Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Qatar instead of Saudi Arabia, you would:
Health
live 3.5 years longer
In Saudi Arabia, the average life expectancy is 79 years (77 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024. In Qatar, that number is 83 years (82 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2024.
see 16.5% less spent on your healthcare
Saudi Arabia spends $3,475 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Qatar spends $2,901 as of 2023.
have 11.3% fewer doctors per person
Saudi Arabia has 34.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Qatar has 30.2 as of 2023.
be 4.9 times more likely to die by suicide
Saudi Arabia has a suicide rate of 0.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Qatar, it is 4.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 95.7% less likely to be unemployed
In Saudi Arabia, 3.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Qatar, that number is 0.1% as of 2025.
make 2.1 times more money
Saudi Arabia has a GDP per capita of $34,537 as of 2025, while in Qatar, the GDP per capita is $72,525 as of 2025.
Life
be 42.9% less likely to die during childbirth
In Saudi Arabia, approximately 7.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Qatar, 4.0 women do as of 2023.
have 42.3% fewer children
In Saudi Arabia, there are approximately 16.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Qatar, there are 9.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 27.9% less on education
Saudi Arabia spends 4.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Qatar spends 3.2% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
spend 55.7% less on healthcare
Saudi Arabia spends 5.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Qatar, that number is 2.5% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 78.7% less coastline
Saudi Arabia has a total of 2,640 km of coastline. In Qatar, that number is 563 km.
Safety
be 92.6% less likely to be murdered
Saudi Arabia has a homicide rate of 0.9 per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Qatar, that number is 0.1 per 100,000 as of 2022.
be 60.5% less likely to die in a road accident
In Saudi Arabia, road accidents kill 18.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Qatar, they kill 7.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 55.8% less strain on fresh water
Saudi Arabia withdraws 974% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Qatar withdraws 431% as of 2022.
use 67.6% more electricity
Saudi Arabia uses 11,911 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Qatar uses 19,963 kWh as of 2023.
find 73.2% less home broadband
Saudi Arabia has 44.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Qatar has 11.8 as of 2024.
Environment
emit 2.6 times more CO2
Saudi Arabia emits 18.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Qatar emits 47.3 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2019–2025), The World Factbook, United Nations SDG Indicators (2021). How we calculate this
Compare further: Saudi Arabia vs. Qatar
Qatar: At a glance
How big is Qatar compared to Saudi Arabia? See an in-depth size comparison.