300 Million Strong
U.S. population reaches record high
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| Employees of the U.S. Census Bureau take pictures as the population clock hits the 300 million mark, on October 17, 2006, in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images/NewsCom) |
October 18, 2006
At 7:46 a.m. Eastern Time Tuesday, America's 300-millionth citizen was born! The only problem is no one knows exactly which baby was actually number 300 million.
"These are not actual counts, which makes it impossible to actually identify a 300-millionth American," said U.S. Census Bureau spokesman Stephen Buckner.
So the 300-millionth baby could be Zoë Emille Hudson from Manhattan or even Kiyah Lanaé Boyd from Atlanta. There is also Zhen Liu Ye who was born in San Francisco, or Hannah Romero in Arizona. All the babies were born at about 7:46 a.m. EST.
The time estimate is based on data gathered by the U.S. Census Bureau. The bureau averaged the number of births, deaths, and new immigrants in America. When they were finished, they discovered that a new American is added every 11 seconds!
The U.S. is now one of three countries with more than 300 million people. The other two countries are China (1.3 billion) and India (1 billion).
The 200-millionth American was born almost 39 years ago in 1967. At the time, immigrants made up 5 percent of the population. Today, 12 percent of the U.S. population is made up of immigrants.
People are also living longer, which increases the population. The average life span of an American today is 77.8 years. In 1967, the average life span was 70.5 years.
Is population growth good or bad? The experts disagree on the answers. Economists say population growth is good for the economy. More people means more demand for goods. They point out that European countries like England, France, and Germany have declining populations and a declining economy.
But more people also means more pollution, more trash, and more urban sprawl. Environmentalists and other experts warn that the U.S. may not be able to support continued growth. Another 100 million people are expected in the next 37 years!
Critical Thinking Question
Read today's news story, and then answer the following question.
|  | 300 Million Strong The U.S. population is expected to reach 400 million by 2043. Do you think a rapidly growing population is a good thing or a bad thing? Why? |
Join a discussion of this question on our bulletin board.
Tiffany Chaparro is a contributing writer for Scholastic News Online.
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