Interim Iraqi government plans census in October

BAGHDAD, Aug 24 (AFP) - The interim Iraqi government plans to hold a population census in October, if security conditions permit, Planning Minister Madhi al-Hafez announced Tuesday.
"We have it in mind to organise a census in October 2004, but if obstacles get in the way, particularly concerning security, then we will fix a different date," Hafez told a press conference. "There will be no census if it is not safe."
Hafez said the population count was not linked in any way to the general election planned for January 2005, despite US claims it was an essential basis for an electoral register.
The last official census was held in 1997, under the regime of Saddam Hussein, when Iraq was found to have a population of 23.8 million.
Since the fall of Saddam in April 2003, a large number of Iraqis have returned from exile but many have fled the growing violence in the country.
The official censuses held in Iraq since the end of the 1950s have not taken into account the religious persuasion of the subjects and Hafez gave no indication whether the question will be included in the forthcoming census.