Kurdistan Region.. Most Freedom and Less Censorship on Book

Kurdistan Region Government (KRG)- Believing in the principles of freedom and democracy in the Kurdistan Region, the government does not censor writing, publication, in condition that these books do not disrupt the social and security of society.

Any one, center or institution that wants to publish books must first obtain number through the General Directorate of Public Libraries in the eight directorates (Erbil, Sulaimani, Duhok, Halabja, Garmian, Raperin, Zakho and Soran).

Diyari Aziz, General Director of Public Libraries in the Ministry of Culture and Youth of the Kurdistan Region Government told the official website of the Kurdistan Region Government: " "In the Kurdistan Region, there is no censorship that prevents the issue of number to books, if the book does not fit with religion, country, society and historical facts، we will only notify the ministry and they will evaluate and facilitate it through a committee.

More than 5,000 books in all languages in the Kurdistan Region receive the number in all languages every year. And there are 92 libraries in the Kurdistan Region under the General Directorate of Public Libraries, which contain 858 thousand 951 books:

Erbil: 30 libraries with 276 thousand 866 books.
Sulaimani: 26 libraries with 350 thousand 984 books.
Duhok: 8 libraries with 74 thousand 230 books.
Halabja: 6 libraries with 32 thousand 689 books.
Raperin: 12 libraries with 39 thousand 689 books.
Garmian: 10 libraries with 84 thousand 493 books.

In the three years of the ninth cabinet of the Kurdistan Region Government, the statistics were as follows:
First, the number of visitors was 155 thousand 697 (Erbil: 32 thousand 658 people, Sulaimani: 93 thousand 992 people, Duhok: 13 thousand 25 people, Halabja: 6 thousand 540 people, Garmian: 1 thousand 784 people). People, Raperin: 7 thousand 698 people).
Second: Book Number was 9 thousand 331 numbers according to the provinces as follows: (Erbil: 3 thousand 984 numbers, Sulaimani: 3 thousand 360 numbers, Duhok: 1 thousand 987 numbers).

Department of Media and Information
January 23, 2023