For the 12 months ended July 1, the population of the US grew by 392,665 or only 0.1 per cent. AFP
For the 12 months ended July 1, the population of the US grew by 392,665 or only 0.1 per cent. AFP
For the 12 months ended July 1, the population of the US grew by 392,665 or only 0.1 per cent. AFP
For the 12 months ended July 1, the population of the US grew by 392,665 or only 0.1 per cent. AFP

US population growth slows to lowest rate ever amid pandemic


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The Covid-19 pandemic has driven US population growth to its lowest rate in history, due in part to deaths from the virus and a drop in immigration, the Census Bureau said on Tuesday.

For the 12 months ended July 1, the population of the US grew by 392,665 or only 0.1 per cent, “the lowest rate since the nation's founding”, the agency said in statement.

“Population growth has been slowing for years because of lower birth rates and decreasing net international migration, all while mortality rates are rising due to the ageing of the nation's population,” said Kristie Wilder, a demographer in the Population Division at the Census Bureau.

“Now, with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, this combination has resulted in a historically slow pace of growth.”

Even with the decline in immigration over the latest 12-month period, the net international migration of 244,622 for the first time ever exceeded the “natural increase” of US births over deaths of 148,043, the agency said.

Due to delays in crunching the numbers caused by the pandemic, the Census Bureau's latest population report used blended data, incorporating estimates from the once-a-decade 2020 census with other sources including birth, death and migration records.

Between 2020 and 2021, 33 states reported population increases while 17 states and the District of Columbia lost population, with 11 of registering losses of more than 10,000 people, the agency said, calling it “a historically large” number of states losing residents.

A separate analysis showed Texas had the biggest population increase at 1.1 per cent, mostly due to domestic migration to the state and rising net birth rates.

New York showed the biggest decline, falling 1.6 per cent in the year, mostly due to domestic migration out of the state, the agency said.

Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

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Uefa Nations League: How it works

The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.

The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.

Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.

Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest

Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.

Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.

Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.

Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.

Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.

Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia

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Updated: December 21, 2021, 10:23 PM