Qatar Named World's Richest Country

Dubai - 26 Feb 2012 (PTI): Qatar has been ranked as the world's wealthiest country in a new list compiled by the prestigious US magazine Forbes.

The Gulf State with a population of 1.7 million topped the list as the world's richest country per capita, thanks to a rebound in oil prices and its massive natural gas reserves.

Adjusted for purchasing power, Qatar booked an estimated gross domestic product per capita of more than USD 88,000 for 2010, Forbes said, compared with USD 47,500 for the UAE, which was placed sixth while Kuwait stood at 15th in the list.

Qatar, which will host the 2022 Football World Cup and is also in the running for the 2020 Olympic Games, has been a high-profile investor in recent times.

The government is pouring money into infrastructure, including a deepwater seaport, an airport and a railway network, all with an eye to making the country a better host for businesses and the 2022 World Cup, Forbes said.

In second place on the list was Luxembourg, with a per capita GDP on a purchasing-power parity basis of just over USD 81,000.

In third place was Singapore, which thrives as a technology, manufacturing and finance hub with a GDP (PPP) per capita of nearly USD 56,700.

To rank the countries, Forbes said it looked at GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power for 182 nations. It used International Monetary Fund data from 2010.

Norway and Brunei rounded out the top five positions in the list followed by the UAE, the US, Hong Kong, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

A trio of politically and economically fragile African nations were listed as the poorest countries - Burundi, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where GDPs (PPP) per capita are USD 400, USD 386 and USD 312, respectively.