Doha skyline through the arches of the Museum of Islamic Art. Shutterstock The tiny Middle Eastern state of Qatar has come a long way since it gained independence in 1971.

Qatar's capital, Doha, was a sleepy pearl fishing community until the '90s, when it began tapping into its vast offshore natural gas reserves. After investing heavily in liquefied natural-gas technology, Qatar is now one of the leading exporters in the world, with a sovereign wealth fund (known as the Qatar Investment Authority) worth over $85 billion, according to CNN Money.

Today, it is home to the headquarters of the country's largest oil and gas companies, and a population of almost 600,000.

And the city is not done growing. As a result of Qatar's increasing corporate and commercial activity, 47 new skyscrapers are currently being built in Doha, according to Emporis. New hotels will also be joining Qatar's skyline to attract even more tourists to its spa villages, huge malls, and scenic artificial islands. In 2022, Doha will even host the FIFA World Cup in its brand-new (questionable-looking) stadium.

To see how far the country has come since it gained its independence from the United Kingdom just over four decades ago, we compiled some photos of Doha then and now.