A few words on the data collected and presented – these figures are not official numbers published by the Qatari Government. In most cases they are estimates and as always, there is room for error. We started our research by contacting Qatar Statistics Authority, as in any country that is the first place to turn to when looking for statistics on demographics. We were however not able to receive it, with QSA stating: “We regret to inform you that the required data is not available.

With that in mind, we decided to approach it from a different angle – mostly by contacting foreign Embassies stationed in Doha and asking them for their estimates or exact figures, depending on what they had on offer. As expected in such an endeavour, not all Embassies could be reached, had data or in a couple of rare cases, were not willing to share that information.

In addition to those sources, an NHRC report which featured in several media outlets was used, as well as two QSA reports, which were used to extrapolate the number of Qatari nationals. All available sources can be found at the end of this article.

There are a number of prominent nationalities, which are present in substantial numbers, but are not listed in our report. To name a few: Egypt, Morocco, Somalia, Yemen, Syria, Spain, Ireland, Ethiopia, etc. These will be added at a later point in time, if and when the data becomes available.

The TOP 5 nationalities in Qatar, represent 72% of population in the country, with Indians alone accounting for 26%.

Fast growth

Qatar has one of the fastest population growths in the world. This especially holds true for post 2000 period, with the population quadrupling in the last 13 years.

According to Doha News the total population is expected to rise another 15% in 2014. This astonishing speed can be attributed to a number of infrastructure projects, which are going to gain momentum next year.

Due to the majority of construction workers coming from the Indian subcontinent, the number of South Asians currently standing at around 1,2 million, is most likely to receive another huge boost.

Sources:

1.) Direct information given to bqdoha.com by embassies (telephone or email): Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, China, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Eritrea, France, Gambia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, South Korea, Lebanon, Liberia, Macedonia, Malaysia, Netherlands, Pakistan, Palestine, Romania, Russia, Senegal, Singapore, South Africa, Sudan, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey and Venezuela.

2.) Existing sources published previously in the media: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Croatia, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka and United Kingdom:
-http://www.arabianbusiness.com/qatar-s-population-exceeds-2m-521314.html
-http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/plus/cover-plus/213479/a-school-for-latecomers
-http://www.qatar-tribune.com/viewnews.aspx?n=F0A81218-7D10-4457-A499-52EE8EB51CAC&d=20130705
-http://www.gulf-times.com/qatar/178/details/367441/qatar-indonesia-trade-volume-rose-by-%E2%80%98300%25-over-one-year%E2%80%99
-http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/news/qatar/255098/qatar-will-host-successful-world-cup-says-uk-envoy

3.) Data on Qatari population extrapolated from two reports:
http://www.qsa.gov.qa/eng/publication/Social_publications/Women%20and%20Men%20Report/Woman%20and%20Man%20in%20The%20State%20of%20Qatar%202012.pdf
http://www.qsa.gov.qa/eng/publication/annabs/2013/Quarterly%20LFS%20web%20report3ndqtr2013%20.xls

demographyexpatriatesQatar population