Qatar

Qatar is a country that punches so far above its weight it has essentially left the ring. This tiny peninsula jutting into the Persian Gulf is smaller than Connecticut, with a population of just 3 million - yet it has the highest GDP per capita on Earth, hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup, runs Al Jazeera, owns stakes in everything from Harrods to Volkswagen, and has turned Doha into a city of architectural wonders that makes science fiction look conservative.

All of this comes from natural gas. Qatar sits on top of the North Field, the largest natural gas reservoir in the world, and it has used that wealth with a strategic ambition that is genuinely remarkable. The Museum of Islamic Art, designed by I.M. Pei, is one of the finest museums on the planet. Education City hosts branch campuses of six American universities. Katara Cultural Village celebrates arts and heritage. Doha's skyline is a forest of futuristic towers that did not exist a generation ago. Beneath the glass and steel, though, Qatar is still a desert nation with Bedouin roots - falconry, camel racing, and pearl diving are part of the cultural DNA, and the old souq in Doha still smells of spices and incense.