there has been much press lately about the drop in prices, food, and especially housing prices have been decreasing. So if you bring up a need for an increase in your allowances and salary right now, you probably won't get very far, maybe even have allowances decreased!

There is something called the Qatar Statistics Authority at http://www.qsa.gov.qa/eng/index.htm May be helpful, but not sure. The English spelling in their reports is atrocious, they even spell literacy wrong! Makes me wonder about errors in their methodologies and data collection if they can't get even that right.