Food

 

Food plays a large role in Qatari culture. According to Doha News, Qatar’s Annual International Food Festival, which ran from March 27th through April 8th, drew crowds of thousands to sample the wide array of cuisine. The festival was divided into the categories “hotel food, organic cuisine, Instagram businesses, international food and and area with different embassies serving dishes from their countries." 3 Social media is a vital part of the Doha food experience. The blog Qatar Eating has an Instagram page that is hugely popular among Qatari residents. The expatriate population allows the cuisine to be incredibly diverse. These are some images from the International Food Festival featured on Doha News:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Health

 

Qatar has struggled with obesity since 1980. 4 According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, Qatar had a 47% obesity rate in 2013. 5 Qatar has the highest rate of obesity in men in the MENA region, according to the IHME. 6 Interestingly, obesity was not in the most recent QSA government health report, but it is a prevalent issue. Qatar has one of the highest rates of diabetes in the world, according to the International Diabetes Association. 7Government-organized events like National Sports Day try to combat the obesity issue, but there is still a long way to go. As of 2014, 33.5% of all males under 20 in Qatar were considered obese, and the rates for girls are steadily increasing as well. 8

 

According to the 2001-2010 QSA Health Report (the most recent available), for deaths related to noncommunicable diseases, Circulatory System diseases ranked first, with 17.1 deaths of every 100,000 people. Mortality rates in females continue to be higher than in males. According to the report, “There is a need to better investigate breast, cervical and colon and rectal cancers among females as they are the top three cancers in women." 15

 

The QSA has also published on its website the Global Adult Tobacco Survey, which revealed 20.2% of men and 3.1% of women smoked tobacco in 2013. 16

 

Happiness

 

The UN’s 2015 World Happiness Report ranks Qatar 28th out of 158 nations. 9 The UAE beat Qatar for the Gulf Coast’s happiest country, ranking 20th of 158 nations. 10 Qatar has not seen any change in its National Happiness ranking in recent years, ranking between 27th and 29th for the last seven years. 11 There is no doubt that Qatar presents a high standard of living, established by the Emir himself, who said that the government’s aim is to maintain that high standard in his 60 Minutes interview with Bob Simon featured below. A 2012 “Misery Index” report from The Economist ranked Qatar the “Least Miserable” place to live. 12 However, the same year, Happy Planet ranked Qatar 149 out of 151 nations for its negative environmental impact. 13

 

 

 

 

Although this 60 minutes report aired 5 years ago, its framing of Qatar as a highly successful, fast-moving ‘paradise’ built on oil riches is still the widely held world view of the nation. Bob Simon interviews Qatari officials about Qatar’s role in the Arab Spring, and goes to the Al Jazeera headquarters in Doha. The Emir says he supports Al Jazeera, and Bob Simon discusses the relevant controversy surrounding the news organization—is the Emir’s influence over Al Jazeera political power for Qatar? 14

“We have one obsession...how to let the people continue to live in the same standard,” says Qatari ex-prime minister on raising government wages in a move he claims is not political.