These numbers seem a bit off. Of the 44,209 candidates worldwide who sat for the CFA Program Level I exam in December, 34 percent passed. By region, 14,717 candidates passed in the Americas; 9,457 passed in Europe, Middle East, and Africa; and 20,035 passed in Asia and Pacific Asia. The December exam was offered at 92 test centers in 55 cities in 31 countries. https://www.cfainstitute.org/memresources/communications/execupdate/2010/february/article2.html
Looks like they meant to say that 44,209 people passed, and not that 44,209 people took the exam.