Isles’ populace rises by 11,000

Hawaii’s population grew by about 11,000 people in 2015 to more than 1.43 million, an increase of a little less than 1 percent.

The U.S. Census Bureau said the number of island residents rose to 1,431,603 as of July 1, up from 1,420,257 last year.

On average, Hawaii’s population increased by about 30 people a day, according to the census estimate released Tuesday.

Births and people moving to the islands from other countries accounted for most of the population growth.

There were 53 births per day compared with 32 deaths, and an average of 28 more people moved here per day from foreign countries (which includes U.S. military) than left for foreign homes. On average, 19 more people left Hawaii for the mainland than arrived here.

“The big thing is mainly migration, primarily from elsewhere in the U.S. and the Pacific territories,” said Jim Dator, a futurist and professor emeritus of the University of Hawaii Department of Political Science. “What’s interesting is the movement of Micronesians and the challenges they have brought to our education, health and welfare system. They are just the tip of an iceberg for people from other Pacific islands that will be coming here as sea levels rise (due to climate change). We’re going to have more Pacific islanders and people from other areas that are forced to move. They’re called environmental refugees. That’s a trend that will certainly increase.”

However, Dator said the “slow increase” could be interrupted.

“There are all sorts of reasons why these trends might be interrupted, including severe storms as we saw this year,” he said. “If this continues as a part of climate change, there might be people who will move out of the state.”

State Economist Eugene Tian said the average annual growth is lower than the increase between 2000 to 2010 when Hawaii’s population rose by 1.2 percent each year.

Hawaii’s rate has been steady over the past five years and is comparable to the national growth rate. Since 2010 Hawaii has grown 5 percent.

“Nationwide the population growth is slowing down. The population is getting older, so … there are more older people and fewer younger,” Tian said. “In general we know there are more single people and more people married but don’t want children. That means the birthrate has been declining.”

Hawaii is the 40th most populous state, according to the data. The state ranks above New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, Montana, Delaware, South Dakota, North Dakota, Alaska, Vermont and Wyoming.