The vast majority of people living in households in Qatar are satisfied with their lives, have little tolerance for people with AIDS and believe domestic violence in not justifiable, according to the preliminary findings of a new Qatar Statistics Authority report using UNICEF indicators.

Some 93 percent of men and 95 percent of women aged 15 to 49 years old said they are somewhat or very happy with their lives, including family life, friendships, employment, health and treatment by others, the Qatar Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) has found.

The survey, which will be published in full early next year, has thus far covered the perspectives of 4,600 households, but does not include laborers and thus may not be based on a sample that’s indicative of the population. 

For example, officials have said more than a third of people here are smokers. But only 17 percent of men and 2 percent of women questioned for this survey reported using a tobacco product in the last month.

Other findings:

• Some 47 percent of boys and 41 percent of girls in Qatar ages 2 to 14 years old experience “violent discipline,” including psychological and physical punishment that includes screaming at and/or calling the child offensive names or actions intended to cause the child physical pain or discomfort but not injuries.

• About 16 percent of men and 7 percent of women said men can beat their wives justifiably under certain circumstances.

• The majority of people in Qatar have heard of AIDS, but most are unaware of how it is transmitted and a minuscule amount – 3 percent of young women and 6 percent of men – express accepting attitudes toward people living with AIDS.

Read the report’s findings here:

Thoughts?

Credit: Photo by TedxPhotos

This article has been amended to say the vast majority of people living in households, instead of the vast majority of people, in Qatar are happy, to more accurately reflect the survey results.