Iraq begins population census preparations in Erbil

Shafaq News/ The Iraqi government has launched the process of numbering and listing households in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region, as part of the upcoming nationwide population census.

The operation, overseen by the Federal Ministry of Planning's General Statistics Authority, began on Tuesday.

Delzar Hama Saleh, the head of the Statistics Office in Erbil, told reporters, that a team of 2,790 workers is conducting the enumeration across 10,114 districts in the city.

The listing and numbering process, which began in early September, will continue for two months. This phase is a critical preparation for the general census of population and housing, scheduled for November 20, 2024.

According to the Ministry of Planning, the current stage involves numbering buildings, residences, and establishments while collecting preliminary information about household sizes and the gender distribution of family members. These details will form the foundation for the final population count later this year.

Iraq last conducted a nationwide population census in 1987, followed by a 1997 count that excluded the Kurdistan Region. For years, the country has relied on estimates from unofficial research institutes and organizations. In 2022, the Planning Ministry estimated Iraq’s population to be over 42 million.