Non-communicable diseases (NCD) cause 69% of the fatalities in Qatar, according to a report published in The Report 2016 (Qatar) of the Oxford Business Group.
The most fatal non-communicable diseases in the country are cardio-vascular diseases (24%), cancer (18%), diabetes (9%) and lung diseases (1%), it has said.
All other NCDs together account for nearly 17% of the fatalities, the report added, quoting the health ministry sources.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) reckons that the probability of dying in Qatar from one of the above four ailments for those in the 30-70 age group is 1:7.
As for the adult risk factors, some 19.8% of the population had diabetes, according to a report of the International Diabetes Federation.
A WHO data shows nearly 42.3% of the local population are obese.
A similar WHO and State authorities' survey in 2013 showed tobacco use at 12.1% among the adults.
The report also said the country spent 2.2% of its GDP on health with the government contributing nearly 85.7% of the outlay in 2014, the latest year for which data is available.
In per capita terms Qatar spent the most among the GCC countries on health, at $2016. The UAE ($1611) and Kuwait ($1386) came second and third respectively.
This, however, likely understates the spending power of the Qatari nationals as close to 90% of the country's population are expatriates who are not as yet entitled to free public health care and for whom employer-provided insurance is not widespread, the report added.
The report said the country's budget spending on health hit QR20.9bn in 2016 from QR15.7bn in the previous year.
A 'GCC Health Care Industry' report has forecast that Qatar Healthcare market would clock a compound annual growth rate of 12.7% in the five years to 2020. Nearly 67% would be for the outpatient care, it said.
Related Story