Relocations, births help boost state’s population

Hawaii’s population grew 1 percent from July 2011 to July 2012, driven primarily by a relatively high birth rate and people moving from foreign countries, census data released last week show.

The state Depart-ment of Business, Economic Development and Tourism analyzed data released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The state had a resident population of 1,392,313 on July 1, compared with 1,378,129 one year earlier. Of those, 70.1 percent live on Oahu.

On average, Hawaii gained 39 residents per day:

» Fifty babies were born per day, offset by 28 deaths, for a net gain of 22 natural residents.

» Hawaii had a net gain of 25 people moving from or to foreign countries per day, offset by a net loss of eight people moving to or from the U.S. mainland, for a net migration gain of 17 people.

Resident population by county on July 1 was 976,372 in Honolulu County, 189,191 in Hawaii County, 158,316 in Maui County and 68,434 in Kauai County.

"Resident population" includes military members and dependents stationed in Hawaii.

For more information, go to http://hawaii.gov/dbedt/info/economic/census/population-­estimate.