Market Trends of Qatar Senior Living Industry
Increase in Senior Population and Life Expectancy
The population of older persons in GCC countries has been increasing rapidly since the 1980s. As in most developed countries, the Arab region is experiencing significant gains in life expectancy at age 60. As life expectancy increases, quality of life and health issues become a growing concern for older persons.
In 2022, the total population of Qatar was 2.69 million inhabitants, and about 1.5 percent of Qatar's total population was 65 years and older. It is expected to reach 10.01% by 2040, thus driving the market.
Following a 2020 and 2021 slump amid the COVID-19 pandemic, residential rents and senior housing prices in the region were expected to pick up, in line with anticipated increasing housing demand in 2023. The existing demand-supply gap in the housing sector indicates room for improvement and further action in the form of senior housing policies and subsidies.
Increase in Old Age Dependency Ratio
In all GCC countries, the proportions of older persons slightly declined from 1970 to 2015 (except in Bahrain, where the proportion stayed the same). Over the period 2015-2050, countries that will likely experience the fastest growth in the population of older persons are (in ascending order of growth) Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, with rates ranging from 5.2 percent to 7.5 percent. Countries with high positive net migration rates, caused mainly by labor migration, had small total dependency ratios, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
While people are living longer, older persons are not necessarily in good health. In general, women in Bahrain live longer than men, but they experience poorer health conditions in old age. Poor health results in high medical expenses that older persons and their families must bear if social security programs do not cover them. In Bahrain, individuals without medical insurance have to pay out-of-pocket for treatment.
In the Arab region, formal old-age assistance is available primarily through ministries of social affairs, the United Nations Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA), and aid programs funded principally by the European Union and the World Bank. However, those programs are limited in scope and depend entirely on foreign donors, and therefore cannot guarantee beneficiaries a regular income or sustainable payments. In GCC countries, except Qatar, foreign workers are also not permitted to remain in the country once they reach retirement age, thus denying them pension coverage. The value for the Old age dependency ratio in Qatar was 21% as of 2022.
