U.S. POPULATION TO REACH 315M IN JANUARY, GOVERNMENT SAYS

The U.S. Census Bureau says as of Jan. 1, 2013, the total U.S. population will be 315,091,138.

The figure represents an increase of 6.3 million or 2.05 per cent, since April 1, 2010, the last census day in the U.S.

The bureau conducts a population and housing census every 10 years. Earlier in December, the bureau released the first set of population projections based on the 2010 census.

The projections showed that minority groups together, would make up a majority of the U.S. population for the first time in 2043.

 The bureau also said that minorities, which now comprise 37 per cent of the U.S. population, are projected to comprise 57 per cent of the population in 2060.

 ``The next half century marks key points in continuing trends - the U.S. will become a plurality nation, where the non-hispanic white population remains the largest single group, but no group is in the majority,’’ Acting Director of the bureau, Thomas Mesenbourg, said.

The bureau also said the non-Hispanic white population was projected to peak in 2024 at 199.6 million, up from 197.8 million in 2012. Meanwhile, the Hispanic population will more than double from 53.3 million in 2012 to 128.8 million in 2060.

The black population is expected to increase from 41.2 million to 61.8 million over the same period.

Its share of the total population will rise slightly from 13.1 per cent in 2012 to 14.7 per cent in 2060.

The Asian population is projected to more than double from 15.9 million in 2012 to 34.4 million in 2060. Its share of nation's total population will climb from 5.1 per cent to 8.2 per cent in the same period.