Read your chart again. The numbers are up. Draw a trend line.
OK, here's the USA:
Here's my lil spot:
Assume 12% growth every decade; that's pretty much a doubling every 50 years. That jibes with my observation of disappearing quietude and increasing congestion and "development".
Look at that- some regions double in LESS THAN 20 years.
Is the growth going to stop and reverse? Not for a hella long time... they think.
Resource record: Statewide population projections and pyramids, 2013-2065