Qatar scored yet another record in technical advancement by notching up to the top position in the global Internet adoption list. The Global State of Digital 2021 report released by Hootsuite ranked Qatar number one globally in Internet adoption. Out of the more than 230 countries and territories around the world featured in the report, Qatar was placed at the number one position with 99 percent of the country’s population logging on to the Internet, showing the high level of communication technology penetration among the people.
Yet another interesting fact revealed by the Hootsuite report is that there are 2.87 million social media users in Qatar, which is about 98.8 percent of the total estimated population of 2.91 million people. With an increase of 35,000 between January 2020 to January 2021, the number of mobile connection in Qatar rose to 4.67 million or 160.6 percent of the population.
The Internet has revolutionised communication and it has become a preferred medium for people to pass in information and to keep in touch with others. People use the Internet for everything right from ordering a pizza to buying home appliance or availing government services. The COVID-19 pandemic has tremendously increased the dependence on the Internet for our everyday life and it has become an inevitable tool for the office-goers to work from home and for school-going children for their daily lessons. When it comes to adoption of new technology, Qatar is at par with the most advanced countries in the world. The country with its far-sighted leaders, has invested heavily in communication infrastructure well in advance, which involved billions of dollar, but paid off fast, especially during the pandemic. The country’s COVID-19 special application, Ehteraz, was lauded for its efficacy and accuracy not only in the country but outside the country and the region.
The Ehteraz green status was enough as a proof of being virus-free for arrivals from Qatar in several countries. During the pandemic, Qatar’s health system depended heavily on technology to reach millions of people with different ailments in a timely and efficient manner, which saved them personal visits to hospitals and clinics, limiting the spread of the virus to the vulnerable people. All the government services were available at the click of a button and thousands of people worked from the comfort of their homes hassle-free and thus its modern technological advancement spared the country a total lockdown like what happened in majority of the countries.
Qatar substantially invested in 5G technology even before most of the countries even started thinking of it. The country became the first in the world to rollout 5G services enabling peak Internet connection speed to achieve 1Gbps, enabling high-speed Internet connectivity across the country
