Despite the ongoing illegal siege of Qatar, the country’s population and number of visitors continued to grow, according to latest statistics from the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics (MDPS).

Qatar's population reached more than 2.5m at the end of June, which is an increase of 2.8% when compared to the end of June, 2016, reported Gulf Times.

While a total number of 2,118 births were registered in June, there were also 201 deaths during the month.

Around 1.464 million people also visited Qatar from the beginning of the year until June, marking a 1.5% increase over the 2016 figure (1.442 million visitors).

Visitors from the GCC region accounted for 43.7% (639,182) of total visitors, followed by those from Asia (24.1%, 352,469), Europe (17.7%, 259,121), Arab countries at (7.8%, 113,927), Americas (5.7%, 83,240) and other African countries (1.1%, 16,048).

While Gulf countries accounted for the highest percentage of visitors, arrivals from Europe and the Americas witnessed the fastest growth.

Visitor from Europe witnessed the highest growth of 17.7% year-on-year, while those from the Americas increased by 7.1%. Other African countries came next, as their numbers rose by 6.2%, followed by other Asia (including Oceania), which saw a growth of 2.8%. 

The new statistics show that there is a significant increase in number of beneficiaries of social security as numbers have reached 14,180 during June, 2017. The figure registered a monthly increase of 5.4% in comparison to May.

There has also been an increase in the total value of social security, as it reached QR83m during June, 2017, reported The Peninsula.

While the total number of registered marriages in June was 206, there were also 55 divorce cases during the same month.

In regard to traffic cases, a total of 487 cases were recorded in June, a monthly decrease of 12.7% compared to May, when the figures stood at 558. Seventeen death cases were recorded.

The total number of new vehicles registered in June stood at 4,471, a decrease of 41.6% compared to May, when the total number of registered vehicles was 7,651.