Bamako has experienced staggering population growth. In 1884, it had only 2,500 inhabitants, 8,000 in 1908, 37,000 in 1945, and 100,000 in 1960. Today, the population is at least 18 times what it was in 1960, with 1,810,366 recorded at the 2009 census, and continues to attract a rural population in search of work.