United States - Population, total

The value for Population, total in United States was 331,501,100 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 60 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 331,501,100 in 2020 and a minimum value of 180,671,000 in 1960.

Definition: Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.

Source: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2019 Revision. (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Popu

See also:

Year Value
1960 180,671,000
1961 183,691,000
1962 186,538,000
1963 189,242,000
1964 191,889,000
1965 194,303,000
1966 196,560,000
1967 198,712,000
1968 200,706,000
1969 202,677,000
1970 205,052,000
1971 207,661,000
1972 209,896,000
1973 211,909,000
1974 213,854,000
1975 215,973,000
1976 218,035,000
1977 220,239,000
1978 222,585,000
1979 225,055,000
1980 227,225,000
1981 229,466,000
1982 231,664,000
1983 233,792,000
1984 235,825,000
1985 237,924,000
1986 240,133,000
1987 242,289,000
1988 244,499,000
1989 246,819,000
1990 249,623,000
1991 252,981,000
1992 256,514,000
1993 259,919,000
1994 263,126,000
1995 266,278,000
1996 269,394,000
1997 272,657,000
1998 275,854,000
1999 279,040,000
2000 282,162,400
2001 284,969,000
2002 287,625,200
2003 290,107,900
2004 292,805,300
2005 295,516,600
2006 298,379,900
2007 301,231,200
2008 304,094,000
2009 306,771,500
2010 309,327,100
2011 311,583,500
2012 313,877,700
2013 316,059,900
2014 318,386,300
2015 320,739,000
2016 323,071,700
2017 325,122,100
2018 326,838,200
2019 328,330,000
2020 331,501,100

Development Relevance: Increases in human population, whether as a result of immigration or more births than deaths, can impact natural resources and social infrastructure. This can place pressure on a country's sustainability. A significant growth in population will negatively impact the availability of land for agricultural production, and will aggravate demand for food, energy, water, social services, and infrastructure. On the other hand, decreasing population size - a result of fewer births than deaths, and people moving out of a country - can impact a government's commitment to maintain services and infrastructure.

Limitations and Exceptions: Current population estimates for developing countries that lack (i) reliable recent census data, and (ii) pre- and post-census estimates for countries with census data, are provided by the United Nations Population Division and other agencies. The cohort component method - a standard method for estimating and projecting population - requires fertility, mortality, and net migration data, often collected from sample surveys, which can be small or limited in coverage. Population estimates are from demographic modeling and so are susceptible to biases and errors from shortcomings in both the model and the data. In the UN estimates the five-year age group is the cohort unit and five-year period data are used; therefore interpolations to obtain annual data or single age structure may not reflect actual events or age composition. Because future trends cannot be known with certainty, population projections have a wide range of uncertainty.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Population estimates are usually based on national population censuses. Estimates for the years before and after the census are interpolations or extrapolations based on demographic models. Errors and undercounting occur even in high-income countries. In developing countries errors may be substantial because of limits in the transport, communications, and other resources required to conduct and analyze a full census. The quality and reliability of official demographic data are also affected by public trust in the government, government commitment to full and accurate enumeration, confidentiality and protection against misuse of census data, and census agencies' independence from political influence. Moreover, comparability of population indicators is limited by differences in the concepts, definitions, collection procedures, and estimation methods used by national statistical agencies and other organizations that collect the data. The currentness of a census and the availability of complementary data from surveys or registration systems are objective ways to judge demographic data quality. Some European countries' registration systems offer complete information on population in the absence of a census. The United Nations Statistics Division monitors the completeness of vital registration systems. Some developing countries have made progress over the last 60 years, but others still have deficiencies in civil registration systems. International migration is the only other factor besides birth and death rates that directly determines a country's population growth. Estimating migration is difficult. At any time many people are located outside their home country as tourists, workers, or refugees or for other reasons. Standards for the duration and purpose of international moves that qualify as migration vary, and estimates require information on flows into and out of countries that is difficult to collect. Population projections, starting from a base year are projected forward using assumptions of mortality, fertility, and migration by age and sex through 2050, based on the UN Population Division's World Population Prospects database medium variant.

Aggregation method: Sum

Periodicity: Annual

General Comments: Relevance to gender indicator: disaggregating the population composition by gender will help a country in projecting its demand for social services on a gender basis.

Classification

Topic: Health Indicators

Sub-Topic: Population