US population growth much higher than EU: study

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2008

PARIS (AFP) — Sustained immigration and high birthrates have placed the rate of US population growth well ahead of Europe's, despite lower life expectancy in North America, a new study said Wednesday.

In 2005, the population of the then 25-member European Union stood at 463 million people against 296 million in the United States, noted the study by France's national institute of demographic studies (INED).

But over the past 20 years the US population has grown three and a half times faster, wrote demographer Gilles Pison in the report published in INED's "Population and Societies" journal.

By 2050, Europe could see its population fall to under 460 million while the United States could grow to 402 million, according to UN projections.

That is due to...