The 140 Million

The Census Bureau last week produced a new estimate of the U.S. population, as of Jan. 1, 1945: 139,126,000. A bumper crop of war babies was Census' explanation for the 7,000,000-plus increase since 1940. Looking ahead, Census predicted a peak population of some 163,500,000 in 1975-1980, then a slow decline.

...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!