diff --git a/CHANGELOG.asciidoc b/CHANGELOG.asciidoc
index cdb94d15c..cf9195b08 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.asciidoc
+++ b/CHANGELOG.asciidoc
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ Fixed
 - Fixed crash when using `;Y` (`:hint links yank-primary`) on a system without
   primary selection
 - Don't display quit confirmation with finished downloads
+- Fixed updating the tab index in the statusbar when opening a background tab
 
 v0.6.2
 ------
diff --git a/README.asciidoc b/README.asciidoc
index c4cf56252..95b6b8271 100644
--- a/README.asciidoc
+++ b/README.asciidoc
@@ -194,6 +194,7 @@ Contributors, sorted by the number of commits in descending order:
 * Ismail
 * Samir Benmendil
 * Regina Hug
+* Nick Ginther
 * Mathias Fussenegger
 * Marcelo Santos
 * Jan Verbeek
diff --git a/qutebrowser/mainwindow/tabbedbrowser.py b/qutebrowser/mainwindow/tabbedbrowser.py
index b754ce9cb..701397877 100644
--- a/qutebrowser/mainwindow/tabbedbrowser.py
+++ b/qutebrowser/mainwindow/tabbedbrowser.py
@@ -410,7 +410,9 @@ class TabbedBrowser(tabwidget.TabWidget):
             tab.openurl(url)
         if background is None:
             background = config.get('tabs', 'background-tabs')
-        if not background:
+        if background:
+            self.tab_index_changed.emit(self.currentIndex(), self.count())
+        else:
             self.setCurrentWidget(tab)
         tab.show()
         self.new_tab.emit(tab, idx)