In line with the trend witnessed over the last 15 years, Qatar's population grew marginally in the period between November 1 and 30, according to a communique issued by the Ministry of Development Planning & Statistics (MDPS) on Thursday.
It said the population went up by about 1% (26,000) during the 30-day period. While the figures released by the ministry on October 31 put the population at 2,611,000, it rose to 2,637,000, new figures showed.
The ministry also said there had been a population increase of nearly 7.1% this year compared to the figures of the corresponding period last year.
Qatar's population usually increases between October and May every year (commonly referred to as the months of arrivals) and falls during the three months between June 1 and August 31, when a considerable number of expatriates go on vacation. The figure also falls in December when a large number of residents travel.
Though the population starts increasing from September, it is only from the end of October that the figures return to the May level.
The general expectation is that Qatar's population may exceed the 2.7mn mark by the end of February 2017.
While the figures hit the 2.6mn at the end of October, the previous best was in May this year when it was 2,587,000.
The lowest figure so far this year was recorded in July when there were only 2,326,000 residents in Qatar.
This was apparently because of the summer vacation when a sizeable number of people are away from the country.
Related Story