NEW YORK, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Congressional Budget Office has shrunk its projections for the country's population in 30 years to 372 million residents, a 2.8 percent drop from last year, citing declining birth rates and less expected immigration.

The budget office last year projected 383 million people living in the United States in 30 years but reduced that figure by 11 million residents in projections released this week. The United States had an estimated 341 million residents on New Year's Day and is expected to grow to 350 million people by year's end.

"Population growth will slow over the next three decades," noted The Associated Press on Wednesday about the new projections. In the next 10 years, the yearly growth rate in the United States will be on average 0.4 percent, but then it slows down on average to 0.1 percent between 2036 and 2055, the budget office said.

The overall yearly growth rate over the next three decades, 0.2 percent, is projected to be less than a quarter of what it was from 1975 to 2024. Enditem

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