Sunnis in Iraq

One thing that I have noticed is that before an invasion American agencies that publishes statistics (e.g. CIA Fact Book) tend to skew the demographic numbers of the country that they are about to invade in USA favor. Case in point is Iraq, where Sunnis and Shias have been almost equal in number for at least last two centuries, however, by breaking the country between Arabs, Kurds and other groups, the Sunni population has been shown as just 31%!!. Recent pew survey shows that the population of Shias and Sunnis in Iraq as almost equal (http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/06/18/the-sunni-shia-divide-where-they-live-what-they-believe-and-how-they-view-each-other/).

Furthermore, a very important factor that has to be considered is that the Baghdad holds around quarter of the population of Iraq and has always been a traditionally Sunni city. Among the seven largest cities, where the population is above 1 Million people, four are solidly Sunni (Mosul, Erbil, Kirkuk, Sulimaniya), while the Shia cities are Baghdad, Basra and Hillala.

Finally, It should be considered that the number of Sunnis in Baghdad have been somewhat under stated in the table below, however, if we agree with the argument that they have migrated out of Baghdad, it does not mean that they have left the country therefore, should be included in the total Sunni population of the Country.

Governorate	Population	Main Ethnicity	Sunni (%)	Shia (%)
Al Anbar	1,561,400	Arab	92	5
Babil	1,820,700	Arab	15	85
Baghdad	7,055,200	Arab	30	60
Basra	2,532,000	Arab	3	95
Dhi Qar	1,836,200	Arab	2	95
Al-Qādisiyyah	1,134,300	Arab	2	95
Diyala	1,443,200	Arab	65	25
Dohuk	1,128,700	Kurd	95	3
Erbil	1,612,700	Kurd	95	3
Halabja	337,000	Kurd	95	3
Karbala	1,066,600	Arab	1	95
Kirkuk	1,395,600	Arab/Kurd	95	2
Maysan	971,400	Arab	2	95
Muthanna	719,100	Arab	35	65
Najaf	1,285,500	Arab	2	80
Nineveh	3,270,400	Arab/Kurd	90	2
Saladin	1,408,200	Arab	95	2
Sulaymaniyah	1,878,800	Kurd	95	2
Wasit	1,210,600	Arab	20	80
Total	33,667,600		46.826985	47.81679