Hisham Aljundi
Doha
Qatar has been ranked among the countries with the lowest crime rates in the world, reflecting its global security status that goes in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030, according to the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics (MDPS).
This came in remarks by Mohammed al Muhannadi, Director of Population and Social Statistics Department at the ministry, during a presentation at the opening of a workshop on crime statistics.
Muhannadi said Qatar has the lowest crime rate in the Middle East and the seventh-lowest globally, according to the latest annual Global Crime Index (Numbeo).
The workshop is part of efforts by the ministry to promote data collection to formulate accurate statistics of the country.
The workshop aims to identify sources of crime statistics, their importance, ways to improve them and identify indicators of sustainable development.
The workshop throws lights on ways to use the best methods in the field of crime statistics to improve the quality and dissemination of data and enhance cooperation between various institutions and ministries in this area.
Muhannadi pointed out that Qatar topped the list of the Middle East and North Africa in the Global Peace Index for the ninth year in a row, ranking 30th among the 163 countries included in the report of the London Institute for Economics and Peace.
He said Qatar has maintained its first ranking in the Middle East and North Africa over the past years (2009-2017) and it has also achieved advanced positions globally in the same period by achieving high assessment rates that surpassed many developed countries.
Qatar ranked second on the list of the top 24 safe countries in the world, according to the annual report issued by the Swiss Golden Visa organisation in 2016, expressing the Ministry's appreciation for the performance of officials and components of civil society in the field of security.
Muhannadi said the Ministry is working to standardise the concepts and terminology of crime data.
Sultan al Kuwari, assistant undersecretary of statistics affairs at the MDPS, stressed the importance of crime statistics and security information and their role in the development of security strategies.
He pointed out that the workshop would also be a starting point for the implementation of the recommendations of the United Nations Statistical Commission in accordance with the crime statistics manual adopted in that field.
Experts and technicians in the field of crime statistics attended the workshop along with representatives of the main stakeholders responsible for crime statistics in the country.