LINCOLN, Neb. – Nebraska's annual population growth has nearly matched the U.S. growth rate for the first time in 50 years, largely due to a surge in births that continues despite the economic downturn, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates released Wednesday.

The growth should push the state population to the 1.8 million mark in the 2010 Census. The estimates also remove all doubt that the state will keep three seats in Congress for at least another decade.