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Population in isles
rises 9.3 percent

U.S. Census reveals slowed
population influx

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Associated Press

A nine-year economic slump appeared to take its toll on Hawaii's population in the 1990s as the state experienced its smallest decade-long percentage increase since the Census Bureau began counting isle residents a century ago.

Figures released this morning by the bureau show the state gained 103,398 residents between April 1, 1990, and April 1, 2000 -- a 9.3 percent change -- as it went from being the 41st most populous state to the 42nd.

The population of the islands was 1,108,229 in 1990 and 1,211,537 this year, the bureau said.

The increase was a far cry from the robust growth that followed Hawaii's admission to the union in 1959 and the tourism boom of the 1970s and 1980s.

The state's population grew by nearly 22 percent between 1960 and 1970, by 25 percent between 1970 and 1980, and by nearly 15 percent between 1980 and 1990.

Economists say Hawaii is only now emerging from an economic slowdown that began after the Japanese investment bubble of the late 1980s and early 1990s burst.

State officials also have pointed to reductions in Hawaii's large military presence.

Hawaii's 1990s population growth did not affect its congressional apportionment, which remained -- as it has since 1960 -- at two representatives.