8 Billion Lives

Where you could be born / Asia / Western Asia

Born in Qatar

About 1 in 4,478 people born in 2023 started life in Qatar. A boy can expect to live 82 years and a girl 83, up from 48 and 53 in 1950. Most people live in cities, and nearly everyone has basic drinking water.

1 in 4,478
odds of being born here
29,500 births · Ranked 147th of 230
82 / 83
years of life, boys / girls
Was 48 / 53 in 1950
$32,536
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 23rd of 203 · extrapolated
99%
live in a city
The rest live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 32 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 184 in every 1,000 births to 5.0.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

0255075100195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
050100150200195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth81.6 years for boys, 83.4 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 55.0 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year3,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people3.0World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles99%World Bank WDI
Adults living with HIV0.1%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year40 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 6.5 children on average in 1950. Now it is 1.7, below the 2.1 it takes to keep a population steady.

Children per woman
02468195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman1.73UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth30.4 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 42 and the poorest fifth 7.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2017
7%Poorest fifth
12%Second
17%Middle
23%Fourth
42%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $32,536 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth42% / 7% (2017)World Bank PIP
Unemployment0.1% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises3.0% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person1.2% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming2% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed1% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment100% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Doha, with 344,939 people.

99%
live in cities
100%
have electricity at home
100%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Doha344,939
Ar Rayyān272,465
Lusail198,600
Az̧ Z̧a‘āyin54,339
Umm Ghuwaylīnah39,457
Languages
Share of people who can use each
Arabic89%
Persian11%
Arabic is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Baladiyat ad Dawhah364,914
Baladiyat ar Rayyan300,034
Al Daayen252,939
Al-Shahaniya39,457
Umm Salal29,391
Al Wakrah26,436
Al Khor18,923

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

People on the move

About 0.7% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are Palestine, Australia, United Arab Emirates.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
Palestine9,325
Australia2,716
United Arab Emirates2,500
Residents born abroad76.7% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 0.7% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostPalestine (9,325), Australia (2,716), United Arab Emirates (2,500)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $1.3 billion a year (2025)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

8% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 1%.

8%
of older people receive a pension (2022)
1%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2019)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 2024690Our World in Data, from WHO

Now live it.

Born in Qatar, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Qatar

Elsewhere in Asia

All countries

How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences