Qatar is one of the safest countries in the world, according to a new report that ranked more than 100 nations on factors such as crime rates, life expectancy and national police presence.
According to ValuePenguin, a New York-based global consultancy, Qatar was the world’s sixth safest small country (nations with populations under 5 million people) in 2015.
Qatar also ranked 14th in an overall index of 106 countries, nestled in between Luxembourg and Malta.
That was far ahead of the only other Gulf country on the index, Bahrain, which ranked 53rd.
According to the report, the safety scores each country received were based on seven factors, in order of increasing importance:
- Population
- CO2 emissions (in metric tons)
- National police personnel (per 100,000 residents)
- Traffic deaths (per 100,000 residents)
- Thefts (per 100,000 residents)
- Assaults (per 100,000 residents); and
- Life expectancy (in years)
According to the report, Qatar had eight assaults per 100,000 people. Bahrain in contrast had 327 per 100,000.
Switzerland, the safest country, had seven, and the bottom-ranked nation, Swaziland, had 1,308 per 100,000 people.
Rising crime rate
Qatar has long enjoyed a reputation as a safe country. According to government statistics, crime is low relative to many other countries around the world, but the rate has been rising over the years.
In 2001, the crime rate was 320 crimes per 100,000 people, but it jumped to 2,355 crimes per 100,000 people in 2010, the 2011 Sustainable Development Indicators report states.
The increase was attributed to the “arrival of numerous number of people from all over the world, in addition to the development occurred to the techniques followed by criminals, which are extrinsic crimes and deeds, that were not common or known previously by the Qatari society.”
More recently, the US released a crime and safety report this year that noted Qatar’s burglary rate is 25 per 100,000 inhabitants – far below the global average of 100 per 100,000 people.
But the report warned that the rate of break-ins is rising:
“The Embassy’s Regional Security Office has assessed prospects for potential crime increases in Qatar over the next 36 months and believes that low level illegal activity will likely continue to increase over time, both in frequency and level of sophistication.”
Thoughts?
I wonder how it would rank if all crimes were reported…
Reported by the victims or the authorities?!
where is MIHM…. we all waiting
He has all the answers, even when wiki doesn’t know he asks MIMH.
People don’t google. They MIMH……
Oh please we don’t need long, philosophical nonsense answers 🙂
Some say animals can hear his calls (excepts cats cause he wants to cull them) and he sleeps upside down like a bat, all we know is that he drives a Maserati and is called MIMH!!!!
Lol
Both
But how do you explain the high pollution and high death rate from traffic?
Just don’t look at it. Nothing to see here, move along…… Oh look! A shiny new mall!
Do you live in Qatar MIMH?
I don’t understand why people that hold such disdain for somewhere would live there.
@Ali – I guess that wasn’t a factor in this particular study, but if it was, Qatar would surely rank among the worst globally.
Katie
http://www.onlyindoha.com
Dear Katie, just looking at the facts with a side dish of humor. Cape Town is one of my favorite places in the world but it also has a violent crime problem. Pretended it doesn’t is intellectual dishonesty.
See things as they are, not how they want you to believe.
Now where’s my G&T
I think seeing things as they are is hugely important, and Qatar has a long way to go in many areas. I choose to try and be an agent of change; rather than constantly put down the country for the problems that are here, I try to look at how things can change and improve, and how I can be a part of that. I don’t think armchair critics help matters, and being around people who hate Doha but choose to stay massively drains my energy.
Katie
http://www.onlyindoha.com
The only people that can change Qatar are the Qataris. We may influence and their culture is changing due to the huge number of expats in Qatar but if you think you can change anything here then you are mistaken. (Well you maybe able to save a few flea bitten cats but that’s about it)
Do u live in qtr?
I don’t understand what that has to do with my comment. Even if I did, I am not Qatari and I am not going to visit the Emiri Diwan and ask the emir for a private audience.
Look at the 7 factors it includes pollution,co 2 emesions ,traffic deaths,assults,theft,number of police officers
Look at the 7 factors it includes pollution,co 2 emesions ,traffic deaths,assults,theft,number of police officers .
Nice, on the whole I would agree Qatar is a safe country.
until something serious happens maybe
Qatar is relatively safe but if you take into account co2 emissions and deaths on the roads I’m surprised at the high ranking.
We have to also take into account crimes that are not reported especially rape and sexual assault. Male expats would never report any and for women especially those from Asia can end up getting arrested for illicit relations, especially if the alleged rapist is well connected. The power of employees over employees can facilitate sexual abuse.
Also there is a lot of nationality on nationality crime that is not reported, especially in labour camps. If you report people get deported and probably even yourself, so you need the job and you keep quiet.
So if you are Qatari in a big house then it’s safe.
If you are white living in a fancy compound with other white people it’s safe.
If you are middle class Asian professional (except for women, especially Filipinas) then it feels safe.
I think one thing that drives the ranking up is the high number of police. You see them everywhere you go. But we all know there’s zero correlation between the number of police and how effective they are. So that’s a false positive in the rankings for sure.
If Qatar could trade one officer that goes out there and enforces the law at the site of the infraction with no prejudice for every twenty “officers” you see sitting on the side of the road playing Candy Crush or checking Instagram the roads/country will be immensely safer nearly overnight.
“We have to also take into account crimes that are not reported especially rape and sexual assault. Male expats would never report any and for women especially those from Asia can end up getting arrested for illicit relations, especially if the alleged rapist is well connected. The power of employees over employees can facilitate sexual abuse”
what you mention here is in most countries, the US for example 68% of rapes do not get reported so you would have to raise all of those numbers up as well. also 98% of rapists do not go to prison
https://www.rainn.org/statistics
Agreed it is an under reported crime around the world for various reasons. However I would say in Qatar and the GCC under reporting is close to 100% due to the way cases are handled
close to 100%
you got any studies to back up that figure? or did you just pull it out of nowhere?
Good point I don’t, because figures are not available in Qatar. However in UAE apparently it is only 9.5% of cases, so I think we could assume similar if not worse for Qatar.
https://dohanews.co/what-to-know-about-rape-in-qatar/
One question, have you ever heard of a Qatari lady report to the police being raped? I can’t think of one, but I’m sure it has happened.
“She could push him (or) resist the movement by moving her hands – that would show a mark or scratch, which proves that she was under a physical struggle,” he said. “But if that doesn’t show, she’s lying. That’s clear for any investigator.”
This quote from the above article is disgusting.
Thankfully I’ve never been in the situation, but there are plenty of reasons not to fight a rapist. If your main concern at that moment is to get our of the situation alive and not buried in a shallow desert grave, complying might be the bravest and smartest option. Doesn’t mean it’s not rape. Also, does that article really state that three years is the maximum sentence for rape? Seriously?
Katie
http://www.onlyindoha.com
Still feeling safe and that justice as a woman would be served?
I never said I thought justice would be served, I’ve been around long enough to know better than that. What I said was that I feel safer here than I do in Dublin, where a nighttime stroll involves hoards of drunkards and the odd heroin addict shooting up or taking a dump in the street.
If something did happen, I would have much more confidence in the police in Ireland, my point is I think it is less likely to happen here in the first place.
Katie
http://www.onlyindoha.com
Once you have been raped, you can’t be un-raped. You have to live with it whether the attacker goes to jail or not (and as it has been pointed out on this thread, most rapists aren’t jailed in the West either). So, on balance, I’d rather live somewhere where I’m less likely to get raped in the first place, than somewhere I’m more likely to get raped but there’s a slightly higher chance of prosecution.
Katie
http://www.onlyindoha.com
Are you sure you are less likely to get raped here than the west? That’s a big presumption.
I’d rather governments were honest about crime figures so I knew more accurately the risk, rather than those they project a happy image but the figures are unknown. Ignorance is bliss I guess
Be careful out there.
Your point is well taken.For women it will be very tramatic in any culture, to be raped.In North America or Other Western Countries, it can be difficult to get a conviction and the press will be very interested, so peoples names and reputations are out there.One thing,for me,thats sets Gulf Countries apart is that women can be arrested for being raped.A lot of the rest,is similar.
Yes. The treatment of rape cases and rape victims is a global issue. I remember reading a huge story last year or few months ago can’t remember specifically about rape kits in many American states that were never tested and some were just stored for over 30 years allowing criminals to commit their crimes again and again. No wonder that rapists in most cases never get convicted or face prison time.
I don’t think so!!!’
I have always felt safer at night in Gulf cities than Western ones, but most crimes against women, especially domestic workers, are never reported.
The parameters for this report seem rather obscure.
Katie
http://www.onlyindoha.com
So is it safe or not? Your statement is contradictory.
You perceive it to be safe but also unsafe due to unreported crimes.
My personal experience is that it is very safe. However, I’m aware that my experience is not shared by all women in this country. Even knowing what I do about unreported crimes, I would feel safer walking home at midnight in Doha than in Dublin.
Katie
http://www.onlyindoha.com
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-18/melbourne-named-worlds-most-liveable-city-again/6705274
That’s all Ive got to say….Couldn’t wait to get back to civilisation after living in the everyman for himself land of sand…