U.S. population growth less than 0.5 percent as immigration and birth rates drop, new report says
The Census Bureau says the nation's population grew by only 0.48 percent in 2019 — part of a steady decline since 2015.
Mark Lennihan / AP
Dec. 30, 2019, 7:59 PM EST
By Doha Madani and The Associated Press
Major declines in international immigration have contributed to a decline in growth for the U.S. population, according to a report Monday from the Census Bureau.
The nation's population grew by less than 0.5 percent in 2019 — part of a steady decline since 2015. Experts say they believe the decline stems from a lack of migrants' entering the country, in hand with a drop in so-called natural increase, which is the difference between births and deaths.
The 0.48 percent increase to 328.2 million marks the slowest growth rate in the United States since 1917 to 1918, when the nation was involved in World War I, said William Frey, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
"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 childbearing age, so even if they have children, it's still going to be less."
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/u-s-population-growth-down-immigration-birth-rates-drop-new-n1108816
