Forbes released its new list of the richest countries in the world on the basis of each nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), calculated after 2009.
Qatar made a significant jump from the second spot in the previous years to the first, past Luxembourg, in the new assessment. The leap is especially noteworthy as Qatar used to be a poor Islamic country until the mid-19th century.
From well-planned gigantic infrastructure, exports, economic diversity to advancements of MNC's, the Arab nation is also one of the least taxed countries with most services available for free or at a minimal cost. It is endowed with the third-largest natural gas reserve in the world and boasts of a GDP per capita of $88,222.
Looking at the previous year's estimates, United States' ranking remains the same with only a negligible increase in the GDP in the past few years. However, despite being one of the most populous countries in the world, with over 312 million people, it still figures in the ten richest countries in the world.
Ranked seventh in the Forbes list, the U.S. is also home to the maximum number of billionaires in the world.
Others countries that made it to the top spot are: Luxembourg, Singapore, Norway, Brunei, UAE, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Netherlands, Australia, Austria, Ireland, Canada and Kuwait.
Check out the slideshow for the list of countries, their GDP and ranking.