Written question asked by Joan Ruddock (Labour) on Wednesday, 15 December 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 21 December 2004. It was answered by Bill Rammell (Labour) on Tuesday, 21 December 2004 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the size of the adult population of Iraq; and how many (a) men and (b) women have registered for the forthcoming elections. - Inc figures.

Answer: Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the size of the adult population of Iraq; and how many (a) men and (b) women have registered for the forthcoming elections. [206333] Mr. Rammell: The population of Iraq is estimated to be 27 million. The voter register for the forthcoming elections has been drawn from the food rationing database and includes 13.9 million names. It is not possible to say how many people are registered to vote since the process for registration is essentially a passive exercise. This means that voters need only contact their registration centre if they need to amend or make an addition to the register.

Secondary information