Iraq’s population has risen to 45.4 million, according to preliminary results from a national census, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said on Monday.

The census, conducted on November 20, was Iraq’s first nationwide survey in more than three decades, marking a crucial step for future planning and development.

Prior to the census, the planning ministry estimated the population at 43 million.

The last census, conducted in 1997, did not include the Iraqi Kurdistan region, which has been under Kurdish administration since the 1991 Gulf War.

It counted 19 million Iraqis and officials estimated there were another 3 million in the Kurdish north, according to official statistics.

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