2,881,053 people
Qatar’s 2020 population is estimated at 2,881,053 people at mid-year according to UN data. Qatar’s population is equivalent to 0.04% of the total world population.

Natives of the Arabian Peninsula, many Qataris (Arabicسكان قطر‎) are descended from a number of migratory Arab tribes that came to Qatar in the 18th century from mainly the neighboring areas of Nejd and Al-Hasa. Some are descended from Omani tribes. Qatar has about 2.6 million inhabitants as of early 2017, the vast majority of whom (about 92%) live in Doha, the capital.[1] Foreign workers amount to around 88% of the population, with Indians being the largest community numbering around 1,230,000.[2] The treatment of these foreign workers has been heavily criticized in recent years, with living conditions suggested to be exploitative and abusive.[3]

The Qataris are mainly Sunni Muslims. Islam is the official religion, and Islamic jurisprudence is the basis of Qatar’s legal system. A significant minority of the population is HinduArabic is the official language and English is the lingua franca of business. Hindi and Urdu are also widely spoken, especially by the South Asian foreign workers.[4] Education is compulsory and free for all citizens 6–16 years old. Qatar has an increasingly high literacy rate.

Ethnicity[edit]

Ethnic groups in Qatar (2004)[5]
Ethnic groups
Arab
60%
Pakistani
26%
European
14%

Qataris can be divided into three ethnic groups: Bedouins, Hadar, and African-origin. Bedouins are descended from the nomads of the Arabian Peninsula. 115,000[6] Westerners live in Qatar.

Europeans in Qatar[edit]

qatar airways

14% of the population is European. They are of British, Portuguese, French, Armenians, African Americans, Russians, Turks, Scandinavians, Other Arabs, and Italians They live in DohaAl WakrahMesaieedAl RayyanUmm Salal MohammedAl KhorAr Ru’aysAl KhuwayrDukhan, and Umm Bab.

Population[edit]

2002-2017
Year Pop. ±% p.a.
1986 369,079
1997 522,026 +3.20%
2001 676,498 +6.69%
2003 713,859 +2.72%
2004 744,028 +4.23%
2005 906,123 +21.79%
2006 1,042,947 +15.10%
2007 1,218,250 +16.81%
2008 1,448,479 +18.90%
2009 1,638,626 +13.13%
2010 1,699,435 +3.71%
2011 1,732,717 +1.96%
2012 1,832,903 +5.78%
2013 2,101,288 +14.64%
2014 2,172,065 +3.37%
2015 2,235,355 +2.91%
2016 2,291,368 +2.51%
2017 2,338,085 +2.04%
Source: Qatar Statistics Authority[7]
1950-2010
Year Pop. ±% p.a.
1950 25,000
1960 47,000 +6.52%
1970 108,000 +8.68%
1980 222,000 +7.47%
1990 474,000 +7.88%
2000 591,000 +2.23%
2010 1,759,000 +11.52%
Source: United Nations[8]

By nationality[edit]

A 2011–2014 report by the International Organization for Migration recorded 176,748 Nepali Citizens of Madhesi ethnicity living in Qatar as migrant workers.[9][10][11] In 2012 about 7,000 Turkish nationals lived in Qatar[12] and in 2016 about 1,000 Colombian nationals and descendants lived in Qatar.

Vital statistics[edit]

UN estimates[edit]

Period Live births per year Deaths per year Natural change per year CBR* CDR* NC* TFR* IMR*
1950–1955 1,000 0 1,000 47.5 13.8 33.7 6.97 126
1955–1960 2,000 0 1,000 44.3 11.3 33.0 6.97 110
1960–1965 2,000 1,000 2,000 41.0 8.8 32.1 6.97 90
1965–1970 4,000 1,000 3,000 38.6 6.8 31.8 6.97 71
1970–1975 5,000 1,000 4,000 34.8 5.2 29.6 6.77 53
1975–1980 7,000 1,000 6,000 35.7 4.0 31.7 6.11 38
1980–1985 10,000 1,000 9,000 33.2 3.1 30.1 5.45 28
1985–1990 11,000 1,000 10,000 25.4 2.5 22.9 4.50 23
1990–1995 11,000 1,000 10,000 22.8 2.2 20.6 4.01 18
1995–2000 10,000 1,000 9,000 19.2 2.1 17.1 3.30 14
2000–2005 13,000 1,000 12,000 18.8 1.9 16.9 3.01 11
2005–2010 18,000 2,000 16,000 14.1 1.6 12.5 2.40 9
CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman)
Source:[13]

Registered births and deaths[edit]

Average population Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) TFR
1970 108,000 3,616 464 3,152 33.4 4.3 29.1
1971 118,000 3,921 491 3,430 33.2 4.2 29.0
1972 129,000 4,038 563 3,475 31.2 4.4 26.8
1973 141,000 4,367 660 3,707 31.0 4.7 26.3
1974 152,000 4,562 688 3,874 30.0 4.5 25.5
1975 163,000 4,559 600 3,959 28.0 3.7 24.3
1976 172,000 4,893 609 4,284 28.4 3.5 24.9
1977 181,000 5,313 686 4,627 29.4 3.8 25.6
1978 190,000 5,977 645 5,332 31.4 3.4 28.0
1979 203,000 6,057 709 5,348 29.8 3.5 26.3
1980 222,000 6,750 662 6,088 30.5 3.0 27.5
1981 246,000 7,192 725 6,467 29.3 3.0 26.3
1982 275,000 8,032 789 7,243 29.2 2.9 26.3
1983 307,000 8,261 803 7,458 26.9 2.6 24.3
1984 338,000 8,613 642 7,971 25.5 1.9 23.6
1985 368,000 9,225 794 8,431 25.1 2.2 22.9
1986 395,000 9,942 784 9,158 25.2 2.0 23.2
1987 420,000 9,919 788 9,131 23.6 1.9 21.7
1988 442,000 10,842 861 9,981 24.5 1.9 22.6
1989 460,000 10,908 847 10,061 23.7 1.8 21.9
1990 474,000 11,022 871 10,151 23.3 1.8 21.5
1991 483,000 9,756 883 8,873 20.2 1.8 18.4
1992 488,000 10,459 944 9,515 21.4 1.9 19.5
1993 491,000 10,822 913 9,909 22.0 1.9 20.1
1994 495,000 10,561 964 9,597 21.3 1.9 19.4
1995 501,000 10,371 1,000 9,371 20.7 2.0 18.7
1996 512,000 10,317 1,015 9,302 20.1 2.0 18.1
1997 529,000 10,447 1,060 9,387 19.8 2.0 17.8
1998 549,000 10,781 1,157 9,624 19.6 2.1 17.5
1999 570,000 10,846 1,148 9,698 19.0 2.0 17.0
2000 591,000 11,438 1,173 10,265 19.4 2.0 17.4
2001 608,000 12,355 1,210 11,145 20.3 2.0 18.3
2002 624,000 12,388 1,220 11,168 19.8 2.0 17.8
2003 654,000 13,026 1,311 11,715 19.9 2.0 17.9
2004 715,000 13,589 1,341 12,248 19.0 1.9 17.1 2.78
2005 821,000 13,514 1,545 11,969 16.5 1.9 14.6 2.62
2006 978,000 14,204 1,750 12,454 14.5 1.8 12.7 2.48
2007 1,178,000 15,695 1,776 13,919 13.3 1.5 11.8 2.45
2008 1,448,000 17,480 1,942 15,538 12.1 1.3 10.8 2.43
2009 1,639,000 18,351 2,008 16,343 11.2 1.2 10.0 2.28
2010 1,715,000 19,504 1,970 17,534 11.4 1.1 10.3 2.08
2011 1,733,000 20,623 1,949 18,674 12.0 1.1 10.9 2.12
2012 1,833,000 21,423 2,031 19,392 11.7 1.1 10.6 2.05
2013 2,004,000 23,708 2,133 21,575 11.8 1.1 10.7 2.00
2014 2,216,000 25,443 2,366 23,007 11.5 1.1 10.4 2.00
2015 2,438,000 26,622 2,317 24,305 10.9 1.0 9.9 2.00
2016 2,618,000 26,816 2,347 24,469 10.2 0.9 9.3 1.85
2017 2,725,000 27,906 2,294 25,612 10.2 0.8 9.4 1.83
2018 2,760,000 28,069 2,385 25,684 10.2 0.9 9.3 1.75
2019 2,799,000 28,412 2,200 26,212 10.2 0.8 9.4 1.73
Sources:[14][15]

Life expectancy[edit]

Period Life expectancy in
Years
Period Life expectancy in
Years
1950–1955 55.2 1985–1990 74.5
1955–1960 59.2 1990–1995 75.3
1960–1965 62.9 1995–2000 76.0
1965–1970 66.6 2000–2005 76.6
1970–1975 69.7 2005–2010 76.9
1975–1980 71.8 2010–2015 77.6
1980–1985 73.4
Source: UN World Population Prospects[16]

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics[edit]

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook unless otherwise indicated.

Population[edit]

  • 2,123,160 (July 2014 est.) Qatar is the 146th most populated nation.[17]
  • 2,314,307 (July 2017 est.) Qatar is the 143rd most populated nation.[17]
  • 2,444,174 (July 2020 est.) Qatar is the 143rd most populated nation.[18]

Age structure[edit]

  • 0–14 years: 12.84% (male 158,702/female 155,211)
  • 15–24 years: 11.78% (male 203,703/female 84,323)
  • 25–54 years: 70.66% (male 1,439,364/female 287,575)
  • 55–64 years: 3.53% (male 66,561/female 19,600)
  • 65 years and over: 1.19% (male 19,067/female 10,068) (2020 est.)

Population growth rate[edit]

  • 2.27% (2017 est.)
  • 9.56%: World Bank (2009 est.)
  • 3.58%: CIA World FactBook (2014 est.)
  • 2.11%: 2005–2010 List by the United Nations
  • 1.55% (2020 est.)

Sex ratio[edit]

Source:[5]

  • at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
  • 0–14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  • 15–24 years: 2.42 male(s)/female
  • 25–54 years: 5.01 male(s)/female
  • 55–64 years: 3.4 male(s)/female
  • 65 years and over: 1.89 male(s)/female total population: 3.39 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

Average life span (Life expectancy at birth)[edit]

  • Average: 79.4 years
  • men: 77.2 years
  • women: 81.6 years (2020 est.)

Total fertility rate[edit]

  • 2.08 children born per 1 female (2010 est.) (Qataris: 3.59 children/woman, Foreign nationals: 1.75 children/woman)
  • 1.88 children born per 1 female (2020 est.)

Nationality[edit]

  • noun: Qatari(s)
  • adjective: Qatari

Ethnic groups[6][19][edit]

Country Number percent
 India 650,000 25.00%
 Qatar 330,000 12.10%
 Philippines 260,000 10.00%
 Egypt 200,000 8.60%
 Bangladesh 280,000 12.10%
 Sri Lanka 145,256 5.60%
 Pakistan 125,000 4.80%
 Syria 54,000 2.20%
 Sudan 50,000 2.10%
 Jordan 40,000 1.72%
 Indonesia 39,000 1.68%
 Iran 30,000 1.3%-1.50%
 United Kingdom 25,000 1.10%
 Lebanon 25,000 1.08%
 Ethiopia 21,374 0.92%
 Palestine 20,500 0.89%

Religions[edit]

Languages[edit]

Arabic is the official language of Qatar according to Article 1 of the Constitution.[21]

English is the de facto second language of Qatar, and is very commonly used in business. Because of Qatar’s varied ethnic landscape, English has been recognized as the most convenient medium for people of different backgrounds to communicate with each other.[22] The history of English use in the country dates back to the mid-19th and early 20th centuries when the British Empire would frequently draft treaties and agreements with the emirates of the Persian Gulf. One such treaty was the 1916 protectorate treaty signed between Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani and the British representative Percy Cox, under which Qatar would be placed under British administration in exchange for protection. Another agreement drafted in English came in 1932 and was signed between the Qatari government and the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. These agreements were mainly facilitated by foreign interpreters due to neither party possessing the required language skills for such complex arrangements. For instance, a translator and native Arabic speaker named A. A. Hilmy interpreted the 1932 agreement for Qatar.[23]

HindiUrduTagalogBengaliTamilTelugu and Malayalam are commonly used among Asian migrants. In 2015, there were more newspapers being printed by the government in Malayalam than in Arabic or English.[24]

Literacy[edit]

  • definition: age >15 can both read & write
  • overall population: 97.3%
  • males: 97.4%
  • females: 96.8% (2015 est.)

Obesity – adult prevalence rate[edit]

  • 35.1% (2016)

Genetics[edit]

Y-chromosome DNA[edit]

Y-Chromosome DNA Y-DNA represents the male lineage, The Qatari Y-chromosome in large belongs to haplogroup J which comprises two thirds of the total chromosomes[25]

  • J1 ≈58.3%
  • J2 ≈8.3%
  • E* ≈7.0% — E(xE1b1b)
  • R1a ≈6.9%
  • E1b1b ≈5.6%
  • Other Haplogroups ≈13.9%

Mitochondrial DNA[edit]

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) represents the female lineage The Qatari mitochondrial DNA shows much more diversity than the Y-DNA lineages, with more than 35% of the lineages showing African ancestry (East African & Subsaharan) & the rest of the lineages being Eurasian.[26]

  • R0 ~ 22% (14% R0*, 8% H)
  • JT ~ 22% (18% J & 4% T)
  • UK ~ 20% (11% K & 9% U)
  • L3 ~ 10% (East African & Subsaharan lineages)
  • Other lineages ~ 26%

 

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