The [GDP growth] champion [in 2009], according to the Economist Intelligence Unit's forecasts… will be Qatar, whose gas-fired economy is forecast to grow by 13.4%.
Bravo, plucky little lead Qatar!
But wait:
Qatar will be a champion in other ways too: its population will grow by more than 14%, to 1.8m, thanks to the world's highest rate of immigration.
Er… if your population grows by over 14% and your GDP grows by 13.4%, your people are actually getting poorer. So even while it sits atop two league tables, Qatar gently weeps.
OK, I’m finished now.
2 comments:
GDP per cap for Qatar is worked out only using Qatari nationals. The huge population boom is from immigrant labour (non nationals) who are not counted in the calculations (unlucky for them). So they're not actually getting poorer.
...Gently weeps
Would that be Dirk Gently?
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