The figures I heard for 2006 and 2008 were 800,000 and 1.5 million. In any case, you presumably discover new roads and neighborhoods on a regular basis where you remember sand. Which can be disorientating and awesome, often simultaneously.

From what I've heard, Qatar's construction industry isn't doing that badly, perhaps because of projects that were commissioned months or years ago. I have yet to figure out, however, who is living in all those new buildings. Aside from the nascent financial sector, and obviously oil and construction, where are all the new jobs?