ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - After three days, 97 percent of Iraq’s nationwide population census is complete, a government official told Rudaw on Friday.
“According to the latest data available to us, as of 4:00 pm today, about 97 percent of the census process has been completed in all Iraqi provinces and the Kurdistan Region,” said Iraqi planning ministry spokesperson Abdul Zahra al-Hindawi.
The Iraqi government on Thursday decided to extend the recording process by an additional 24 hours after enumerators were unable to complete registering all residents over the two days originally allocated.
“The census process continues and most likely we will reach 100% before midnight,” Hindawi said.
Preliminary results of the census are expected to be announced within two days.
This is Iraq’s first nationwide census since 1987. It last conducted a census in 1997, but that did not include the Kurdistan Region. A census planned for 2020 was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The data will provide a clear picture of the population across Iraq, including information on families, ages, and genders.
Estimates put Iraq’s population at around 50 million.
