Qatari Rial

Overview

The Rial is the foreign money of Qatar. That is subdivided into a hundred dirham and is aliased as QR (English).

The Qatari Rial has been pegged to the US Dollar at 1 USD = 3.64 Rial since July 2001.

Economy

• The cornerstone of the economy is petrol and natural gas, an industry that was initiated in 1940. Oil and gas represent roughly half of GDP and 85% of exports.
• Qatar has recently achieved high levels of economic growth due to the high prices of oil. Qatar is the second highest GDP per capita in the world due to oil prices.
• Oil has made Qatar a profit per GDP which ranks including the highest within the world.
• Qatar has no income tax, placing its population amongst the least taxed and wealthiest people in the world.
• The Qatari government is attempting to diversify their economy, to reduce exposure to oil and gas. The country has introduced new developments, as well as tax incentives and capital investments, in order to attract international private investments and entrepreneurs.

History

• Prior to 1966, Qatar’s currency was the Gulf Rupee – a currency issued by the Indian government.
• Upon the devaluation of the Indian Rupee in 1966, Qatar abandoned the Gulf Rupee in favor of the Saudi Riyal for a few months, followed by the Qatar and Dubai Riyal on March 21, 1966.
• Qatar first started issuing a standalone Qatari Rial currency in 1973. Banknotes and coins were issued in the same formats and increments as the previous Dubai and Qatar Riyal.