Qatar’s population grew another 216,000 people last month compared to the same time last year, marking yet another all-time high for the nation.

There were 2,559,267 residents in Qatar as of April 30, a 9 percent jump from April 2015, according to figures released by the Ministry of Development, Planning and Statistics (MDPS).

Month-on-month, there was only a 1.27 percent increase in the population (or 32,000 more people) from the end of March this year.

This is likely due to the late return of residents vacationing on spring break.

MDSP figures show the number of people in the country on the last day of the month. They don’t take into account any locals or expats who are outside of Qatar on that day.

Typically, May and November are the most populous months for Qatar.

If this year follows the same pattern, the number of residents here is likely to climb again this month before dropping for the summer, as some residents leave for good and others go abroad for holiday.

Ramadan starts in early June this year while many schools are still in session, so the most marked population drop is likely to take place around Eid al-Fitr in early July.

2017 peak

At a yearly increase of 9.2 percent (compared to figures from April 2015), the state’s population growth remains on track.

Statisticians have for some time predicted that Qatar’s population will peak by around the middle of next year at the height of the building boom for the country’s numerous infrastructure and construction projects, before starting to taper off.

Despite recent reports of numerous job layoffs, some sectors in Qatar are still bringing in people to the country.

That includes employees in the construction and hospitality sectors, as the number of hotels and projects continue to be developed ahead of the World Cup in 2022.

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