Qatar population soars to record on Cup projects

DOHA: Qatar’s population reached a record 2.35 million in February, boosted by new foreign workers needed for the massive investment linked to the Gulf state hosting the 2022 football World Cup, figures showed on Wednesday
Just 10 years ago, less than one million people lived in Qatar, and the need for even more workers means the tiny country will break even this new record in the very near future, the Qatar National Bank said.
Put in context, growth from a year ago was a whopping 9.5 per cent, according to figures contained in the QNB’s “Monthly Monitor.”
“Qatar’s rapid population growth is a result of the large influx of expatriate workers that are being hired to implement the infrastructure programme,” the bank said.
That was a reference to a $200-billion (183.4 billion euros) spending splurge by the energy-rich state ahead of the World Cup.