This should be interesting. From Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty:
BAGHDAD — Iraqi Displacement and Migration Minister Abdul-Samad Rahman Sultan says Baghdad is working closely with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to build a reliable database about Iraqi communities abroad, RFE/RL’s Radio Free Iraq (RFI) reports.
The work is to prepare for the national census in October.
The data will also include a breakdown of qualifications and educational levels.
Sultan said the goal is to encourage well-educated Iraqis to return home.
Sultan added that reliable statistics about Iraqis living in Europe are particularly lacking.
The longstanding estimate is that 2 million Iraqis have left the country. They are not counting internally displaced people, but that number has been estimated at 2.5 million. I generally hold to the rule that reality is never as bad as estimates and media reports in any area (such as environmental problems), but occasionally wartime figures turn out worse than estimated. If I had to bet, I’d place my money on the not-as-bad scenario. There are always reasons to inflate numbers and few incentives to deflate them. This is not to question, of course, the pathetic circumstances of most of the Iraqi refugees, only the estimate of their numbers.