AMMAN, Jordan, March 22 (UPI) -- Jordan began Thursday to survey Iraqis living in the country to find out the real number residing in the kingdom.
Government spokesman Nasser Judeh said in a statement such a study was necessary not only to know the accurate number of Iraqis in Jordan, but also to know their living conditions and ways to facilitate their stay.
Iraqis first started pouring into neighboring Jordan after the international community imposed sanctions on their country following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990. But their numbers increased significantly in the aftermath of the general instability and chaos that swept Iraq following the U.S. toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime in April 2003.
Some unofficial estimates have put the number of Iraqis in Jordan at close to one million, while officials guesstimate the number at 500,000 to 600,000 people between legal and illegal residents. The survey should put an end to speculations on Iraqis, who have been generally blamed for the rise in the cost of living, real estate value and depleting infrastructural services in the country of 5.6 million Jordanians.
The U.N. High Commission for Refugees said around 2 million Iraqis have fled their war-torn country since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 and that most have sought refuge in Jordan and Syria.
