Iraq’s population grew to 45.4 million according to the first survey in decades

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s prime minister says the country’s population has grown to 45.4 million, according to preliminary results from a national census, the first in nearly 40 years. The nationwide population census carried out earlier this month is a step aimed at modernizing data collection and planning in a country long impacted by conflict and political divisions. In 2009, an unofficial count estimated the population at 31.6 million. The gender distribution according to Monday’s initial results shows a nearly even split, with males making up 50.1% of the population and females 49.8% of the population.