Census Bureau puts U.S. population at more than 320 million

WASHINGTON, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- According to a new report from the Census Bureau, the U.S. population will be 320,090,857 by January 1, 2015. The new total will mark a 0.73 percent increase since New Years Day of 2014, when the population was 317,756,670 -- a 2,334,187 difference.

The latest totals are estimates, projections using population trends to extrapolate data collected during the last census. According to the agency's advanced math, a combination of factors including the number of births, deaths and immigration in and out of the country averages out to a new U.S. resident being added to the total every 16 seconds.

The United States is third most populous nation in the world. But the two most populous countries, China and India, each host roughly four times as many people as the United States.

India, the second most populous country in the world at 1.25 billion, is expected to feature -- along with Africa -- some of the world's sharpest population increases in the coming decades. China's population -- the world's most populous at 1.36 billion -- is already beginning to plateau.

The new report estimates the world population at 7.21 billion.