U.S. Population Growth Slows

The rate of population growth slowed last year to the lowest it’s been since 1919.  We are not the only country where the growth rate is slowing.  In Greece, Germany, Italy, and Spain, deaths exceed births, although immigration keeps populations growing.  In the U.S.deaths now exceed births in about 46 percent of the counties.  Western Pennsylvania is one of the areas of decline; so is much of Appalachia.

Since there are too many people in the world, this is, in my view, a good thing, but it will cause major problems in an economy that depends on constant growth.  

See Sabrina Tavernise, “U./S.Population Grows at Slowest Rate Since 1919, New York Times, (Mar. 26, 2020), p. A24.