This chart shows the percentage change in the world population and the United States population by decade.

During the period between 1990 and 2000, the population of the United States grew by approximately 13 percent. This change is five times the average percentage increase of other major developed countries¹ during the same period. This higher growth rate is the result of somewhat higher fertility — women in the United States give birth to more than two children on average over the course of their reproductive lives, while women in most other industrialized countries have lower fertility rates — and substantial immigration.²

Although the United States population has grown more rapidly than other major developed countries in the last decade, in general, the U.S. population grows more slowly than world population (red line on the chart). It should be noted that population projections are subject to frequent revisions in response to changes in the underlying causes such as mortality, fertility, life expectancy and immigration, all of which are influenced by both technological and political changes.

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1. Canada, Europe, Russia, Japan, Australia and New Zealand

2. The United States in International Context: 2000 (U. S. Census Bureau publication C2KBR/01-11 issued February 2002).