Know about the Population and Expat nationalities in Qatar [2023]

Qatar is said to have a very diverse population. Though being one among the smallest countries in the world, its diaspora is present in almost all countries and have been respected all over the world. Every year, thousands from around the world throng to Qatar to seek good job opportunity. In 2017, Qatar’s Prime Minister HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al Thani had introduced 96 hour transit visa for all nationalities and on-arrival visa is guaranteed to people from 80 countries.

Demographics of Qatar

Official Name: State of Qatar
Current population: 2,839,386 (as of August 2019)
Official language: Arabic
Currencies used: Qatar Riyal

Demonym: Qatari

About Qatar

Qatar is situated in Western Asia and is a sovereign Arab country located in the Qatar Peninsula. The country is ruled by the Al Thani family and was known for pearl hunting, sea trade, oil trade, natural gas and its expat population.

Demography and division of population

As on July 30, 2020, the current population of Qatar is 2,884,627 as per Worldometer. It can be said as 141^st most populous nation on the country. If we talk about the demography of Qatar, the Qataris are considered minority in their own nation as only 15% of Qataris are considered the original population. The remaining 88% is made up of a workforce of over a hundred different nationalities. Qataris constitute only 10% of the country’s total population, followed by other 13% Arab, 21.8% Indian, 7.35% Filipino, 12.5% Nepali, and 12.5% Bangladeshis, and 9.35% Egyptians and 4.35% Sri Lankan. Indians constitute the largest group of expats in Qatar

Language and religious divisions

Arabic is the official language of Qatar. However, English is spoken and understood everywhere and is considered the second language in the country. Religion wise, 67.7% of the population residing in Qatar is Muslim, followed by 13.8% Hindu, 13.8% Christians, 3.1%, Buddhist, less than .1% Jewish faiths and folk religion each, 0.7 % other faiths and 0.9% religiously unaffiliated.

Facts about population of Qatar

Here are some of the most important facts about the population of Qatar –

Qatar is the richest country on earth
As on July 30, 2020, the population of Qatar is 2,884,627 as per Worldometer
The population of Qatar is equivalent to 0.04% of the world population.
Population density of Qatar is 244 per Km2 (632 people per mi2)
Total land area of Qatar is 11,610 Km2 (4,483 sq. miles)
96.2 % of the population is urban (2,721,608 people in 2019)
The median age in Qatar is 31.6 years.

Facts about life in Qatar

The life expectancy at birth for both sexes in Qatar is 80.73 years which remains among the top with the developed country lines as per UN. The infant mortality per 1000 live births in Qatar stands at 5.5 which again is the lowest among developed countries. Death under the age of 5 per 1000 live births remain among the lowest also at 6.7.

Main Cities by Population in Qatar

The top five cities of Qatar as per the highest population in Qatar are as follows. The population includes the boroughs, districts and urban agglomerations.

Doha has a population of 344,939.
Ar Rayyan has a population of 272,465.
Umm Salal Muhammad has a population of 29,391.
Al Wakrah has a population of 26,436.
Al Khawr has a population of 18,923.
Ash Shihaniyah has a population of 8,380.
Dukhan has a population of 7,250.
Musay`id has a population of 5,769.
Madinat ash Shamal has a population of 5,267.
Al Wukayr has a population of 5,146.

Population forecast for Qatar

Qatar might see a growth in the population in the coming year as per expectations by the International research groups. The Bangladeshi expat community is growing fast in Qatar and can sky-rocket in the coming years. There is an additional drive to bring around 100,000 Pakistanis in the country and a deal to that effect is under consideration.

As per the ‘The Population Policy of the State of Qatar 2017-2022’ published by the Permanent Population Committee, the goal has been set to balance the distribution of workers by nationality. However, priority would be given to Arab nationalities during the recruitment.

Qatar Population by Year

Here’s the population forecast in Qatar for next ten years:

Year	Population	Annual % Change
2020	2,760,385	2.35%
2025	3,121,705	1.62%
2030	3,326,890	1.28%

List of Nationalities and Their Population

Here is the list of population as per the nationality. Indians hold the first position among the nationalities in Qatar followed by Bangladeshis and Nepalis.

Nationality	Population	Total Percentile
India	700,000	21.8%
Bangladesh	400,000	12.5%
Nepal	400,000	12.5%
Qatar	333,000	9.35%
Egypt	300.000	9.35%
Philippines	236,000	7.35%
Pakistan	150,000	4.7%
SriLanka	140,000	4.35%
Sudan	60,000	1.9%
Syria	54,000	1.7%
Jordan	51,000	1.6%
Lebanon	40,000	1.25%
USA	40,000	1.25%
Kenya	30,000	1%
Iran	30,000	1%
Indonesia	27,350	0.85%
Tunisia	26,000	0.8%
Ethiopia	25,000	0.8%
UK	22,000	0.7%
Nigeria	11,000	0.35%
China	More than 10,000	0.3%
Turkey	10,000	0.3%
Canada	9,200	0.3%
Saudi Arabia	8,245	0.25%

Note: Percentages correspond to the total estimated population of Qatar at the time the data is derived from.

[Update]

The population of expats in Doha is around 85.7% of total Qatar population, as per go-gulf.qa (2012) and more than 63% of expats are living a wonderful life there. Some expats came here for better job prospects while some moved to boost their earing.

Qatar is progressively rising in the world market. The reason for high number of expatriates then native is that its economy highly relies on migrant people and this is why they need more and more foreign skilled and professional workers. The country has a wide range of culture because these foreign expats add their own contexts of culture, language and traditions to the country. Qatar becomes a melting pot of cultures due to this. It has a fusion of different traditions which embraces plurality of contexts.

Due to this trend of globalization in the world, cultural exchange has become more fluid than before. Now people do not give much importance to borders, borders have just vanished from people’s mind due to the globalization and which is quite fruitful to everyone. People are witnessing the multiplicity of interpreting existential realities.

We cannot deny the fact that foreign expats are actually modern day heroes in Qatar. They are carrying the economy on their back, they have so much of hard work, sacrifice, and dedication and that’s all really contributed to the country’s progression. They have that amazing passion for their work that they’ve became the primary vehicles of boosting Qatar’s economy in the world. In simple words, the expats in Qatar are heroes without capes. They have done so much to make Qatar reach where it is today and thy will do same in the future.