Nauru has a GDP of $160M compared to $218B for Qatar, ranking 195/197 and 56/197 by economy size, respectively.
Nauru has $28.2M in government debt (15.2% of GDP), compared to $89B (40.5% of GDP) in Qatar.
The chart below compares the two countries' GDP growth in both current (nominal) and constant dollars, accounting for inflation over time.
| Year | GDP | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Nauru
|
Qatar
|
|||
| Current $ | Constant $ | Current $ | Constant $ | |
| 1970 | $17,570,366 | $265,597,277 | $301,791,302 | $8,816,161,355 |
| 1971 | $19,009,433 | $273,295,314 | $387,703,106 | $9,698,469,706 |
| 1972 | $21,734,269 | $281,216,471 | $510,262,500 | $10,773,000,939 |
| 1973 | $26,529,817 | $289,367,215 | $793,885,560 | $11,934,857,801 |
| 1974 | $35,994,511 | $297,754,198 | $2,401,403,227 | $12,643,579,838 |
| 1975 | $40,106,776 | $306,384,268 | $2,512,773,166 | $13,386,912,643 |
| 1976 | $40,287,427 | $297,754,198 | $3,284,273,987 | $14,504,574,217 |
| 1977 | $40,444,702 | $289,367,215 | $3,617,564,638 | $13,444,952,239 |
| 1978 | $41,754,147 | $281,216,471 | $4,052,000,413 | $14,636,627,610 |
| 1979 | $44,431,330 | $273,295,314 | $5,632,962,997 | $15,401,791,822 |
| 1980 | $46,947,124 | $265,597,277 | $7,829,165,262 | $15,245,244,656 |
| 1981 | $51,689,637 | $258,116,073 | $8,661,263,764 | $15,382,600,057 |
| 1982 | $52,877,742 | $250,845,596 | $7,596,703,214 | $14,325,124,118 |
| 1983 | $48,439,093 | $243,779,910 | $6,467,582,308 | $14,063,666,907 |
| 1984 | $47,363,231 | $236,913,245 | $6,704,395,824 | $14,718,715,618 |
| 1985 | $41,548,741 | $230,239,999 | $6,153,296,456 | $14,406,653,786 |
| 1986 | $39,939,391 | $223,754,720 | $5,053,021,951 | $15,175,362,083 |
| 1987 | $40,118,410 | $217,452,114 | $5,446,428,681 | $15,182,189,691 |
| 1988 | $45,931,134 | $211,327,039 | $6,038,187,033 | $16,078,614,414 |
| 1989 | $53,736,786 | $205,374,490 | $6,487,912,088 | $17,079,059,748 |
| 1990 | $55,572,376 | $199,589,610 | $7,360,439,423 | $17,662,217,767 |
| 1991 | $52,533,789 | $161,680,011 | $6,883,516,484 | $17,368,630,639 |
| 1992 | $51,133,123 | $135,390,360 | $7,646,153,984 | $19,336,588,147 |
| 1993 | $43,542,088 | $113,568,991 | $7,156,593,654 | $19,080,352,035 |
| 1994 | $39,742,511 | $109,178,266 | $7,374,450,769 | $19,351,046,596 |
| 1995 | $39,969,706 | $100,527,536 | $8,137,911,978 | $19,815,323,915 |
| 1996 | $37,458,801 | $88,605,472 | $9,059,340,385 | $20,682,028,462 |
| 1997 | $37,331,507 | $80,672,081 | $11,297,802,115 | $26,889,127,081 |
| 1998 | $29,664,451 | $71,162,476 | $10,255,495,027 | $29,905,724,793 |
| 1999 | $27,328,613 | $66,488,375 | $12,393,131,868 | $31,186,905,301 |
| 2000 | $26,930,980 | $61,929,804 | $17,759,890,110 | $33,690,629,183 |
| 2001 | $22,613,288 | $57,742,675 | $17,538,461,538 | $35,003,952,797 |
| 2002 | $21,017,424 | $51,984,931 | $19,363,736,264 | $37,517,989,781 |
| 2003 | $24,778,160 | $52,132,910 | $23,533,791,209 | $38,913,643,497 |
| 2004 | $30,587,566 | $49,883,465 | $31,734,065,934 | $46,392,423,696 |
| 2005 | $30,282,840 | $49,706,055 | $44,530,494,505 | $49,868,495,958 |
| 2006 | $29,183,627 | $53,845,954 | $60,882,142,857 | $62,919,203,862 |
| 2007 | $23,068,623 | $41,900,065 | $79,712,087,912 | $74,235,635,940 |
| 2008 | $37,184,925 | $50,439,678 | $115,270,054,945 | $87,348,289,336 |
| 2009 | $44,024,970 | $47,588,861 | $97,798,351,648 | $97,792,140,945 |
| 2010 | $47,442,299 | $47,512,730 | $125,122,306,346 | $116,951,901,413 |
| 2011 | $65,444,174 | $54,352,013 | $167,775,268,626 | $132,594,424,543 |
| 2012 | $100,794,925 | $68,091,833 | $186,833,502,363 | $138,866,156,528 |
| 2013 | $94,385,015 | $70,575,646 | $198,727,642,967 | $146,581,616,624 |
| 2014 | $98,752,257 | $82,166,522 | $206,224,598,571 | $154,400,753,941 |
| 2015 | $84,383,389 | $84,383,389 | $161,739,955,577 | $161,739,955,577 |
| 2016 | $97,276,023 | $88,065,239 | $151,732,181,868 | $166,695,978,169 |
| 2017 | $108,862,279 | $82,771,435 | $161,099,122,225 | $164,199,531,362 |
| 2018 | $130,937,590 | $81,762,350 | $183,334,953,819 | $166,227,185,730 |
| 2019 | $124,871,111 | $88,701,305 | $176,371,267,692 | $167,371,229,300 |
| 2020 | $124,530,027 | $90,459,205 | $144,411,363,352 | $161,416,823,769 |
| 2021 | $175,513,985 | $96,978,233 | $179,732,009,560 | $164,042,828,071 |
| 2022 | $152,190,819 | $99,840,564 | $235,709,325,714 | $170,908,036,354 |
| 2023 | $151,455,968 | $100,485,943 | $213,002,809,341 | $172,936,988,055 |
| 2024 | $160,350,640 | $102,254,749 | $217,982,967,033 | $177,724,600,424 |
Economic indicators
|
Nauru
|
Qatar
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Gross domestic product |
$160M
2024 |
$218B
2024 |
| GDP rank |
195/197
2024 |
56/197
2024 |
| GDP growth |
5.87%
2023-2024 |
2.34%
2023-2024 |
| GDP per capita |
$13,422
2024 |
$76,276
2024 |
| GDP per capita rank |
75/197
2024 |
11/197
2024 |
| GDP per capita, PPP |
$14,327
2024 |
$126,110
2024 |
| Government debt |
$28.2M
2024 |
$89B
2024 |
| Debt-to-GDP ratio |
15.2%
2025 |
40.5%
2025 |
| Government debt per person |
$2,360
2024 |
$31,151
2024 |
| Government debt per person rank |
114/185
2024 |
23/185
2024 |
| Average annual personal income after taxes |
$8,196
2025 |
$36,023
2025 |
| Market capitalization of domestic companies | n/a |
$170M
2024 |
| Number of millionaires | n/a |
26,163
2024 |
| Number of billionaires | n/a |
2
2025 |
| Income share by richest 10% |
25.3%
2012 |
25.8%
2017 |
| Income share by poorest 10% |
3.4%
2012 |
2.6%
2017 |
| Government expenditure, % of GDP |
135%
2025 |
26.5%
2025 |
| Consumer prices inflation |
6.1%
2024-2025 |
0.1%
2024-2025 |
| Central bank interest rate | n/a |
4.6%
2025 |
| Unemployment rate |
5.06%
2021 |
0.13%
2022 |
| Population |
12088
|
2964497
|
GDP per capita in Nauru vs Qatar
Nauru's GDP per capita is $13,422, ranking 75/197, compared to $76,276 in Qatar, ranking 11/197. Adjusted for purchasing power (GDP per capita PPP), Nauru ranks 118th at $14,327, while Qatar ranks 5th at $126,110.
| Year | Current $ | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Nauru
|
Qatar
|
|||
| GDP per capita | GDP per capita, PPP | GDP per capita | GDP per capita, PPP | |
| 1970 | $2,619 | - | $2,594 | - |
| 1971 | $2,811 | - | $2,952 | - |
| 1972 | $3,191 | - | $3,483 | - |
| 1973 | $3,864 | - | $4,905 | - |
| 1974 | $5,199 | - | $13,540 | - |
| 1975 | $5,740 | - | $13,014 | - |
| 1976 | $5,703 | - | $15,710 | - |
| 1977 | $5,646 | - | $16,058 | - |
| 1978 | $5,721 | - | $16,757 | - |
| 1979 | $5,950 | - | $21,777 | - |
| 1980 | $6,138 | - | $28,375 | - |
| 1981 | $6,594 | - | $29,505 | - |
| 1982 | $6,577 | - | $24,385 | - |
| 1983 | $5,896 | - | $19,616 | - |
| 1984 | $5,654 | - | $19,272 | - |
| 1985 | $4,859 | - | $16,815 | - |
| 1986 | $4,569 | - | $13,213 | - |
| 1987 | $4,485 | - | $13,719 | - |
| 1988 | $5,012 | - | $14,682 | - |
| 1989 | $5,723 | - | $15,243 | - |
| 1990 | $5,776 | $16,443 | $16,722 | $55,659 |
| 1991 | $5,333 | $13,451 | $15,133 | $54,759 |
| 1992 | $5,103 | $11,324 | $16,280 | $60,387 |
| 1993 | $4,310 | $9,646 | $14,770 | $59,125 |
| 1994 | $3,921 | $9,439 | $14,765 | $59,415 |
| 1995 | $3,932 | $8,849 | $15,823 | $60,321 |
| 1996 | $3,679 | $7,928 | $17,125 | $62,331 |
| 1997 | $3,661 | $7,332 | $20,523 | $79,219 |
| 1998 | $2,909 | $6,540 | $17,665 | $84,486 |
| 1999 | $2,683 | $6,204 | $20,234 | $84,690 |
| 2000 | $2,649 | $5,920 | $27,535 | $88,849 |
| 2001 | $2,232 | $5,666 | $25,871 | $89,805 |
| 2002 | $2,085 | $5,205 | $27,227 | $93,176 |
| 2003 | $2,463 | $5,335 | $31,602 | $94,120 |
| 2004 | $3,041 | $5,241 | $41,036 | $110,958 |
| 2005 | $3,014 | $5,392 | $53,950 | $115,250 |
| 2006 | $2,908 | $6,030 | $62,582 | $127,181 |
| 2007 | $2,302 | $4,826 | $65,954 | $124,056 |
| 2008 | $3,715 | $5,928 | $80,781 | $126,015 |
| 2009 | $4,395 | $5,624 | $60,786 | $125,898 |
| 2010 | $4,724 | $5,668 | $77,387 | $151,646 |
| 2011 | $6,481 | $6,582 | $103,262 | $174,620 |
| 2012 | $9,817 | $8,261 | $108,470 | $180,939 |
| 2013 | $8,975 | $8,501 | $103,697 | $169,203 |
| 2014 | $9,193 | $9,858 | $95,841 | $148,389 |
| 2015 | $7,703 | $10,020 | $68,985 | $102,546 |
| 2016 | $8,724 | $10,371 | $61,254 | $89,935 |
| 2017 | $9,613 | $9,770 | $63,280 | $99,358 |
| 2018 | $11,409 | $9,740 | $71,040 | $110,033 |
| 2019 | $10,777 | $10,640 | $66,841 | $107,502 |
| 2020 | $10,696 | $10,942 | $51,684 | $82,149 |
| 2021 | $14,990 | $12,197 | $71,752 | $116,833 |
| 2022 | $12,896 | $13,347 | $88,701 | $122,920 |
| 2023 | $12,754 | $13,830 | $80,196 | $128,919 |
| 2024 | $13,422 | $14,327 | $76,276 | $126,110 |
Spending and national debt comparison
In 2024, Nauru's government spending was $198M, accounting for 135% of its GDP, while Qatar's spent $56.2B, or 26.5% of GDP.
Debt-to-GDP ratio is 15.2% in Nauru and 40.5% in Qatar, ranking 177/185 and 133/185, respectively.
| Year | % of GDP | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Nauru
|
Qatar
|
|||
| Government spending | Government debt | Government spending | Government debt | |
| 1990 | - | - | 50% | 12.6% |
| 1991 | - | - | 57.5% | 21.8% |
| 1992 | - | - | 54.2% | 19.9% |
| 1993 | - | - | 62.8% | 46.3% |
| 1994 | - | - | 59.8% | 54.8% |
| 1995 | - | - | 52.2% | 50.2% |
| 1996 | - | - | 55.2% | 57.8% |
| 1997 | - | - | 47.6% | 54.4% |
| 1998 | - | - | 55.1% | 76.6% |
| 1999 | - | - | 42.4% | 81.8% |
| 2000 | - | - | 29.8% | 51.6% |
| 2001 | - | - | 32.1% | 59.2% |
| 2002 | - | - | 31.6% | 47.7% |
| 2003 | - | - | 28.5% | 38.8% |
| 2004 | - | - | 29.9% | 30.1% |
| 2005 | - | - | 29% | 19.1% |
| 2006 | - | - | 29.5% | 13.9% |
| 2007 | - | - | 29.5% | 9.37% |
| 2008 | - | - | 23.5% | 11.4% |
| 2009 | 68% | 246.7% | 36.4% | 36% |
| 2010 | 73.8% | 242.5% | 32% | 30.4% |
| 2011 | 44.7% | 188.9% | 28.5% | 33.5% |
| 2012 | 46% | 123.1% | 31% | 32.1% |
| 2013 | 66% | 126.9% | 28.3% | 30.9% |
| 2014 | 61.3% | 112.5% | 32.3% | 24.9% |
| 2015 | 85.4% | 82.2% | 38.6% | 35.5% |
| 2016 | 96% | 61.2% | 40.1% | 46.7% |
| 2017 | 102.3% | 78% | 34.7% | 51.6% |
| 2018 | 90.8% | 71.1% | 28.9% | 52.2% |
| 2019 | 106% | 59.6% | 32.5% | 62.1% |
| 2020 | 109.4% | 56.3% | 34.7% | 72.6% |
| 2021 | 93% | 20.5% | 29.4% | 58.4% |
| 2022 | 134.8% | 22.4% | 24.3% | 42.6% |
| 2023 | 118.1% | 20.5% | 27.3% | 43.7% |
| 2024 | 123.5% | 17.6% | 25.8% | 40.8% |
| 2025 | 135% | 15.2% | 26.5% | 40.5% |
Government deficit by year
In 2024, Nauru's government surplus, the difference between spending and revenue, was $48.3M, equivalent to 30.1% of GDP. This compares to Qatar's surplus of $1.52B, or 0.7% of GDP.
Over the past 16 years, Nauru recorded a fiscal deficit in 0 of those years, while Qatar ran a deficit in 3 years. On average, Nauru posted an annual surplus equal to +19.4% of GDP, compared to surplus of +5.34% of GDP for Qatar.
| Year | Deficit/surplus, % of GDP | |
|---|---|---|
|
Nauru
|
Qatar
|
|
| 1990 | - | 3.23% |
| 1991 | - | -2.57% |
| 1992 | - | -2.74% |
| 1993 | - | -9.53% |
| 1994 | - | -11.8% |
| 1995 | - | -5.78% |
| 1996 | - | -8.73% |
| 1997 | - | -9.4% |
| 1998 | - | -7% |
| 1999 | - | -4.35% |
| 2000 | - | 4.62% |
| 2001 | - | 4.48% |
| 2002 | - | 7.89% |
| 2003 | - | 6.71% |
| 2004 | - | 17.7% |
| 2005 | - | 9.8% |
| 2006 | - | 8.39% |
| 2007 | - | 10.3% |
| 2008 | - | 9.49% |
| 2009 | 0.37% | 14.1% |
| 2010 | 0.09% | 4.6% |
| 2011 | 2.73% | 5.24% |
| 2012 | 8.12% | 8.55% |
| 2013 | 1.71% | 19.3% |
| 2014 | 29.6% | 13.4% |
| 2015 | 10.7% | 18.4% |
| 2016 | 18.9% | -9.2% |
| 2017 | 16.2% | -6.82% |
| 2018 | 29.6% | 2.26% |
| 2019 | 31% | 1% |
| 2020 | 42.8% | -2.13% |
| 2021 | 44.5% | 0.24% |
| 2022 | 24.3% | 10.4% |
| 2023 | 19.4% | 5.48% |
| 2024 | 30.1% | 0.7% |
| 2025 | 10.8% | 0.04% |
Inflation comparison by year
Over the past 21 years, Nauru has recorded an average annual inflation rate of 4.9%, compared with 3.14% in Qatar. In 2025, inflation was 6.1% in Nauru and 0.1% in Qatar.
| Year | Inflation | ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Nauru
|
Qatar
|
Nauru
|
Qatar
|
| 1996 | - | 7% | |
| 1997 | - | 2.7% | |
| 1998 | - | 2.9% | |
| 1999 | - | 2.2% | |
| 2000 | - | 1.6% | |
| 2001 | - | 1.7% | |
| 2002 | - | 0.2% | |
| 2003 | - | 2.3% | |
| 2004 | - | 6.8% | |
| 2005 | 8.7% | 9% | |
| 2006 | 19.3% | 11.7% | |
| 2007 | 5.6% | 13.7% | |
| 2008 | 1% | 15.1% | |
| 2009 | 22.4% | -4.9% | |
| 2010 | -2% | -2.4% | |
| 2011 | -3.4% | 2% | |
| 2012 | 0.3% | 1.8% | |
| 2013 | -1.1% | 3.1% | |
| 2014 | 0.3% | 4.2% | |
| 2015 | 9.8% | 0.9% | |
| 2016 | 8.1% | 2.7% | |
| 2017 | 4.5% | 0.6% | |
| 2018 | 1.1% | 0.1% | |
| 2019 | 4.1% | -0.9% | |
| 2020 | 0.9% | -2.5% | |
| 2021 | 2% | 2.3% | |
| 2022 | 1.1% | 5% | |
| 2023 | 4.8% | 3.1% | |
| 2024 | 9.3% | 1.2% | |
| 2025 | 6.1% | 0.1% | |
Top exports between countries
Balance of trade
|
Nauru
|
Qatar
|
|
|---|---|---|
Current account balance
|
$1.92M
2023 |
$37.9B
2024 |
| Current account balance ranking |
74/189
2023 |
15/189
2024 |
| Current account balance, % of GDP |
+1.27%
2023 |
+17.4%
2024 |
| Goods imports |
$89M
2023 |
$32.6B
2024 |
| Goods exports |
$31.8M
2023 |
$95B
2024 |
| Service imports |
$61.2M
2023 |
$37.1B
2024 |
| Service exports |
$33.1M
2023 |
$30.2B
2024 |
| Imports of goods and services, % of GDP |
118.7%
2024 |
31.6%
2022 |
| Exports of goods and services, % of GDP |
39.5%
2024 |
68.6%
2022 |
Economic freedom indices
The indices of economic freedom below are issued by the Heritage Foundation. Higher scores indicate stronger economic health.
|
Nauru
|
Qatar
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Economic freedom | 60 | 70.2 |
| Economic freedom ranking | 96/197 | 33/197 |
| Property rights | n/a | 71.1 |
| Government integrity | n/a | 52.6 |
| Judicial effectiveness | n/a | 42.3 |
| Tax burden | n/a | 99.9 |
| Government spending | n/a | 78.1 |
| Fiscal health | n/a | 96.2 |
| Business freedom | n/a | 67.9 |
| Labor freedom | n/a | 59.3 |
| Monetary freedom | n/a | 73.2 |
| Trade freedom | n/a | 81.6 |
| Investment freedom | n/a | 60 |
| Financial freedom | n/a | 60 |
More economic indicators
|
Nauru
|
Qatar
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Services, % of GDP | n/a |
45.9%
2024 |
| Industry, % of GDP | n/a |
58.5%
2024 |
| Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, % of GDP | n/a |
0.29%
2024 |
|
GNI, Atlas method
|
$254M
2024 |
$219B
2024 |
| GNI per capita, PPP |
$23,210
2024 |
$121,930
2024 |
| Total reserves including gold | n/a |
$54B
2024 |
| Total reserves ranking | n/a |
40/177
2024 |
|
Net foreign direct investment
|
$3.11M
2023 |
$1.1B
2024 |
|
Net inflows of foreign direct investment
|
-$280K
2024 |
$460M
2024 |
|
Net outflows of foreign direct investment
|
$6.17M
2024 |
$1.56B
2024 |
|
Gross capital formation, % of GDP
|
n/a |
30.6%
2022 |
GDP per capita map
GDP per capita
Compare countries by 7 more topics
Relevant pages:
By topic
vs
comparisons:
Economy comparisons
The current account balance is the sum of net trade in goods and services, net earnings from cross-border investments, and net transfer payments. It reflects a country's economic transactions with the rest of the world and is a fundamental component of the balance of payments. A surplus indicates that a country exports more than it imports, while a deficit shows the opposite.
Gross National Income (GNI) measures a country's total income. It encompasses income earned by residents, businesses, and foreign sources, defined as employee compensation and investment profits. GNI adds product taxes not included elsewhere and subtracts subsidies. It accounts for income from residents working abroad but excludes earnings from foreigners within the country.
A negative value for Net Foreign Direct Investment indicates a country is a net receiver of investments, as foreign inflows exceed outflows after Balance of Payments adjustments. A positive value indicates a net provider, with outflows exceeding inflows. Inflows are credits (increasing foreign claims on domestic assets), while outflows are debits (increasing domestic assets abroad).
Foreign direct investment (FDI, net inflows) shows how much capital foreign investors bring into a country after accounting for any funds that flow back in the opposite direction. It represents the net value of overseas companies establishing, expanding, or financing businesses in the reporting country. A positive number means more capital entered the country than was withdrawn, while a negative number means foreign investors pulled out more than they invested.
Foreign direct investment (FDI, net outflows) shows how much capital residents of a country invest abroad after accounting for any funds that flow back in the opposite direction. It represents the net value of domestic companies establishing, expanding, or financing businesses in other countries. A positive number means more capital was invested abroad than withdrawn, while a negative number means residents pulled back more than they invested.
Formerly gross domestic investment, gross capital formation measures the share of a country’s economic output invested in fixed assets, including buildings, machinery, and infrastructure. It indicates how much of the economy is devoted to building productive capacity.