Iraq - Erbil Urban Profiling Exercise

This exercise was one of three collaborative profiling exercises were conducted in 2015/2016 with the aim to provide comprehensive analyses of the displacement situations in urban out of camp areas in the Governorates of Erbil, Duhok and Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). The profiling exercises provided a comparative analysis between three target groups: IDPs, refugees and the host community.

The profiling took a mixed methods approach, entailing qualitative and quantitative components. The quantitative component comprised a sample-based household survey targeting IDPs, refugees and the host community and were carried out by the Statistics Office in each Governorate: Erbil Statistics Directorate, Duhok Statistics Office and Sulaymaniyah Statistics Office. Approximately 1,200 households were sampled in each Governorate, equally distributed between the three population groups. The Kurdistan Regional Statistics Office (KRSO) calculated the sample size as well as the data weights that were applied to the findings.

Iraq (Erbil) profiling of urban/out-of-camp IDPs, Syrian refugees, and host populations with data collected Dec 2015 - January 2016 (report published June 2016). The exercise included a household survey administered to a sample of 1,163 households (403 IDP, 370 refugee and 390 host households). Extrapolated results are significant at a 95% confidence level for the different population groups and geographical strata (urban centre, urban periphery, and towns) assessed.

Stratification: The sample was stratified by the three target population groups and following geographic strata:

• Erbil district centre: city of Hawler (Nawandy Hawler) and Ainkawa
• Erbil district periphery: Baharka, Bnaslawa (Dashty Hawler Centre), Daratu, Kasnazan, Khabat Centre (Nawandy Khabat), and Rizgari
• Towns: urban centres of Harir, Koya Centre (Nawandy Koya), Shaqlawa Centre, and Soran Centre (Nawandy Soran) jointly with Diana

Baseline: The sampling frame used for IDPs was based on the first phase of KRSO’s Comprehensive Registration of Displaced People conducted in June 2015. The sampling frame used for the host community was based on the preparation process for the 2009 census, which did not take place. Figures for refugees were facilitated by UNHCR.

The population baseline estimates for the urban areas in Erbil Governorate were the following: 1,345,840 host persons; 257,424 IDPs; 77,637 refugees.

Limitations: It must be taken into account that the sampling approach was not designed to estimate the total number of the three target populations in the geographic strata of Erbil district centre, Erbil district periphery and towns. As such, the results cannot be used to validate the available population estimates for out-of-camp populations or the local population. Results at the district level are not statistically significant due to insufficient sample sizes in a majority of districts. Therefore, analysis by location should not be done by district but only by the three geographic strata (Erbil district centre, Erbil district periphery, Towns).