ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s planning ministry on Monday released the official results of the country’s first nationwide census since 1987, revealing a nearly equal gender distribution and a majority urban population. The census, conducted in November, found that Iraq’s population is almost evenly split by gender, with 23,161,604 men and 22,957,189 women, giving a sex ratio of 50.22 percent male and 49.78 percent female. Urban areas account for 70.17 percent of the total population, while 29.83 percent live in rural areas. In the Kurdistan Region, urbanization is higher, with 84.57 percent of the population residing in cities and 15.43 percent in rural areas. Iraq’s working-age population, 15-64 years, makes up 60.44 percent of the total, indicating a potential for economic growth. Those under five years old account for 11.16 percent, while 24.74 percent are aged 5-14, and 3.66 percent are 65 and older. In the Kurdistan Region, the working-age population percentage is slightly higher at 63.92 percent, and the proportion of people over 65 is 4.4 percent. According to the census, 71.14 percent of the population in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region are homeowners, while 19.41 percent are private tenants, 2.12 percent rent from the government, and 6.33 percent live in free housing. The data also shows that 91.57 percent of residences are houses, 7.08 percent are apartments, and 0.70 percent are mud houses. The census is expected to play a role in ongoing discussions over Kirkuk’s status, Baathist-era Arabization policies, and the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) share of Iraq’s federal budget. These issues have seen recent developments after the Iraqi parliament passed amendments addressing them. Iraq had not conducted a full census since 1987. A 1997 count under the Baathist regime did not include the Kurdistan Region, and a planned 2020 census was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
