Qatar’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector will likely more than double over the next five years, driven by tailwinds like government-led digital transformation, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, and next-generation telecommunications infrastructure, according to an industry report by Mordor Intelligence.
As per the report’s estimates, Qatar’s ICT market will be valued at USD 19.91 billion (QR72.61 billion) in 2026. By 2031, it will grow further to USD 37.74 billion (QR 137.63 billion), representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.7%.
“The expansion is expected to be underpinned by the rapid rollout of 5G networks, sovereign cloud investments, and the development of Arabic large language models (LLMs), alongside the implementation of Qatar’s National Digital Agenda 2030,” Mordor said.
Qatar’s National Digital Agenda 2030 has allocated more than USD 2.47 billion (QR9.01 billion) in public investment to accelerate digital infrastructure and public sector transformation. Communication services, on the other hand, have continued to account for the largest share of market revenues as telecom operators expand network capacity in preparation for the Asian Games 2030.
“However, cloud services are forecast to record the fastest growth, supported by hyperscale cloud deployments from Microsoft and regional service providers that comply with Qatar’s data sovereignty and privacy regulations,” Mordor noted.
The report also highlighted increasing competition between telecom providers in the Gulf country, which is expected to drive innovation in managed cybersecurity, edge computing, and graphics processing unit (GPU) hosting services.
“This will create opportunities for local software developers specializing in Arabic-language digital applications. Under the Third National Development Strategy (NDS3), Qatar aims to ensure that at least 90% of citizen transactions are delivered digitally by 2030,” Mordor remarked.
Some of Qatar’s major tech initiatives include a five-year partnership with Scale AI covering more than 50 AI use cases, the establishment of the National Cyber Security Academy to strengthen local talent, and investments in quantum-ready research and sovereign cloud infrastructure. The banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) sector is also emerging as one of the Gulf countries’ fastest-growing ICT segments by increasingly adopting hybrid cloud environments to comply with Qatar Central Bank (QCB) regulations while improving operational resilience.
“Commercial Bank and Meeza have already introduced secure cloud platforms that support instant payments and advanced analytics, while Microsoft’s local cloud region enables banks to significantly reduce disaster recovery times,” Mordor said.
The report predicts preparations for the Asian Games 2030 and Expo 2033 are likely to generate substantial demand for advanced digital infrastructure, including 8K broadcasting, crowd analytics, Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, private 5G networks, and ticketless entry systems.