What It’s Like to Live in the Richest Country in the World
By: Kiah Swenson
Tags: Economics, Culture, Money, Finance, Data

Everyday Life

As with anywhere in the world, everyday life in Qatar can vary greatly from person to person. However, there are many rules, laws, and aspects of life in Qatar that help dictate the Qatari people and contribute to a very different lifestyle than what many of us may know or be used to, ourselves.

Here are a few of them…

Housing

As far as housing goes in Qatar, more than 90% of all of the people in the country live in Doha, Qatar’s architecturally unique, capital city filled with skyscrapers, shopping malls, and fast food restaurants. This means that housing often lacks spaciousness and majority of people live in condos or apartments.

The average cost for rent per month in Qatar is about $1,510 USD or 5,500 Qatari Rial, but this can obviously vary greatly depending on where you live. Luckily, rent is one of the only living expenses that Qatari people have to worry about because electricity, water, and phone lines throughout the country are free.

Jobs

Although Qatar’s income varies greatly from the richest of the people, to the poorest, a job is almost guaranteed for everyone in the country. After all, thanks to its strong economy, Qatar’s unemployment rate is one of the lowest in the world, at 0.2%.

Oil and gas is the very clearly the largest industry in the country due to the petroleum deposits mentioned above, and potentially the best industry to be in. Majority of Qatar’s population is actually comprised of people that came to the country looking for work, due to the country’s petroleum deposits and the fact that Qatar does not charge income taxes.

This surge of people moving to the country created a boom in other industries including finance, insurance, construction, and real estate. In addition, Qatar’s plans to host the 2022 World Cup is creating a heavy contribution to the construction industry.

Weather

Weather conditions in Qatar can be extreme. In the summer, temperatures can reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit, or 50 degrees Celcius. This means that temperatures in the late fall and winter months are actually fairly pleasant, however, the cooler temperatures bring flies and frequent sandstorms that give zero visibility and almost require you to stay inside.

Rain is pretty few-and-far between in Qatar, averaging about 8–9 days per year of rainfall. When the rain does hit, it can be nice for helping settle sand/dust levels, however, flash floods are not uncommon either and can completely take over roadways.

Daily Commute

One of the most predominant normalcies in Qatar is the bad driving and traffic conditions. Qatar follows most US road-laws, requiring seatbelts, having speed limit laws, and forbidding driving under the influence (in Qatar, even one drop of alcohol will give you a DUI).

Although their laws are common to other places, roads are considered to be particularly bad due to the high volume of traffic and long travel times that result. As a means to try and keep roads functioning relatively well, laws are strict and fines within the country are steep, and almost certain to hit if one fails to abide by the rules.

One of the upsides to driving in Qatar is the cheap price of gasoline due to the country’s oil reserves. Gas is oftentimes cheaper than a bottle of water and is pumped for drivers by a pump attendant year round.

Religion

Religion is something that’s very important in Qatar. The Islamic culture and calendar helps dictate daily life for majority of everyone in the country. For example, because Friday is the Islamic holy day, work and school weeks run from Sunday through Thursday and it’s common for most businesses to be closed for most, if not all, of the day on Friday’s.

Wardrobe choices throughout the country are also dictated by the Islamic religion. Most Qatari men wear traditional white thobes and headdresses of white or white and red. Qatari women can be seen wearing black abayas, which can be plain or decorated elaborately, and hijab’s or veils that help cover their face.

Because wardrobe is so important to the Qatari people, in 2014 they went so far as to launch a campaign requesting modest dress code for tourists visiting the country.

While majority of the Qatari people are Muslim (part of the Sunni sector of Islam, to be specific), other religions are allowed to be practiced. Some of the other main religions practiced throughout the country include Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism.

Education

Education in Qatar is required for all children and is based on a 12-year public school system, much like the United States. However, public education in Qatar is completely free and the quality of schooling varies greatly from person to person.

Schools in Qatar are independently owned, meaning that every school does not follow the same curriculum and guidelines. This requires families to individually decide what’s important to their children's educational and future needs and match them up with a school that matches their values. As a result, many of the better schools in Qatar have waitlists and children are not guaranteed a spot in their school of choice.

Some of the subjects taught in most Qatari schools include Arabic, English, math, science, and Islamic studies. Meanwhile, some of the more elite schools can have certain subject-focuses like business, commerce, science, technology, or religion.