The population of the United States grew at its slowest pace in more than eight decades, the Census Bureau said Wednesday, as the number of deaths increased and the number of births declined. The past year saw a particularly high number of deaths — 2.81 million — and relatively few births, 3.86 million. If the pattern continues, immigrants will soon be more important to population gains than the so-called natural increase, which is the number of births minus the number of deaths. That was not the case 10 years ago, when natural increase accounted for a far higher share of the country’s population gains. “I think we need to get used to the fact that we are now a slow-growth country.”

Source: New York Times December 19, 2018 23:52 UTC