KRG Council of Ministers Reviews Census Results, Calls for Recognition of 14.1% Population Share
The census was carried out under an agreement between the federal government and the Kurdistan Region, endorsed by several decisions of the Iraqi Federal Council of Ministers.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani chaired a meeting of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Council of Ministers on Wednesday, where the Iraqi population census and a proposed agreement to support political prisoners were among the key agenda items, the KRG said in a statement.
During the first part of the meeting, Planning Minister Dara Rashid presented a detailed report on the national population census conducted in November 2024. According to the official results, the population of the Kurdistan Region — excluding Kurdish areas outside of the KRG’s administration — accounts for 14.1% of Iraq’s total population.
The census was carried out under an agreement between the federal government and the Kurdistan Region, endorsed by several decisions of the Iraqi Federal Council of Ministers. The agreement obliges the federal government to implement those decisions. Any failure to do so, the Council warned, could adversely affect the Kurdistan Region’s financial and constitutional entitlements and would require urgent corrective measures.
Following discussions, the Council of Ministers commended the Minister of Planning for his report but rejected what it described as an adjustment by the Federal Ministry of Planning to the Kurdistan Region’s population share of 14.1%.
The Council called on the Kurdistan Region Presidency and Kurdish parliamentary blocs in Baghdad to fulfill their constitutional and national responsibilities in safeguarding the rights of the Kurdish people and ensuring that the census results are respected.
It also urged the federal government to officially recognize the 14.1% population figure as the basis for determining the Kurdistan Region’s share of the federal budget and other constitutional entitlements.
In the second part of the session, ministers discussed a proposed joint memorandum of understanding between the KRG Ministry of Martyrs and Anfal Affairs and Iraq’s Political Prisoners Agency.
Minister Abdullah Haji Mahmood outlined the proposal, while Cabinet Secretary Amanj Raheem presented its constitutional, legal, and financial aspects.
The Council expressed its support for efforts aimed at improving assistance to political prisoners and detainees in the Kurdistan Region, emphasizing the need to ensure they receive financial benefits and privileges equivalent to those granted to their counterparts elsewhere in Iraq.
To advance the initiative, the Ministry of Martyrs and Anfal Affairs was instructed to continue coordination with the Iraqi Political Prisoners Agency to establish a clear mechanism and implementation framework, taking into account the observations raised during the meeting.