Iraqi PM reviews readiness for national census

Shafaq News/ Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani visited the operations room and call center for the general population census, managed by the Authority of Statistics and Geographic Information Systems (ASGIS) at the Ministry of Planning, on Saturday.

According to the PM’s media office, during his visit, Al-Sudani reviewed the latest preparations for the general population and housing census, scheduled for November. He examined the programs, applications, and the provision of tablets for census takers, and inspected the registration form, which includes building numbers, details of housing units, and basic information.

“The Prime Minister received a detailed report from officials on the methodology of the census process and observed the operations at the census call center, which will be accessible to the public. He was briefed on the stages of preparation, training, and readiness of approximately 700 census takers who participated in the pilot census. The pilot has reached the stages of data packaging, counting, and numbering, involving 40,000 census takers. Additionally, 80,000 new census takers are being trained, bringing the total to 120,000 researchers, along with 11,000 backup census takers. There is also cooperation with the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to implement the census, which is a fully electronic project utilizing tablets that transmit data, ensuring data quality.”

Prime Minister Al-Sudani emphasized the importance of the general population census, which is being conducted 27 years after the last one. The census will provide valuable data for decision-makers across all sectors, offering crucial information for planning and directing efforts appropriately. He praised the efforts in preparing, training, and qualifying the census takers, as per his media office.

“The Prime Minister highlighted the significance of the pilot census in identifying areas needing enhancement or adjustment. He also stressed the importance of accuracy and high-quality training in the enumeration and numbering process and called on ministries and governorates to provide all necessary support for the success of the census.”