Number of vessels arriving in Qatari ports go up by 53.2%, shows official data

When four neighbouring countries imposed an illegal siege on Qatar in mid-2017, the world had expected doom and gloom for Qatar.

But after an initial adjustment period, things started getting back to normal, with the opening of new ports and shipping routes.

Now, official data shows that the total number of vessels arriving at Qatar’s ports increased by an annual rate of 53.2% in January this year, compared to the same period in 2018, according to Gulf Times.

This also led to an increase in the total net tonnage of ships at an annual rate of 159.1%, compared to January last year. These figures were revealed in the 61st issue of the Qatar Monthly Statistics bulletin, released by the Planning and Statistics Authority.

The rise in shipping numbers comes as the authorities ramp up operations at the country's ports, including Hamad Port, whose success lies in having diversified and expanded its business base and playing a significant role in meeting the needs of local markets as well as servicing the country’s major projects.

Meanwhile, total electricity consumption in January was 2,034.3 GWh, marking a monthly decrease of 18.5% compared to December 2018 and an annual drop of 12.2%, according to the data. On the other hand, water consumption in January also saw a monthly decrease of 2.4% and an annual drop of 11.6%.

The statistics further revealed that a total of 591 traffic cases were recorded in January this year, a monthly increase of 13.2%. Light injuries accounted for the vast majority of traffic accidents that month, with 89%, followed by severe injuries at 9%. Twelve deaths were also recorded, equivalent to some 2% of total traffic accidents.

The data also showed that there were a total of 5,598 registered new vehicles in January, which represented a monthly increase of 6.4% and an annual decrease of 10%.

In the banking sector, Total Broad Money Supply (M2) of about QR562.3bn was recorded in January, an annual decrease of 6.1% compared to the same period last year.

Demographic statistics showed that the total population of Qatar increased to 2.77m at the end of January from 2.64m in January 2018, an annual rise of 4.6%.

Regarding vital statistics, 2,195 live births were registered this January, a 0.8% monthly increase compared to December 2018. Also, there was a 0.2% increase in the number of Qatari live births in the same period.

On the other hand, 165 deaths were recorded during the same period, a decrease of 16.7% compared to December 2018.

Meanwhile, the Planning and Statistics Authority's website showed that the total population in the country at the end of February was 2,772,947.