Qatar in 2024 reinforced steady global leadership

Qatar continues its journey on the path of development and construction, moving with firm and steady steps towards a bright future to advance the nation and prepare the Qatari people to excel, contribute, and achieve, as well as build and protect their country, while preserving its entity, rights, and capabilities.
Stemming from the slogan “Qatar deserves the best from its citizens”, repeatedly emphasised by the country’s wise leadership, the state has continued to implement its projects and vision, promoting its image as one of the most inspiring models of ambition and achievement. This effort has led Qatar to secure advanced positions in global indicators and classifications.
Since the launch of Qatar National Vision 2030, Qatar has made significant progress in leveraging the returns from its investments in the energy sector to build world-class infrastructure and institutions. During the first phase of development, many key national institutions were established, including the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Qatar Airways, and Qatar Foundation (QF). During the second phase, the country successfully developed the vital infrastructure needed for future growth, including ports, airports, the metro, and a modern network of highways.
Qatar ranked first in the region in the most prominent global governance indicators for 2024, issued by the World Bank. The National Planning Council explained that Qatar achieved the top rank in the indicators of political stability and the rule of law. The council attributed Qatar’s progress in the global governance indicators to the state’s efforts in enhancing the pillars of the global governance index and achieving sustainable development effectively.
Qatar’s ranking in the World Competitiveness Book for 2024 rose to 11th globally, compared to 12th last year, out of 67 countries, most of which are developed nations, included in the book issued by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Switzerland.
The competitiveness assessment was based on developments in a comprehensive set of data and indicators at the local level, in addition to a survey completed by some company managers and businesspersons regarding the business environment and the competitiveness of the Qatari economy.
These data and indicators were compared with their counterparts from other countries covered in the book. The axes in which Qatar secured advanced ranks included the economic performance axis, ranked 4th globally, the government efficiency axis, ranked 7th globally, and the business sector efficiency axis, ranked 11th globally. Qatar also ranked 33rd globally in the infrastructure axis.
The positive impact on the rankings of the various axes was driven by the distinguished performance of several factors classified under these four axes. Within the economic performance axis, the most prominent indicators were the general unemployment rate, the youth unemployment rate, and the terms of trade, in which Qatar ranked first globally.
In the government efficiency axis, Qatar achieved first place in both the consumption tax rate and the individual income tax rate, while ranking second globally in the public finance index. As for the business sector efficiency axis, Qatar ranked first globally in the effectiveness of company boards of directors and the human stock of expatriate workers, while it ranked second globally in the working hours index. Qatar also ranked first in indicators of energy sector infrastructure and the number of Internet users per thousand population.
Qatar ranked 40th globally according to the latest human development reports issued by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) for 2023-2024, based on a set of approved indicators, most notably the per capita share of the total national income, which reached $95,944.
Qatar made significant progress in the UN E-Government Development Index (EGDI), jumping from 78th to 53rd out of 193 countries. It also ranked 5th globally in the Telecommunications Infrastructure Index. This dual index, published by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, assesses the success of governments in using e-services to improve the lives of individuals and businesses, as well as the overall development of e-governments worldwide.
The E-Government Development Index report evaluates the development of governments in 193 countries based on the average of three main indicators: the Smart E-Services Index, the Communications Infrastructure Index, and the Human Capital Index, reflecting the ability of countries to provide advanced digital services.
Qatar is planning a comprehensive digital transformation by 2030, aiming to position itself as a strong competitor in smart cities, e-government, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and the metaverse. This initiative is expected to yield significant economic benefits and enhance Qatar’s status as a global leader in digital technology.
Qatar’s healthcare system has become a model of excellence, earning trust not only regionally but also globally. Recent figures show that by the end of 2023, the public sector included 19 hospitals and long-term care facilities, along with 35 health centres distributed across the country, including six health and wellness centres. The total workforce in the public healthcare sector reached 29,960 professionals.
In the private sector, there were 10 hospitals, 21 day-surgery centres, 417 general and specialized health centres (including dental clinics), 319 diagnostic centres (medical labs, radiology centres, dental labs, and vision testing facilities), 140 individual and corporate clinics, 135 health and nursing agencies, and 1,251 first aid units. The private healthcare workforce totalled 21,417 professionals.
Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) received several awards at the Global Forum on Person-Centered Care, organised by Planetree International, a US-based healthcare organisation with over 45 years of experience. HMC was also honoured with two awards for its transformative journey in patient-centred care at the prestigious Patient Experience Awards ceremony held in Saudi Arabia.
Qatar won the 2024 Global Innovation Award in the “Good Health and Well-being” category from the World Development Organisation at the Cloud Cities Forum, dedicated to the future of major cities in the Brics group, held in September in Moscow. Additionally, Doha was awarded the Shanghai Global Sustainable Development Award for Cities, recognising its pioneering efforts in achieving sustainable development goals through effective policies and action plans.
The Ministry of Interior won the Arab Government Excellence Award for the best smart government application, “Metrash2”, at the Arab Government Excellence Awards, organised under the auspices of the General Secretariat of the Arab League to honour leading models in government work across the Arab world.
The Public Works Authority (Ashghal), represented by its Roads Projects Department, received ten international safety awards from the British Safety Council for several infrastructure development projects in 2024, marking the fifth consecutive year of such recognition.
Hamad International Airport (HIA) was recently named the “World’s Best Airport 2024” by the Skytrax World Airport Awards. HIA also won the “Best Airport for Shopping” award for the second consecutive year and the “Best Airport in the Middle East” award for the tenth consecutive year. Qatar Airways, which operates the airport, was awarded “Best Airline of the Year” for the eighth time, an unprecedented achievement.
Since its opening in 2014, HIA has continued to expand, serving a cumulative total of approximately 303 million passengers. In 2023, HIA was ranked among the world’s busiest flight routes, according to a report by the UK-based aviation data company OAG.