Shafaq News/ Iraq’s population census results have revealed "alarming" indicators and significant data gaps, an economic expert warned on Tuesday.

The recently announced results by the Ministry of Planning show an increase in Iraq’s population compared to the last estimate in 2023, with an annual rise of one million people, raising concerns about the country’s dependency ratio as each individual supports five to six people, Nabil Al-Marsoumi told Shafaq News.

“This limits personal income.”

The Iraqi economist urged the government to take measures to curb population growth, stressing that the announced housing figures are inaccurate. "I was not visited a second time to verify household and residence details, which confirms that the announced results are incomplete, and the released data is partial and confusing."

The most crucial stage of the census—the distribution of the population across provinces—remains unknown, which will disrupt the fair allocation of resources and wealth, he added.

The published data, consisting of only 32 abridged pages, reportedly lack depth for comprehensive analysis. "The percentage of Iraqis benefiting from sanitation services is below 50%, a serious indicator of deficiencies in the country’s infrastructure.”