Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, who stepped down as ruler of Qatar this morning after precisely 18 years in power, presided over the greatest economic boom in recorded history, analysis of IMF figures show.

In 1994, Qatar’s GDP was $7,374m, the 15^th smallest in the Middle East region. In 2012, its GDP had grown almost 25 times to almost $184bn, making Qatar’s economy the eighth largest in the region and transforming what was once considered to be a Middle East backwater into a global business and financial hub.

Per capita GDP, about $16,000 in 1994, was last year reported to be $100,000, one of the highest in the world.

The change was principally wrought by the construction of LNG capacity of 77m tonnes, the largest in the world in 2012, fed by the offshore North Field, the world’s biggest non-associated gas reservoir. North Field gas is also used in large-scale iron and steel, petrochemical and fertiliser plants. They include Shell’s $20bn Pearl GTL, the world’s largest gas-to-liquids plant. Qatar’s power stations, fuelled by low-cost gas, now export electricity to neighbouring countries.

Oil and condensate production, which averaged 450,000 b/d in 1994, rose to almost 2m barrels a day (b/d) in 2012 the result of aggressive offshore exploration and development

Savings from oil and gas exports have been deployed to buy high-profile assets including Harrods and the Shard Tower in London. The Qatar Investment Authority, the state’s sovereign wealth fund, is estimated to have assets of at least $60bn.

Qatar’s banks are the fastest-growing on earth and Qatar National Bank (QNB) is now the largest bank in terms of assets in the Middle East.

Qatar plans to invest up to $200bn in infrastructure ahead of the Fifa Qatar World Cup Finals in 2022. Qatar won the mandate to stage the finals at the end of 2010.

Hamad International airport, which is due to open later in 2013, will have initial capacity to handle up to 29 million passengers. Qatar Airways, founded 20 years ago this year, is one of the world’s fastest-growing global airlines. A new seaport with initial capacity to handle 2m containers annually is due to open in 2016.

Qatar’s population, estimated at 500,000 in 1994 has risen to almost 2m mainly due to an influx of migrant workers. The national population is estimated to be 250,000.