After six years from the launch of the population policy of the State of Qatar in October 2009, the Permanent Population Committee (PPC) felt
the need to make a detailed assessment of this policy, especially after the rapid population developments that occurred in the State during
that period. The population policy is not a thing which is accomplished only once, but it is a Ongoing process whose goals are changed
according to the demographic reality of the State, and whose actions are renewed with each new development. On the other hand, it was
necessary to coordinate with the institutional frameworks that govern developmental reality in the State, especially ensuring compatibility
between the demographic policy goals, the national development strategy goals and other various national sector strategies, as well as
compatibility with the Sustainable Development Goals 2030.
The population policy assessment methodology was based on a set of tools prepared by the PPC’s Technical Office. It was implemented
and its data analyzed for about two years. The mentioned tools included four questionnaires; the first of which was meant to review the
goals, objectives and actions of the population policy from the perspective of working groups (focal points of population policy); and the
second one was meant to find out what has been achieved and not yet achieved of goals and actions that were set in 2009. The third questionnaire
was dispatched to the ministries and bodies involved in the implementation of population policy, as well as to a number of experts
and specialists to find out their views about what should be modified, retained or deleted from the goals, objectives and actions adopted in
the previous population policy document. In addition, it was necessary to conduct an opinion poll in the State, thus a fourth questionnaire
was set to explore the knowledge of the population in Qatar on the population policy and the Permanent Population Committee.
After completing the analysis of the questionnaires listed, the Technical Office felt the need to make focus group interviews to bridge the
gaps shown by the analysis, and to explore the insights of the focus groups on the future of State in terms of population and appropriate
mechanisms for intervention to address the basic population issue of demographic imbalances. The interviews were attended by opinion
leaders, experts and specialists in various population policy axes, especially the major axis: Population and Labor Force.
The evaluation results have shown the need to amend the population policy axes so as to incorporate the axes with convergent and overlapping
goals together. The Technical Office concluded that new axes are to be formulated as follows:
- Population and labor force.
- Urban growth, housing and environment.
- Education, training and youth.
- Public health and reproductive health.
- Women and children
- The elderly and persons with disabilities
The evaluation also showed the need to formulate overall axial objectives that combine the various components of each axis, while maintaining
the content of most of the objectives contained in the previous document (as such objectives were initially set to be achieved by 2030
in line with Qatar National Vision). Perhaps this approach is justified by the organic relationship between components of each axis, thus
formulating one accurate and overall objective for each axis. With the adoption and Mid-Term Review of the National Development Strategy
2011-2016, and the initiation of the new strategy 2017-2022, it was necessary for the population policy to be confined primarily to all that
is related to population, and to exclude the sectoral issues of sector strategies. Accordingly, there was a special focus on the population
and labor force axis, particularly on issues related to demographic imbalances. Whereas, the new document, on other axes, focuses on
aspects that affect or are affected by the first axis, without tackling the topics dealt with by other bodies that are concerned with each of the
mentioned axes. This approach has resulted in reducing the number of goals and actions of the population policy, and making significant
changes to a number of them.