# Qatar and Saudi Arabia compared Qatar and Saudi Arabia side by side: 42 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 1 events their chronicles record of each other. Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/qat-vs-sau Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates) Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation. ## Formation - Qatar: 1868 — The Anglo-Qatari settlement recognises Qatar as distinct under the Al Thani - Saudi Arabia: 1744 — The Diriyah pact founds the First Saudi State ## Economy | Metric | Qatar | Observed | Saudi Arabia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | GDP | $219 B | 2024 | $1.24 T | 2024 | | GDP per capita | $76,689 | 2024 | $35,122 | 2024 | | GDP growth | 2.4% | 2024 | 2.0% | 2024 | | Inflation | 1.3% | 2024 | 1.7% | 2024 | | Trade openness | 100.2% | 2022 | 54.7% | 2024 | ## Society | Metric | Qatar | Observed | Saudi Arabia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population | 2.9 m | 2024 | 35 m | 2024 | | Life expectancy | 82.5 yrs | 2024 | 79.0 yrs | 2024 | | Urban population | 99.3% | 2024 | 84.5% | 2024 | | Fertility rate | 1.7 | 2024 | 2.3 | 2024 | ## Governance | Metric | Qatar | Observed | Saudi Arabia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Voice & accountability | 40.1 | 2024 | 29.8 | 2024 | | Political stability | 82.1 | 2024 | 65.1 | 2024 | | Government effectiveness | 73.4 | 2024 | 66.6 | 2024 | | Regulatory quality | 70.1 | 2024 | 66.1 | 2024 | | Rule of law | 67.1 | 2024 | 60.6 | 2024 | | Control of corruption | 63.1 | 2024 | 63.1 | 2024 | ## Health | Metric | Qatar | Observed | Saudi Arabia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Health spending | 2.5% | 2023 | 5.7% | 2023 | | Physicians | 3.02 | 2023 | 3.41 | 2023 | | Under-5 mortality | 5.9 | 2024 | 6.0 | 2024 | | Measles immunisation | 99.0% | 2024 | 96.0% | 2024 | | Safe drinking water | 95.3% | 2024 | — | — | ## Education | Metric | Qatar | Observed | Saudi Arabia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Adult literacy | 97.8% | 2014 | 97.9% | 2024 | | Education spending | 3.2% | 2020 | 4.5% | 2023 | | Primary enrolment | 97.6% | 2024 | 104.0% | 2024 | | Secondary enrolment | 99.6% | 2024 | 110.7% | 2024 | | Tertiary enrolment | 43.0% | 2024 | 83.9% | 2024 | ## Technology | Metric | Qatar | Observed | Saudi Arabia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | R&D spending | 0.7% | 2021 | 0.6% | 2024 | | Researchers (per million) | 948 | 2021 | 1,235 | 2024 | | Internet users | 98.1% | 2024 | 100.0% | 2024 | | Mobile subscriptions | 154 | 2024 | 160 | 2024 | | High-tech exports | 2.8% | 2024 | 0.5% | 2024 | ## Geography | Metric | Qatar | Observed | Saudi Arabia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Land area | 11,490 km² | 2023 | 2,149,690 km² | 2023 | | Forest area | 0.0% | 2023 | 0.5% | 2023 | | Agricultural land | 6.4% | 2023 | 80.8% | 2023 | | CO₂ per capita (t) | 47.3 | 2024 | 18.5 | 2024 | | Renewable energy | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.1% | 2021 | ## Resources | Metric | Qatar | Observed | Saudi Arabia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Resource rents | 27.3% | 2021 | 25.6% | 2021 | | Oil rents | 15.3% | 2021 | 23.7% | 2021 | | Mineral rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.2% | 2021 | | Forest rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 | | Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 100.0% | 2023 | | Bauxite | — | — | 5.7 Mt | 2025 | | Phosphate rock | — | — | 10 Mt | 2025 | ## Military | Metric | Qatar | Observed | Saudi Arabia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Military burden | 6.5% | 2022 | 7.3% | 2024 | | Defense spending | $15 B | 2022 | $80 B | 2024 | | Armed forces | 22,000 | 2020 | 282,000 | 2020 | Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/QAT.md and https://terralore.co/country/SAU.md. ## Entangled histories (1 event) Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources. - 5 June 2017: **Blockade by neighbouring states** — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties and imposed a land, sea and air blockade, accusing Qatar of supporting terrorism; Qatar rejected their thirteen demands as a breach of its sovereignty. (from the Qatar chronicle; sources: Sheikh Tamim ibn Hamad Al Thani; Qatar: History (Persian Gulf, Oil, Gas)) ## Sources - World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org - Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators - Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho - Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org - R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org - ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics - Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex - Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain (U.S. Government work) · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/QAT/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/SAU/chronicle.md. Citation template: Terralore, "Qatar and Saudi Arabia compared", terralore.co/compare/qat-vs-sau, retrieved .