Basra’s population surges as migration from countryside continues

By Abed Battat



Azzaman, May 28, 2008



Basra’s population is surging at a rate that makes provision of essential services extremely difficult, Basra’s governor said.



“Basra’s population is exploding and the city is seeing major demographic transformations,” the Governor Mohammed al-Waili said.



According to the last census conducted in 200, Basra’s population was less than 2.5 million.



“We have now exceeded three million people mainly due to the influx from the countryside,” Waili said.



Ajeel Khalaf, a notable tribal leader, described the current levels of migration from the countryside to the city as ‘catastrophic.”



Another tribal leader whose armed men coordinate with the security forces to maintain peace in the city said the addition of half a million people to Basra in less than one year makes reinstating security a difficult matter.



He alleged that many of those settling in the city recently were ‘former convicts and criminals escaping justice.’



Basra is the capital of a province of the same name.



The area is the richest in Iraq in proven oil reserves with gigantic oilfields yet to be developed.



Most of Iraq’s oil output and exports originate in the province.