Market Research Company in Qatar
A market research company in Qatar should tell you, before you commit money, whether enough customers will pay your price and who already sells to them. Our studies begin with the National Planning Council’s statistics and MOCI’s Qatar Business Map. Interviews, site visits and, where needed, a survey come after that, and every figure in the report names its source.
Qatar’s market in official numbers
- People living in Qatar at the 2020 census
- 2,846,118
- Share of them who were male
- 71%
- Datasets on Qatar’s open data portal
- 200+
- Between the NPC’s household spending surveys
- 5 years
From the National Planning Council. The census counted the population at the end of December 2020; the male share is our calculation from its figures.
What a market research company in Qatar does
Six questions, each answered from its own kind of evidence.
| Question | What we look at | Where the evidence comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Market size | How many potential buyers there are, and where they live or work | NPC statistics and the open data portal |
| Customers | Who buys, how often, and what makes them choose | Interviews and surveys |
| Competitors | Who already sells to them, and from where | MOCI’s Qatar Business Map and site visits |
| Prices | What customers pay today | Price lists, menus and quotations, collected in the same weeks |
| Costs | What your inputs and premises cost here | Supplier and landlord quotations |
| Rules | Licences and approvals for the activity | The Single Window activity search |
Official data market research companies in Qatar can start from
These sources are open to all market research companies in Qatar, and to you. We begin each study with them.
- National Planning Council
Census 2020, the Qatar Monthly Statistics bulletin, a labour force survey run every month since 2013, and the household income and spending survey, repeated every five years.
- Qatar Open Data portal
More than 200 datasets published by government bodies, with monthly updates.
- Qatar Business Map
MOCI’s map of commercial activities and establishments across Qatar. It has its own research and analysis tools, which we use to see which competitors trade near a site.
- Requests for information
Data a public body holds but has not published can be asked for under Law No. 9 of 2022. If the body charges, the fee may not exceed what it costs to prepare and deliver.
Interviews, surveys and the law
A census count is where the work starts, and not much more. We ask the customers themselves, starting with short interviews; when the decision rests on numbers, a survey comes next.
Two laws apply to that fieldwork: Law No. 13 of 2016 on personal data, and Article 5 of Law No. 2 of 2011 on official statistics.
Rules for fieldwork
- Consent
- Needed unless a legitimate purpose applies (PDPPL, Art. 4)
- Tell respondents
- Who collects the data, and why (Art. 9)
- Keep
- Only what is needed, and no longer (Art. 10)
- Electronic marketing
- Prior consent (Art. 22)
- Field surveys
- Check for approval (Law No. 2 of 2011, Art. 5)
Ask the customers
Would families in a new Lusail compound use a pharmacy at its gate? Only they can say. We also watch a competitor for an hour at its busiest time.
Personal data
The law comes in as soon as a form asks for a name or a phone number. A sheet handed out at that pharmacy gate opens with who is asking and what the answers are for, and a box to tick for consent; anything the question does not need is left off.
Official statistics
Field statistics on households, individuals or establishments need the statistics body’s approval before they start, so before a survey goes out we check whether it falls under that rule.
An example: a laundry in a residential area
Here is how a small one might go. Every number in the report comes out of the fieldwork.
- Count the competition
Every laundry within reach of the site, found on the Qatar Business Map and on foot.
- Collect prices
Price lists for shirts, suits and bedding, gathered in the same week so they compare.
- Talk to residents
How often do they use a laundry, and what would make them change? We ask in short interviews.
- Check the licence
The activity’s approvals and fees on the Single Window, before any lease is signed.
- Write it up
Demand, prices and gaps in the market, each number traced back to where it came from.
Related services
Common questions about market research in Qatar
What comes under market research?
In most studies we look at six things: the size of the market, who buys and why, the competitors, today’s prices, what your inputs will cost, and the licences and approvals the activity needs. A café owner choosing between two streets may need only the first four.
Can I use government statistics for market research in Qatar?
Yes, and that is where we start. A study for a new pharmacy, say, would begin with NPC census results and the monthly statistics bulletin, then the survey tables and the more than 200 datasets on the open data portal. Data that is not published can be requested under Law No. 9 of 2022 from the body that holds it, which may charge only what it costs to provide.
Source: National Planning Council, Data request (Law No. 9 of 2022 on the right to request information)
Do customers have to agree before I survey them in Qatar?
Yes, from the people you ask. Under the personal data law each one consents unless a legitimate purpose applies, and is told who is asking and why. A field survey may also need the statistics body’s approval before it starts, under Article 5 of Law No. 2 of 2011.
Source: Law No. 13 of 2016 on the Protection of Personal Data Privacy, English text (Al Meezan)
What does market research cost in Qatar?
We charge for time, so it depends on the fieldwork. Reading NPC tables and the Qatar Business Map and visiting a few sites is a few days’ work. A survey of a few hundred people takes weeks. If a public body charges for its data, that fee is added.
Source: National Planning Council, Data request (Law No. 9 of 2022 on the right to request information)
Is market research the same as a feasibility study?
Two different jobs. The research shows who buys, who competes and at what price. Rent, staff, equipment and the licence go into the feasibility study, which is where you get a yes or no on opening. We take on either one.
Did not find your question? Ask an adviser. We reply with what applies to your case.
Sources
Official sources for the facts on this page, last checked 24 Oct 2026.
- National Planning Council, statistics and Census 2020 results
- National Planning Council, Surveys and opinion polls
- National Planning Council, Data request (Law No. 9 of 2022 on the right to request information)
- State of Qatar Open Data portal
- Ministry of Commerce and Industry, News: e-commerce licence, Qatar Business Map and new app services (17 Sep 2026)
- Single Window, Business activities search
- Law No. 13 of 2016 on the Protection of Personal Data Privacy, English text (Al Meezan)
- Law No. 2 of 2011 on Official Statistics (Al Meezan, Arabic)
Tell us the product and the decision in front of you.
A few lines will do: what you sell or plan to sell, who you expect to buy it, and what you have to decide, for example whether to open, in which area, or at what price. From that we can work out what needs researching and send a quotation.