Duhok counts displaced people as Iraq prepares for first census in decades

Last Update: 2024-11-12 16:55:27 - Source: Shafaq News

Shafaq News/ The Migration and Displacement Directorate inDuhok Province announced, on Tuesday, that comprehensive census operations areongoing in the displacement camps within the province, as a part of thenational preparations for Iraq's general census, which will include displacedpersons in this process.

Directorate’s Head in Duhok, Diyan Jaafar, told Shafaq Newsthat "the directorate has provided the necessary support and facilitiesfor census teams, who have begun work in and outside the camps to documentaccurate data on the number of displaced persons in the province. The operationis expected to conclude within the next ten days."

Jaafar clarified that "Duhok Province has 15displacement camps, housing approximately 55,875 displaced persons in andoutside of the camps."

Yesterday, Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesperson, Muqdad Miri,highlighted that high-level coordination is ongoing with the Kurdistan Regionthrough a joint operations center, noting that a curfew will apply to allprovinces, including those within the Kurdistan Region.

the general population census will take place on November 20and 21. Iraq last conducted a nationwide population census in 1987, followed bya 1997 count that excluded the Kurdistan Region. For years, the country hasrelied on estimates from unofficial research institutes and organizations. In2022, the Planning Ministry estimated Iraq’s population to be over 42 million.