Qatar's population has reached an all-time high of 2,673,000 on February 28, climbing 3.8% compared to the previous month, according to the figures released by the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics (MDPS).
The previous highest population figure of 2,637,000 was recorded on November 30. The latest figures also reveal that compared to the population during February last year, there was a 5% rise last month. The population of February 2016 was a little over 2.5mn.
Usually, at the end of December every year, there is a fall in the Qatar population as large number of residents, especially expatriates, travel home on vacation. Though a marginal rise in the population is usually seen in January every year, the substantial increase happens in February.
The latest figure shows there was an increase of approximately 97,000 residents between January 31 and February 28. At the end of January, the population was 2,576,000. It is the first time in six months that there was such a massive growth in the population in less than 30 days, inquiries found.
The lowest population in the last one year was recorded in July 2016 when there were only 2,326,000 residents in the country. This was apparently because a large number of the expatriates were away on holidays.
Compared to that figure, the latest figure shows an increase of approximately 347,000 residents. The figure is expected to show an increasing trend until May, it is understood.
The country's population touched the 2.6 million mark for the first time in October last year, when there were 2,611,000 residents.