Kirkuk Governor reports population near 1.9 million, urges cooperation in census

Shafaq News/ Kirkuk province’s population, according to the latest census, has reached nearly 1.9 million, Governor Rebwar Taha announced on Thursday.

During a press conference, Taha reiterated his call for the residents in the province to remain committed in the curfew directions for “the success of the census and help counter rumors.”

“The census has so far been successful…Kirkuk's previous population estimate was around 1.35 million, with the current count reaching approximately 1.9 million.”

Highlighting the importance of the census results, Taha highlighted that this will benefit Kirkuk economically, “leading to an increased share in the national budget, more job opportunities, enhanced power supply from the national electricity grid, and improvements in services that impact daily life.”

Notably, the province has experienced dramatic demographic shifts under Saddam Hussein's Arabization policy which was reversed after 2003, fueling ethnic and political tensions.

The census, the first since 1997, holds particular importance for Kirkuk, where Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmen live. While some view the census as a crucial tool for economic development, others fear it could be manipulated to alter population dynamics, potentially reigniting tensions in a city still recovering from past conflicts.