The Iraqi Ministry of Planning has announced that a general census will take place in November this year, with preparations for the process currently ongoing.
Mohammed Ali Tamim, the Minister of Planning, stated in an interview with Sabah newspaper, “There are only six months left for the November 20 census.”
He also mentioned that preparations for the census are progressing, including an agreement with the Ministry of Education to train teachers and staff to conduct the process.
In preparation for the census, experimental tests involving 120,000 individuals in the Ministry of Education are scheduled for next May.
The Ministry of Planning has scheduled November 2024 for the census, which is set to be the ninth census conducted in Iraq.
Abdul Zahra Hindwi, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Planning, confirmed in a televised interview that special employees from the Ministry of Education will be assigned to conduct the census and will undergo training provided by the Ministry of Planning.
The failure to conduct a general census in recent years has resulted in a lack of accurate information on the country’s growth rate, prompting the ministry to prioritize the upcoming census.
Iraq has conducted general censuses periodically in the past, with the last census taking place in 1997 without the participation of the Kurdistan Regional Government.
According to recent statistics from the Ministry of Planning, the population of Iraq currently exceeds 44 million.
