 | National Accounts Statistics |
| LEG | March 2018 | AML/CFT effectiveness |
| Department | Date | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| STA | April 2000 | Real Sector Statistics |
| STA | May 2001 | Balance of Payments Statistics |
| STA | January 2005 | Multisector Statistics |
| STA | April 2006 | Government Finance Statistics |
| LEG | November 2006 | AML/CFT Pre-assessment |
| STA | April 2007 | GDDS Assessment |
| LEG | October 2009 | AML/CFT Long-Term Advisor Providing TA |
| STA | October 2010 | Balance of Payments Statistics |
| STA | September 2012 | Coordinated Direct Investment Survey |
| LEG | March 2014 | AML/CFT follow up |
| FAD | April 2014 | Macro-fiscal unit |
| LEG | November 2014 | Risk-based approach to AML/CFT |
| STA | November 2016 | SDDS Assessment Mission |
| STA | May 2017 | External Sector Statistics |
| LEG | June 2017 | AML/CFT Legislative Mission |
| STA | March 2018 | National Accounts Statistics |
| LEG | March 2018 | AML/CFT effectiveness |
Resident Representative: None
Relations with the World Bank Group
(As of February 2019)
Cooperation with Qatar began in 2003 with a Public Transport Sector Reform study followed by a Labor Market Strategy in 2004. Over the subsequent years, the World Bank provided technical assistance on payment systems to the Qatar Central Bank, in the context of supporting the development of payment and securities clearance and settlement systems in the Arab region through the Arab Payments and Securities Settlement Initiative, led jointly by the World Bank, the Arab Monetary Fund and the International Monetary Fund. In 2007, the Bank conducted a study on the Knowledge Economy (KE) the results of which were discussed at several high-level workshops.
In 2011, the government, represented by the Ministry of Finance, signed the Framework Agreement for Advisory Services with the Bank in order to facilitate development of the Reimbursable Advisory Services program to benefit various public entities. Since then, the Bank assisted the Planning and Statistics Authority to prepare the mid-term review of the National Development Strategy (NDS 2011–16), and the second NDS (2017–22) focusing on key challenges including labor and sustainable development, service delivery and institutional development, diversification and private sector development.
Building on cooperation to help prepare the new NDS, the World Bank has helped enhance SME access to government contracts through upgraded procurement, improve early childhood education, modernize the national payment system, develop Central Bank tools for macro-prudential stress testing of the banking sector, and upgrade the business regulatory environment.
Dialogue is underway for possible support to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of public spending in the health and education sectors, build a suitable health insurance system, develop regulations for water and electricity service delivery, and further upgrade business regulations.
Statistical Issues
(As of March 2019)
| I. Assessment of Data Adequacy for Surveillance |
| General: Data provision has some shortcomings but is broadly adequate for surveillance. There is substantial scope for improving data frequency, timeliness and coverage. The most affected areas are the real gross domestic product (GDP), real estate sector statistics, financial accounts of the balance of payments, international investment position, and external debt statistics. |
| National Accounts: Qatar publishes quarterly estimates of GDP at current and constant prices compiled based on limited source data. Procedures used to benchmark the quarterly estimates to the annual estimates need improvements to be consistent with international best practice. The Planning and Statistics Authority is in process of producing a new supply and use tables which can be used to improve the consistency of the GDP estimates. |
| Price statistics: Qatar has been publishing monthly CPI data based on a basket with a significant share of rents. However, the rent component has limited geographic coverage and only reflects new contracts. The household income and expenditure survey 2012–13, which covers all municipalities, forms the basis for updated weights in a new CPI basket (2013 base year) introduced for measuring inflation in early 2015 |
| Real estate statistics: The Ministry of Justice records real estate data at the transaction level, including some basic details about the type of transaction, and makes it available to the public in Arabic in PDF format. The QCB uses this data to produce an aggregate residential real estate monthly price index, which it publishes quarterly. The index covers only transactions made between private parties. Disaggregated indices are not available. The authorities are working on a measure of housing vacancies. |
| Government Finance Statistics: The authorities are implementing the Government Financial Management Information System (GFMIS) which will enable compilation of accrual fiscal accounts according to the Government Finance Statistics Manual 2001 (GFSM) guidelines. At the moment, the GFSM 2001 figures are estimated by staff on the basis of modified cash data provided by the authorities, although progress is being made in compiling fiscal data according to the GFSM 2001. To support the authorities’ efforts, an IMF Statistics Department mission is planned for April-May 2019. |
| Monetary statistics: The QCB submits the monetary and financial statistics (MFS) for the Central bank and other depository corporation based on the Standardized Report Forms (SRFs). The MFS data are published in the International Financial Statistics on a timely basis. Qatar also reports data on some key series and indicators of the financial access survey (FAS), including the two indicators of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. |
| Financial Sector Surveillance: The QCB does not report the Financial Soundness Indicators to STA. |
| External Sector Statistics (ESS): The QCB reports quarterly balance of payments data with quarterly timeliness to STA, following the fifth edition of the balance of payments manual (BPM5). The financial account has been developed and coverage improved for major public corporations, the Qatar Financial Center Authority, and the Qatar Exchange. The last TA mission on ESS, conducted in 2017, assisted the Planning and Statistics Authority in developing a quarterly survey to collect data from the nonfinancial sector in order to produce a quarterly IIP statement and improve the coverage of the primary income and the financial account of the balance of payments. The new survey was launched in August 2017 and the results sent to the QCB. However, QCB has not yet reported IIP data to STA, though partial IIP data are shared with staff during Article IV consultations. More work is required to ensure a comprehensive coverage. Qatar does not participate in the Coordinated Direct Investment Survey yet. The authorities presented the Article IV consultation mission with partial mid-year IIP data for the period 2012–18. |
| External debt: Detailed data on the country’s medium and long-term external debt are provided to missions during the Article IV consultation discussions. The debt office at the Ministry of Finance is collating information about public debt and debt of public sector enterprises. The authorities are publishing data on public external debt on the QCB website. |
| II. Data Standards and Quality |
| Qatar is a General Data Dissemination System (GDDS) participant since December 2005 but has not implemented the e-GDDS, as it lacks a National Summary Data Page. A SDDS assessment mission was conducted in 2016 by the Statistical Department of the IMF, which found that while eleven (out of 15) data categories met the SDDS requirements for coverage, periodicity, and timeliness, thus putting Qatar in a steady path towards SDDS subscription, further efforts were needed to meet the SDDS requirements. |
| I. Assessment of Data Adequacy for Surveillance |
| General: Data provision has some shortcomings but is broadly adequate for surveillance. There is substantial scope for improving data frequency, timeliness and coverage. The most affected areas are the real gross domestic product (GDP), real estate sector statistics, financial accounts of the balance of payments, international investment position, and external debt statistics. |
| National Accounts: Qatar publishes quarterly estimates of GDP at current and constant prices compiled based on limited source data. Procedures used to benchmark the quarterly estimates to the annual estimates need improvements to be consistent with international best practice. The Planning and Statistics Authority is in process of producing a new supply and use tables which can be used to improve the consistency of the GDP estimates. |
| Price statistics: Qatar has been publishing monthly CPI data based on a basket with a significant share of rents. However, the rent component has limited geographic coverage and only reflects new contracts. The household income and expenditure survey 2012–13, which covers all municipalities, forms the basis for updated weights in a new CPI basket (2013 base year) introduced for measuring inflation in early 2015 |
| Real estate statistics: The Ministry of Justice records real estate data at the transaction level, including some basic details about the type of transaction, and makes it available to the public in Arabic in PDF format. The QCB uses this data to produce an aggregate residential real estate monthly price index, which it publishes quarterly. The index covers only transactions made between private parties. Disaggregated indices are not available. The authorities are working on a measure of housing vacancies. |
| Government Finance Statistics: The authorities are implementing the Government Financial Management Information System (GFMIS) which will enable compilation of accrual fiscal accounts according to the Government Finance Statistics Manual 2001 (GFSM) guidelines. At the moment, the GFSM 2001 figures are estimated by staff on the basis of modified cash data provided by the authorities, although progress is being made in compiling fiscal data according to the GFSM 2001. To support the authorities’ efforts, an IMF Statistics Department mission is planned for April-May 2019. |
| Monetary statistics: The QCB submits the monetary and financial statistics (MFS) for the Central bank and other depository corporation based on the Standardized Report Forms (SRFs). The MFS data are published in the International Financial Statistics on a timely basis. Qatar also reports data on some key series and indicators of the financial access survey (FAS), including the two indicators of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. |
| Financial Sector Surveillance: The QCB does not report the Financial Soundness Indicators to STA. |
| External Sector Statistics (ESS): The QCB reports quarterly balance of payments data with quarterly timeliness to STA, following the fifth edition of the balance of payments manual (BPM5). The financial account has been developed and coverage improved for major public corporations, the Qatar Financial Center Authority, and the Qatar Exchange. The last TA mission on ESS, conducted in 2017, assisted the Planning and Statistics Authority in developing a quarterly survey to collect data from the nonfinancial sector in order to produce a quarterly IIP statement and improve the coverage of the primary income and the financial account of the balance of payments. The new survey was launched in August 2017 and the results sent to the QCB. However, QCB has not yet reported IIP data to STA, though partial IIP data are shared with staff during Article IV consultations. More work is required to ensure a comprehensive coverage. Qatar does not participate in the Coordinated Direct Investment Survey yet. The authorities presented the Article IV consultation mission with partial mid-year IIP data for the period 2012–18. |
| External debt: Detailed data on the country’s medium and long-term external debt are provided to missions during the Article IV consultation discussions. The debt office at the Ministry of Finance is collating information about public debt and debt of public sector enterprises. The authorities are publishing data on public external debt on the QCB website. |
| II. Data Standards and Quality |
| Qatar is a General Data Dissemination System (GDDS) participant since December 2005 but has not implemented the e-GDDS, as it lacks a National Summary Data Page. A SDDS assessment mission was conducted in 2016 by the Statistical Department of the IMF, which found that while eleven (out of 15) data categories met the SDDS requirements for coverage, periodicity, and timeliness, thus putting Qatar in a steady path towards SDDS subscription, further efforts were needed to meet the SDDS requirements. |
Table of Common Indicators Required for Surveillance
(As of March 2019)
Includes reserve assets pledged or otherwise encumbered as well as net derivative positions.
Both market-based and officially determined, including discount rates, money market rates, rates on treasury bills, notes and bonds.
Foreign, domestic bank, and domestic nonbank financing.
The general government consists of the central government (budgetary funds, extra budgetary funds, and social security funds) and state and local governments.
Including currency and maturity composition.
Daily (D), weekly (W), monthly (M), quarterly (Q), annually (A), irregular (I); and not available (NA).
Includes external gross financial asset and liability positions vis-a-vis nonresidents. The data are currently based on incomplete sources due to capacity limitations.
Table of Common Indicators Required for Surveillance
(As of March 2019)
| Date of latest observation | Date received | Frequency of Data6 | Frequency of Reporting6 | Frequency of Publication6 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exchange Rates | Feb. 2019 | Mar. 2019 | M | M | M |
| International Reserve Assets of the Monetary Authorities1 | Jan. 2019 | Feb. 2019 | M | M | M |
| Reserve/Base Money | Jan. 2019 | Feb. 2019 | M | M | M |
| Broad Money | Jan. 2019 | Feb. 2019 | M | M | M |
| Central Bank Balance Sheet | Jan. 2019 | Feb. 2019 | M | M | M |
| Consolidated Balance Sheet of the Banking System | Jan. 2019 | Feb. 2019 | M | M | M |
| Interest Rates2 | Jan. 2019 | Feb. 2019 | M | M | M |
| Consumer Price Index | Feb. 2019 | Mar. 2019 | M | M | M |
| Revenue, Expenditure, Balance and Composition of Financing3 –General Government4 | … | … | NA | NA | NA |
| Revenue, Expenditure, Balance and Composition of Financing3– Central Government | 2018 Q3 | Feb. 2019 | Q | I | I |
| Stocks of Central Government and Central Government-Guaranteed Debt5 | 2018 | Feb. 2019 | A | I | I |
| External Current Account Balance | 2018 Q4 | Mar. 2019 | Q | Q | Q |
| Exports and Imports of Goods and Services | Jan. 2019 | Mar. 2019 | M | M | Q |
| Exports and Imports of Goods and Services | 2018 Q3 | Dec. 2018 | Q | Q | Q |
| GDP/GNP | 2018 Q3 | Dec. 2018 | Q | Q | Q |
| Gross External Debt | Nov. 2018 | Feb. 2019 | A | I | I |
| International Investment Position7 | Jun. 2018 | Feb. 2019 | I | I | NA |
Includes reserve assets pledged or otherwise encumbered as well as net derivative positions.
Both market-based and officially determined, including discount rates, money market rates, rates on treasury bills, notes and bonds.
Foreign, domestic bank, and domestic nonbank financing.
The general government consists of the central government (budgetary funds, extra budgetary funds, and social security funds) and state and local governments.
Including currency and maturity composition.
Daily (D), weekly (W), monthly (M), quarterly (Q), annually (A), irregular (I); and not available (NA).
Includes external gross financial asset and liability positions vis-a-vis nonresidents. The data are currently based on incomplete sources due to capacity limitations.
Table of Common Indicators Required for Surveillance
(As of March 2019)
| Date of latest observation | Date received | Frequency of Data6 | Frequency of Reporting6 | Frequency of Publication6 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exchange Rates | Feb. 2019 | Mar. 2019 | M | M | M |
| International Reserve Assets of the Monetary Authorities1 | Jan. 2019 | Feb. 2019 | M | M | M |
| Reserve/Base Money | Jan. 2019 | Feb. 2019 | M | M | M |
| Broad Money | Jan. 2019 | Feb. 2019 | M | M | M |
| Central Bank Balance Sheet | Jan. 2019 | Feb. 2019 | M | M | M |
| Consolidated Balance Sheet of the Banking System | Jan. 2019 | Feb. 2019 | M | M | M |
| Interest Rates2 | Jan. 2019 | Feb. 2019 | M | M | M |
| Consumer Price Index | Feb. 2019 | Mar. 2019 | M | M | M |
| Revenue, Expenditure, Balance and Composition of Financing3 –General Government4 | … | … | NA | NA | NA |
| Revenue, Expenditure, Balance and Composition of Financing3– Central Government | 2018 Q3 | Feb. 2019 | Q | I | I |
| Stocks of Central Government and Central Government-Guaranteed Debt5 | 2018 | Feb. 2019 | A | I | I |
| External Current Account Balance | 2018 Q4 | Mar. 2019 | Q | Q | Q |
| Exports and Imports of Goods and Services | Jan. 2019 | Mar. 2019 | M | M | Q |
| Exports and Imports of Goods and Services | 2018 Q3 | Dec. 2018 | Q | Q | Q |
| GDP/GNP | 2018 Q3 | Dec. 2018 | Q | Q | Q |
| Gross External Debt | Nov. 2018 | Feb. 2019 | A | I | I |
| International Investment Position7 | Jun. 2018 | Feb. 2019 | I | I | NA |
Includes reserve assets pledged or otherwise encumbered as well as net derivative positions.
Both market-based and officially determined, including discount rates, money market rates, rates on treasury bills, notes and bonds.
Foreign, domestic bank, and domestic nonbank financing.
The general government consists of the central government (budgetary funds, extra budgetary funds, and social security funds) and state and local governments.
Including currency and maturity composition.
Daily (D), weekly (W), monthly (M), quarterly (Q), annually (A), irregular (I); and not available (NA).
Includes external gross financial asset and liability positions vis-a-vis nonresidents. The data are currently based on incomplete sources due to capacity limitations.