Living in Qatar has gotten even more expensive over the past 12 months thanks to a significant increase in school fees, according to new government figures.

Education costs rose 7.1 percent from June 2015 to June 2016, the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics (MDPS) said while announcing its monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) report.

The increase in tuition fees reflect escalating rent for school buildings, and the rising cost of hiring and accommodating teachers in Qatar.

Home rental costs also rose in the past year, by about 4.8 percent.

Annual changes

Overall, the CPI increased 2.5 percent in the past year.

In addition to tuition, the jump was fueled by increases in the cost of Recreation and Culture (5.2 percent) and Transport (2.6 percent.)

Meanwhile, in the past 12 months, smaller rises were reported in five other categories:

• Miscellaneous Goods and Services: 2.4 percent;
• Clothing and Footwear: 1.9 percent;
• Furniture and Household Equipment: 0.6 percent; and
• Communication: 0.1 percent.

Over the year, only the price of Tobacco products remained the same, while three other categories decreased.

These were Food and Beverages (2.6 percent drop), Health (1 percent drop) and Restaurants and Hotels, which saw a 0.5 percent drop.

Monthly difference

Month-on-month, however, June’s CPI figures remain about the same as May 2016.

But three categories in the index did go up in price over the month – Transport by 0.8 percent, and Clothing and Footwear and Recreation and Culture by 0.7 percent each.

Meanwhile, it became cheaper last month to buy goods in these four categories:

• Food and Beverages (down 1.8 percent);
• Restaurants and Hotels (down 0.5 percent);
• Miscellaneous Goods and Services (down 0.4 percent); and
• Furniture and Household Equipment (down 0.1 percent).

And to end on a positive note, from May 2016 to June 2016, Housing costs remained flat.

It had previously seen a small decrease in April this year, suggesting that increases in housing costs won’t be so dramatic in the coming months.

Here’s the full report:

How do these figures compare to your own experience? Thoughts?