BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq launched its first national population census in decades on Wednesday, a move aimed at modernizing data collection and planning in a country long hit by conflict and political divisions.

Counting population is also controversial. The census is expected to have profound implications for Iraq’s resource distribution, budget allocations and development planning.

Minority groups fear that a proven decline in their numbers will lead to a decline in political influence and economic benefits in the country’s sectarian power-sharing system.

The count in territories like Kirkuk, Diyala and Mosul – where control is disputed between the central government in Baghdad and the semi-autonomous Kurdish regional government in the north – has come under scrutiny.

Ali Arian Saleh, executive director of census at the Planning Ministry, said agreements on how to conduct the count in disputed areas had been reached in meetings involving the Iraqi prime minister, the president and senior officials from the region Kurdish.

“Researchers from all major ethnic groups – Kurds, Arabs, Turkmens and Christians – will conduct the census in these areas to ensure fairness,” he said.

The last national census in Iraq took place in 1987. Another census held in 1997 excluded the Kurdish region.

The new census “maps development for the future and sends a message of stability,” Planning Minister Mohammed Tamim said in a televised speech.

The census will be the first to use advanced technologies to collect and analyze data, providing a comprehensive picture of Iraq’s demographic, social and economic landscape, officials say. Some 120,000 census takers will survey households across the country, covering around 160 dwellings each over two days.

The Interior Ministry announced a nationwide curfew during the census period, restricting the movement of citizens, vehicles and trains between cities, districts and rural areas, with exceptions for humanitarian cases.

Shops were closed Wednesday in Baghdad and the streets were empty except for checkpoints set up to enforce the curfew. In some neighborhoods, people sat in chairs on the sidewalks, drinking tea and chatting with census takers.

Among them was Aqeel Al-Rubaie, a father of three, who provided his information to the workers.

“The census is important, but I don’t trust politicians,” he said. “They could exploit the census for political conflict.”

Census taker Ali Amer, wearing a brown jacket with the Planning Ministry logo, said people asked him: “Will the census hurt us?” And what kind of harm? He said he tried to reassure them.

The count will be carried out using the “de jure” method, whereby people are counted in their usual area of ​​residence, Saleh said.

This means that those internally displaced by years of war will be counted in the areas where they have since settled, not in their original communities. The census will not include Iraqis living abroad or those forcibly displaced to other countries.

Saleh estimated Iraq’s population at 44.5 million and said the share of the national budget allocated to the Kurdish region – currently 12% – was based on an estimated population of 6 million. The census will also clarify the number of public employees in the region.

By order of the Iraqi federal court, the census excluded questions on ethnicity and sectarian affiliation, focusing only on broad religious categories such as Muslims and Christians.

“This approach aims to prevent tensions and ensure that the census serves developmental rather than divisive goals,” Saleh said. The census will be monitored by international observers who will travel across Iraqi provinces to assess the quality of the data, he said.

Hogr Chato, director of the Erbil-based Public Assistance Organization, said the census will reshape the map of political thinking and future decision-making.

“Even if some leaders deny it, this data will inevitably have political and economic implications,” he said. “It is also fair to allocate budgets based on the number of inhabitants, because more populated areas or those affected by war need more resources. »

Chato said he believed the delays in completing the census were not only due to security concerns but also political considerations. “There was data they didn’t want to make public, like the poverty levels in each governorate,” he explained.

Before the census, leaders of different Iraqi communities urged people to be counted.

In Baghdad’s Adhamiyah district, Abdul Wahhab al-Samarrai, a preacher at the Imam Abu Hanifa Mosque, urged citizens to cooperate with the census.

“It is the duty of every Muslim to guarantee the rights of future generations,” he said during a Friday sermon, the week before the count.

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Martany reported from Erbil, Iraq.