The United States is experiencing record-low population growth, on pace to be even lower than during the Great Depression.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population growth rate for the U.S. in the past year was 0.53% — roughly half of the worldwide figure, the Associated Press reported. The rate is alarmingly low — comparable with the period of the worst economic downturn in U.S. history. If the rate continues, the 2020s could make history as the decade with the least growth.

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William Fey, a demographer with The Brookings Institution, told the outlet that at the current rate, U.S. growth from 2020 to 2030 could be less than 4% — far lower than that of 1930 to 1940, which was 7.3%.

“Of course growth may tick up a bit as we leave the pandemic years. But it would still be difficult to get to 7.3%,” Frey said.

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The low growth reflects not only the wider effects of the COVID-19 pandemic but also the low birthrate that threatens to cripple most developed countries. Immigration accounts for much of the U.S. population growth, with the current Total Fertility Rate being just 1.66 births per woman, according to the World Bank — below the replacement rate.

Despite this, the U.S. added 1.7 million people in 2023, giving it a New Year's Day population of 334.8 million people. The country is expected to experience one birth every nine seconds at the start of 2024, compared to one death every 9.5 seconds.