Qatar’s population has swollen by more than two thirds since the emirate was chosen to the host the 2022 World Cup, official government figures have revealed.
The country’s population stands at a record 2.67 million, figures just published from the Ministry of Development, Planning and Statistics (MDPS) reveal.
In December 2010, when it was controversially chosen as the venue for football’s biggest tournament, Qatar had a population of 1.63 million, according to the MDPS.
The latest figure represents a 64 per cent increase on the 2010 population total.
The number of people living in Qatar has mushroomed as the Gulf country recruits tens of thousands labourers to work on many huge and expensive major infrastructure projects linked to the 2022 tournament.