Posted: Tuesday 13 July
Qatar has the highest mobile phone and broadband penetration rates in the Middle East, according to a recent study.
Euromonitor International’s new country briefing report, “Technology, Communication and Media: Qatar” shows that mobile phone penetration in Qatar has grown 37.7 percent in five years.
Euromonitor International is one of the leading independent providers of business intelligence on industries, countries and consumers. Its information is compiled from a variety of sources including national statistical offices, private industry, trade associations and Euromonitor’s own primary research.
The study on Qatar attributes the continuous growth in mobile phone and broadband services to the high purchasing power of consumers here, which is proven by the level of consumer expenditure on telecommunications equipment and services, which is one of the highest in the Gulf region.
Connectivity and Usage - By The Numbers
44.5 percent of Qatari households possess a broadband-enabled computer ( end of 2009) up from 6.8 percent in 2004.
Other GCC countries on broadband penetration in 2009
Bahrain (26.6 percent house holds have broadband connection)
Kuwait (26 percent)
UAE (18.8 percent)
Saudi Arabia (8 percent)
The number of telephone lines in use also increased from 191,000 lines in 2004 to 274,600 lines in 2009.
Internet
Facebook is the fourth most popular website in Qatar, with 160,000 active users in August 2009.
This represents more than 34.7 percent of Qatar's total internet users.
Facebook usage across the region in 2009:
20.5 percent of UAE internet users
20.3 percent of Kuwaiti internet users
11 percent of Saudi internet users
The position of Twitter among the 100 most visited websites in Qatar suggests a growing interest for micro-blogging activities over traditional blogging.
However, internet usage in Qatar is generally hindered by the lack of Arabic content, as well as censorship, according to the report.