Peregraf — Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said on Tuesday that the Kurdistan Region firmly rejects what he described as an alteration of its population percentage by Iraq’s Federal Ministry of Planning, warning that the move could negatively affect the Region’s constitutional and financial entitlements.
Barzani said he chaired a meeting of the Kurdistan Region Council of Ministers to review the results of Iraq’s General Population Census conducted in November 2024, which officially set the Kurdistan Region’s population share at 14.1 percent.
According to the KRG prime minister, the Federal Ministry of Planning has handled the official census data in a way that disregards decisions of the federal government and violates a joint agreement between the federal and regional authorities.
“This approach contradicts the officially announced census results and will have a negative impact on the Kurdistan Region’s entitlements,” Barzani said, stressing that the issue requires urgent corrective measures.
The Council of Ministers, he added, unanimously rejected any manipulation or alteration of the Kurdistan Region’s population percentage and instructed relevant institutions to take the necessary steps to rectify what it called errors in the federal handling of the data.
Barzani also called on the federal government to adhere to joint agreements and respect the census results as announced, reaffirming that the Kurdistan Region’s share stands at 14.1 percent.