Baghdad, Jul 12 (IANS): The Iraqi Ministry of Planning said the country's population has reached 43.32 million, with an annual growth rate of 2.5 per cent.

A Ministry statement said that about 50.5 per cent of the total Iraqi population are men and about 49.5 per cent women, reports Xinhua news agency.

It showed that the working-age group between 15 and 64 constitutes the highest percentage, reaching 57 per cent of the total population, followed by the youth group under 15 years at 40 per cent.

The statement also said 70 per cent of the population is estimated to live in urban areas while 30 per cent in rural areas, adding 50 per cent live in the provinces of Baghdad, Nineveh, Basra and Dhi Qar.

In January, the Ministry had announced that the country's population at the end of 2022 had exceeded 42.24 million.

Iraq used to conduct a population census every 10 years, with the last one done in 1997.

The country has not conducted any population census since the US occupation in 2003.