The sluggish economy has put the brakes on population growth in the United States, according to recent government reports.
Since 2009, the U.S. population increased by only 0.7 percent a year, the lowest increase since the Great Depression.
The drop is due to fewer births and decreased immigration. People are also delaying having children because of the poor economy.
“It’s an indicator of an unhealthy economy,” said Carl Haub, demographer for the Population Reference Bureau. “People are obviously still delaying births, and immigration has continued to drop because job opportunities are not there.”
CBN News Reporter Lee Webb recently spoke with Susan Yoshihara, who helps lead a pro-life watchdog group at the United Nations, about population decline and its affect on countries worldwide.
Yoshihara is vice president of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, also known as C-FAM.
Click play for her comments.
*Originally aired on March 16, 2012.