Did the survey rely on accurate estimates of the total population of Iraq?
The MIT/Blomberg study UNDP/Iraqi Ministry of Planning population estimates for mid-2004 (the middle of the study period) to construct the study sample and calcualte excess deaths. As these were not based on a census, they are uncertain, and some commentators have noted that other available estimates could lead to different results. For example, blogger Mike Dunford points out that the population figures differ from the data from the Iraqi Ministry of Health used for the [2004 Bloomberg study]. Inaccurate population figures could have two effects: First, population data were used to distribute clusters between Governorates (see this FAQ), and inaccurate data thus could lead to over-sampling of some Governorates and under-sampling of others. While this is a potential source of bias, it is likely to be small as each Governorates contained at least one cluster. It also is unknown whether such bias as remains would lead to an over- or under-estimate of the true number of excess deaths. The
