Jordan Times
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Iraqi expatriates around
half-a-million
By Linda Hindi
AMMAN - Jordan is hosting around half-a-million Iraqi nationals who are mainly
residing in the capital, according to results of a survey released yesterday
from an independent research institute.
The government commissioned Norway's FAFO Institute for Applied International
Studies to provide detail on the state of affairs of Iraqis in Jordan earlier
this year.
FAFO’s Managing Director Jon Pedersen said: “While figures as high as one
million or about 16 per cent of the total population have been aired, this study
concludes that there are between 450,000-500,000 Iraqi residents in Jordan as of
May 2007.”
He explained that the number was based on consideration of immigration
statistics, the number of phone subscribers as well as a household survey
carried out in May by the FAFO in cooperation with the Department of Statistics.
In a telephone conversation from Norway last week, Pedersen told The Jordan
Times that the survey sampling had a “very small margin of error”.
“Jordan has a very good statistical system. Everyplace in Jordan… is a
numeration area that contains about 70 households. We made a selection of around
950 households to form a representative sample and we mapped and listed every
household. We then sent surveyors to the homes,” Pedersen said in the telephone
interview.
Responding to questions at the press conference yesterday on the reason why the
numbers are lower than expected and what kind of impact this would have on the
Kingdom, the FAFO official said that the survey focused on figures and
characteristics not “impact”.
Other census results concluded that the vast majority of Iraqis surveyed were
Sunni Muslims (68 per cent), well educated, reside in Amman and come from
Baghdad.
On employment, the results revealed that 22 per cent of adults work, of whom 60
per cent are employees.
According to the survey’s findings, one in every five Iraqis living in Jordan
has concrete plans to emigrate to a third country, according to FAFO.