Census Data Shows, US Population Growth, Slowed to a Crawl in 2021.br According to census data released in September, the population of the United States grew more slowly in 2021 than in any other year on record. .br The U.S. Census Bureau has attributed the record low br to the coronavirus pandemic, economic shutdowns br and lower numbers of migrants and births. .br Al Jazeera reports that in 2021, the U.S. population grew by about 393,000, or just 0.1, a historic low. .br Luke Rogers, chief of the Census Bureau’s populationbr estimates branch said that this rate is slower than during br the influenza pandemic, World War I and the Great Depression. .br Luke Rogers, chief of the Census Bureau’s populationbr estimates branch said that this rate is slower than during br the influenza pandemic, World War I and the Great Depression. .br The slow rate of growth can be br attributed to decreased net br international migration, decreased br fertility, and increased mortality due br in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Census Bureau, via Al Jazeera.br Al Jazeera points out that the census data also showed br that the U.S. poverty rate had risen from a 60-year low br following pandemic-related economic shutdowns. .br The U.S. has also become br more diverse as the white population declines. .br The U.S. population has been in decline since 2016 due br to a variety of factors, including decreasing fertility br and increasing mortality among an aging population. .br According to the Census Bureau's estimates, br births outnumbered deaths by only 148,000, br the smallest difference in over 80 years. .br U.S.