
US population growth dips to lowest rate during first year of COVID-19 pandemic
Fox News
U.S. population growth dipped to its lowest rate since the nation’s founding during the first year of the pandemic as the coronavirus curtailed immigration, delayed pregnancies and killed hundreds of thousands of U.S. residents, according to figures released Tuesday.
The U.S. has been experiencing slow population growth for years but the pandemic exacerbated that trend. This past year was the first time since 1937 that the nation’s population grew by less than 1 million people.
"Population growth has been slowing for years because of lower birth rates and decreasing net international migration, all while mortality rates are rising due to the aging of the nation’s population," said Kristie Wilder, a Census Bureau demographer. "Now, with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, this combination has resulted in an historically slow pace of growth."