Qatar population surged by more than 10% in 2014

Qatar’s population grew by more than 10 percent last year, fueled by the country’s massive spending on infrastructure projects, figures released on Wednesday showed.

The Qatar National Bank (QNB), in its monthly monitor report, said the number of people moving to live in the energy-rich Gulf state rose by 10.1 per cent during 2014.

The QNB said the growth reflected the “large influx of expatriate workers filling the 120,000 new jobs created in Qatar each year”.

Around 2.2 million people live in Qatar, with some 90 per cent of the population made up of people from overseas.

Last year’s was the highest growth rate since 2010, when the population jumped by more than 11 per cent.

From 2011 to 2013, Qatar’s population grew at an annual average rate of around seven per cent.

The tens of thousands of new jobs being created each year reflect the huge investment in infrastructure by Qatar.

This will not change despite the recent fall in oil prices.

Qatari Finance Minister Ali Shareef al-Emadi said recently that around US$200 billion had been approved for projects including developing the country’s railway network and building a new port in the runup to the football World Cup, which it will host in 2022.

Regional business intelligence specialist, MEED, has predicted that Qatar will see $30 billion worth of new infrastructure projects through 2015.

Jakarta post/AFP