US Has Slowest Population Growth Rate In A Century As Births Decline
Source: The Guardian
Increasing deaths and the slowdown of migration also contributed to slowest growth rate since first world war. The past year’s population growth rate in the United States was the slowest in a century due to declining births, increasing deaths and the slowdown of international migration, according to figures released Monday by the US Census Bureau.
The US grew from 2018 to 2019 by almost a half per cent, or about 1.5 million people, with the population standing at 328 million this year, according to population estimates. That’s the slowest growth rate in the US since 1917 to 1918, when the nation was involved in the first world war, said William Frey, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
For the first time in decades, natural increase – the number of births minus the number of deaths – was less than 1 million in the US due to an aging population of Baby Boomers, whose oldest members entered their 70s within the past several years. As the large Boomer population continues to age, this trend is going to continue.
Some of these things are locked into place. With the aging of the population, as the Baby Boomers move into their 70s and 80s, there are going to be higher numbers of deaths,” Frey said. “That means proportionately fewer women of child bearing age, so even if they have children, it’s still going to be less. Four states had a natural decrease, where deaths outnumbered births: West Virginia, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. For the first time this decade, Puerto Rico had a population increase...
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/30/us-population-growth-census-2020
..“Immigration is a wildcard in that it is something we can do something about,” Frey said. “Immigrants tend to be younger and have children, and they can make a population younger.”
10 states that had population declines in the past year include: NY, lost almost 77,000 people; IL, lost almost 51,000 residents; WV, lost more than 12,000 people; LS, lost almost 11,000 residents; and CT, lost 6,200 people. MS, HI, NJ, AK and VT each lost less than 5,000 residents.
The south saw the greatest population growth from 2018 to 2019, increasing 0.8% due to natural increase and people moving from others parts of the country. The north-east had a population decrease for the first time this decade, declining 0.1% due primarily to people moving away.
The new population figures also provide a look at the states that may gain or lose congressional seats from next year’s apportionment process following the 2020 Census; 435 US House seats are decided among the 50 states based on population.
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