Baghdad:
Iraq will start its first full nationwide census in additional than three a long time on Wednesday, a pivotal second because it seems to collect demographic knowledge for future planning and improvement.
The census, the primary full one since Saddam Hussein was President in 1987, goals to supply a complete rely of Iraq’s inhabitants, estimated to exceed 43 million individuals by the top of 2024, mentioned Iraq’s planning ministry spokesperson Abdul Zahra al-Hindawi.
Makes an attempt at conducting a nationwide census have been delayed by years of battle, instability and disagreement amongst political factions, however with the nation now in a interval of stability, authorities hope the method will likely be accomplished efficiently.
A census carried out in 1997 excluded the Iraqi Kurdistan area, which had been ruled by Kurdish authorities because the 1991 Gulf Battle.
It counted 19 million Iraqis and officers estimated there have been one other 3 million within the Kurdish north, in accordance with official statistics.
The census was repeatedly postponed over worries it was being politicised. Ethnic teams in contested areas just like the northern metropolis of Kirkuk, residence to Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen and a precious a part of Iraq’s oil fields, opposed it as a result of it would reveal demographics that may undermine political ambitions.
“We’ve fears (of the census) not solely in Kirkuk however all different disputed areas that are subjected to robust disagreements between varied powers,” mentioned Shwan Dawoodi, a Kurdish politician.
The info gathered will likely be used to information choices in areas comparable to infrastructure improvement, training, healthcare and social providers, mentioned Hindawi.
The census will function just one query relating to non secular affiliation — Muslim or Christian — and none about ethnic background or sectarian affiliation.
The Iraqi authorities has made intensive efforts to make sure the method, scheduled to take two days to finish, is as inclusive and correct as potential, imposing a two-day curfew from midnight on Tuesday.
Preliminary outcomes will likely be introduced inside 24 hours and remaining outcomes launched in two to a few months.
(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is printed from a syndicated feed.)