According to the US Census Bureau, the US will finish 2004 with a population of 295 million, up roughly 3 million over the year before. Thanks to international migration, the US population will continue to grow at the rate of one additional person every 12 seconds.

There is an outside chance that the US will surpass 300 million in 2005, though 298 million is a more conservative estimate.

While this may seem like a lot of people, keep in mind that China already has more than 300 million cell phone users.