DETROIT (WKZO) -- Despite a slight gain in population, Michigan's ranking dropped from eighth largest to ninth largest in the country.  After seven consecutive years of decline though, the state's population increased by .07-percent from 2011 to 2012.  That translates to about 65-hundred additional people in the state.  It's going to take a while to get back up to pre-2004 figures.  Michigan has lost almost 172-thousand residents since then.