Qatar is pricier than the UAE: what costs QR 100 in Qatar costs QR 92 in the UAE, 2024

Household spending that costs QR 100 in Qatar costs QR 92 in the UAE at market exchange rates in 2024. The UAE figures cover the whole country, Dubai included, not Dubai alone.

The other Gulf states come out lower still:

• Kuwait: QR 79
• Saudi Arabia: QR 66
• Bahrain: QR 66
• Oman: QR 64

These figures come from the World Bank's price level of household spending. In 2024 Qatar's level is 75.7 and the UAE's is 69.8, on a scale where the US is 100. Qatar's level is 8.5% above the UAE's. On the World Bank figures, Qatar ranks 1 of the six Gulf states, meaning the highest price level.

The World Bank says purchasing power parities are not a precise measure for strict rankings of countries, so small gaps should be read as similar. Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, both at QR 66, are one such pair.

2024 is the latest year the World Bank gives for Qatar. Figures after 2021 are World Bank estimates, not new price surveys.

The World Bank compares categories only for 2021, so every category figure here is for 2021 and none is current. That year the overall price level was 80.0 in Qatar and 74.3 in the UAE (US = 100). Qatar's level was 7.7% above the UAE's.

The biggest gap among the ten categories is housing and utilities. Spending that costs QR 100 in Qatar costs QR 66 in the UAE. Qatar's housing and utilities price level is 154.7 (World = 100). This is a national average, not rent in any area.

The UAE is also cheaper in recreation and culture (QR 85) and transport (QR 95).

In five categories the UAE cost at least 2% more than Qatar in 2021:

• Health: QR 130
• Furniture and household goods: QR 114
• Food and soft drinks: QR 109
• Education: QR 107
• Restaurants and hotels: QR 105

Communication (QR 100) and clothing and footwear (QR 101) are close to Qatar's level.

The education figure is a national price level, not international school fees.

The table gives the 2021 category figures for each Gulf state, as the cost of spending that costs QR 100 in Qatar.

Housing and utilities is lower than Qatar in all four states: Saudi Arabia QR 31, Bahrain QR 45, Kuwait QR 49 and Oman QR 49.

Kuwait has the highest health figure, QR 151, and an education figure of QR 114. Saudi Arabia's health figure is QR 103. In food and soft drinks, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are both at QR 102.

Bahrain and Oman are below QR 100 in all ten categories. In communication, Bahrain is at QR 56 and Oman at QR 49. In restaurants and hotels, Saudi Arabia is at QR 72, Bahrain QR 68 and Oman QR 66, while Kuwait is at QR 102. In education, Saudi Arabia is at QR 61, Bahrain QR 60 and Oman QR 66.

These are 2021 figures and not current gaps. Health, education, housing and recreation include services that government provides to households. All figures are national averages of a broad basket.

Qatar's price level of household spending was 7.7% above the UAE's in 2021 and 8.5% above it in 2024. Qatar's level went from 80.0 to 75.7 over those years, and the UAE's from 74.3 to 69.8 (US = 100). Kuwait's went from 63.6 to 59.9.

Several limits apply to these figures:

• Price levels are national averages of a broad basket of goods and services. They do not describe any one household's bills, rents in a particular area or international school fees.
• The UAE figures cover the whole country, not Dubai alone.
• Category figures exist only for 2021, the year the World Bank's International Comparison Program measured prices. No category gap is shown for 2024.
• The World Bank's World Development Indicators extrapolate the 2021 purchasing power parities to later years. The 2022 to 2024 figures are therefore World Bank estimates, not new price surveys.
• The World Bank says these measures are not precise enough for strict rankings, so small gaps should be read as similar.

The 2021 World Development Indicators figure for Qatar is within 0.3% of the 2021 figure used for the categories.