Is 300 Million a Big Deal?

As the U.S. population passes the 300 million mark, let's try to keep things in perspective: We are the third most populous country in the world after China and India. India has a population of 1.1 Billion with a population growth rate of 1.38% while the U.S. population is growing at about 0.91% annually.

India has a land area of just under 3 million square meters with a population density of about 358 people per square kilometer. The U.S. has three times the land area at over 9 million square meters, which is about 32 people per square meter.

At our current growth rate, we will reach the same population density as India has today in the year 2273 (267 years from now). Of course by then India will be home to more than 42 Billion people (more than 7 times the entire world population today)!