Qatar's population growth

More than 208,000 foreign workers, including family members of some, arrived in the country last year, beating all records, official figures show.

The figure should, in fact, be higher considering that last month some 23,000 people left the country, population data for 2013, released yesterday, suggest.

In 2012, new arrivals totalled only 129,000, some 28,000 of them being women. Among those who arrived here afresh in 2013, women numbered a little over 36,000.

The population growth last year works out to more than 10 percent. Qatar’s population had breached a record two million-mark last September, when it suddenly swelled to 2.03 million, from 1.86 million the previous month.

In the month of September, the population had grown by more than 170,000.  The population had peaked at 2.06 million (2,068,050) last November. Talking of the population until December 31, the Ministry, as usual, said: “The data represents the number of persons of all ages within the boundaries of the State of Qatar” as on that date.

For the first time, the population of women had crossed the 500,000-barrier, and peaked at 533,674 last November. It was marginally down to 515,138 until December 31, apparently, as many families are out vacationing.

In 2012, women totalled some 472,613, while their number was 436,562 the previous year, and 409,000 in 2010.

For 2013, the target was set at 1.78m, but by the end of the year the population exploded beyond the two-million-mark.

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Source: The Peninsula | Photo: QL Flickr Group