BAGHDAD, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Iraq's poverty rate has fallen to 17 percent, down from around 23 percent two years ago, the Ministry of Planning said on Wednesday, according to the Iraqi News Agency (INA).
The ministry's spokesman, Abdul-Zahra al-Hindawi, attributed the decline to a series of anti-poverty measures enacted over the past two years.
Iraq's population is projected to surpass 44 million by the end of 2024, with an annual growth rate of 2.6 percent, al-Hindawi added. The precise figure will be confirmed after a nationwide census on Nov. 20-21, he said.
Iraq traditionally holds a population census every 10 years, with the last conducted in 1997. No census has been carried out since the 2003 U.S. invasion. ■
