About 266 million people will live in the United States Wednesday - the first day of 1997 - up 0.9 percent since last New Year's Day, the Census Bureau says.
The U.S. population increased by an estimated 2.3 million people in 1996, with immigration accounting for one-third of the jump, the agency said Thursday. A total of 266,499,365 people will be living in the United States in 1997, according to the census projection.The bureau calculated a net 809,000 people migrated to the United States from other countries in 1996 - meaning more immigrants came here to stay than left.
The bureau assumed there were 3.8 million births and 2.3 million deaths. And it figured a net 27,000 Americans returned from overseas, including those serving in the military.
The nation's population is expected to grow by another 2.4 million people in 1997.