The International Monetary Fund projects Qatar’s economy will shrink 8.6% in 2026, the steepest contraction among the six Gulf states. Qatar halted LNG production, its principal source of export earnings, after Iranian strikes damaged the Ras Laffan complex; the IMF estimates the damage cut export capacity by about 17%, and expansion plans have been deferred to 2027.
The Gulf supplied about a third of world LNG, most of it Qatari. The Financial Times reports that Qatari government departments have had budgets cut by as much as 30% and overseas aid by about 85%, with Doha drawing on its roughly $500 billion sovereign wealth fund to absorb the shock.