The U.S. population is on the rise, making it the third-largest country by population in the world. A recent report from the U.S. Census Bureau sets the U.S. population at 334,233,854 on Jan. 1, 2023. This reflects an increase of nearly 1.6 million or 0.47 percent since New Year’s Day of 2022 and an increase of nearly 2.8 million since Census Day on April 1, 2020.

The statistics indicate the U.S. population grows by 1 person every 27 seconds based on the combination of births, deaths and net international migration. These numbers are based on 1 person being born every 9 seconds and 1 person dying every 10 seconds. The international migration rate sits at approximately 1 person entering the U.S. population every 32 seconds. 

The global population continues to reach record growth and is expected to hit 8 billion at some point during 2023. This is an increase of nearly 74 million people or 0.94 percent since New Year’s Day of 2022. 

In 2023, the population is expected to change by 4.3 births and 2.0 deaths every second.

Despite what appears to be significant growth in the world’s population, the overall numbers are on the decline. According to the Census Bureau and the U.N., it took 12 years to grow from 7 billion to 8 billion people. It is expected to take 15 years to reach the 9 billion mark. 

According to a UN population report released in July 2022, the world population is declining due to low and falling fertility levels. New research shows that in 2019, more than 40 percent of the world’s countries were at or below an adequate replacement rate of 2.1 children per female. Since then, this number has reached 60 percent. 

In 2019, more than 40 percent of the world’s population lived in countries that were at or below the replacement rate of 2.1 children per woman; in 2021, this share climbed to 60 percent.

The UN believes the only way to change this trend is to provide universal access to family planning and ensure sex education is part of school curricula, along with ensuring basic human rights and equality for women.