Rahat is one of seven Bedouin townships in the Negev desert with approved plans and developed infrastructure.

In 1972 Rahat was considered by the government of Israel as a new settlement for Bedouin who lived in the surrounding area without permanent domicile.

[12] In 2007 the Center for Jewish-Arab economic development initiated an entrepreneurship and employment project for Rahat residents.

Approximately 40 Bedouin women took part in it and received training in job search, computer skills and business management.

Twelve of them have launched their own businesses (shops, clothing, hairdressing, restaurant and catering, sewing).

Twenty Arab-Bedouin women from the towns of Rahat, Lakiya, Tel Sheva, Segev Shalom, Kuseife and Rachma participated in a sewing course for fashion design at the Amal College in Beer Sheva, including lessons on sewing and cutting, personal empowerment and business initiatives.

[21] Social and Environmental Leadership Program was established in Rahat in the mid-2000s, initiated by young local residents.

Soon a new Harvard University campus will be established in Rahat - inside Idan HaNegev Industrial Park.

There are branches of several health funds (medical clinics) in Rahat: Leumit, Clalit, Maccabi and several perinatal (baby care) centers Tipat Halav.

[22] Members of several Bedouin family clans reside in Rahat: According to the CBS, in 2001 there were 16,300 males and 16,100 females.

The city receives many tourists from Israel and from abroad, especially during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

It made it more accessible for the local residents to work and study in Beer Sheba and other parts of the country.

[35] In 2019, one of the earliest rural mosques in the world was unearthed in Rahat, apparently dating to a century or two after the founding of Islam.