The population of Qatar exceeded 1.76 million people at the end of January, a new all-time high for the rapidly developing country, according to newly released Qatar Statistics Authority figures.

The 1,759,227 figure, which represents the number of nationals and expats within Qatar as of Jan. 31, 2012, is at least 36,000 more than the previous highest recorded at the end of November last year.

Gulf Times reports:

A significant development as per the latest figures is that the country’s male population crossed 1.3mn for the first time. The females are a little more than one-fourth of the total population at 26 percent…

Usually, a large number of people going on vacation return to the country in the first two weeks of January and their numbers would have swelled the population…

The first time the country’s population crossed 1.7mn was in May last year, when the figures of 1,703,448 were released by the statistical authority.

Interestingly, UN figures show that with an influx of more than 500 people a day, including some 50 daily births and 20 immigrants arriving an hour, Qatar is the world’s fastest growing country.

So for those who feel like traffic on the roads has really gotten out of control – take heart, it’s not all in your head!