[Ghost of Philip Marlowe]

"The US fertility rate is 2.09 children born/woman (2006 est.) The population growth rate is 0.91% (2006 est.) The net migration rate is 3.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) --Source CIA factbook."

Hmm Thanks for the link. But I don't read that information the same way. I read it this way: the fertility rate of 2.09 is for women who are already citizens. Population rate factors in emigration and death. Migration rate is a number separate from these two. I don't see any indication that subtracting the fertility rate and the population rate from the migration rate is the actual stat for how US citizens are repopulating.

So I'm reading it that US citizens are repopulating themselves at the replacement rate (but just squeaking by), but when you factor in immigration, we are an increasingly smaller percentage of the overall population.

Thanks again for the link.

[kabar]

Hmm Thanks for the link. But I don't read that information the same way. I read it this way: the fertility rate of 2.09 is for women who are already citizens. Population rate factors in emigration and death. Migration rate is a number separate from these two. I don't see any indication that subtracting the fertility rate and the population rate from the migration rate is the actual stat for how US citizens are repopulating.

We don't keep records as to whether a woman who gives birth is a citizen or not. If you look at the link I provided to you, you will see that the migration rate is figured into the population clock, which is why it is included under the heading COMPONENT SETTINGS FOR MARCH 2007. If you notice as well, the international migrant (net) every 27 seconds is net, which indicates that it takes into account emmigration and immigration. The other components to the clock are births and deaths. Taken together with net migration, you wind up with a net gain of one person every 12 seconds.

Here is the technical description on how the clock works.

So I'm reading it that US citizens are repopulating themselves at the replacement rate (but just squeaking by), but when you factor in immigration, we are an increasingly smaller percentage of the overall population.

And you would be wrong. Anyone born in the US is a citizen. We also take in one million LEGAL immigrants a year, most of whom become citizens. The important fact is that most of the US population increase can be attributed to immigration, legal and illegal.