Iraqi population census raises concerns of Kurds

Kurds and Turkmens in Kirkuk are concerned that the Iraqi population census, set to be held in 2020, could be used for political ends.
Kurdish supporters of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) celebrate after the closing of ballot boxes during the parliamentary election in Kirkuk, Iraq, May 12, 2018. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed - RC1D42ED63F0
Kurdish supporters of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan celebrate after the closing of ballot boxes during the parliamentary elections in Kirkuk, Iraq, May 12, 2018. - REUTERS/Ako Rasheed
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Dana Taib Menmy
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SULAIMANIYAH, Iraqi Kurdistan — Political concerns among Kurds and Turkmens in Iraq may impede the country's census, set to be held by late 2020, especially in the disputed oil-rich city of Kirkuk.

Iraq's last population census in 1997 put the country's population at 16 million, excluding Iraqi Kurdistan. It was estimated there were 3 million Kurds. Those figures are now out of date, and the real population unknown.

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