Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Amazing, Animated Chart Shows the Aging of America

Ezra Klein writes:

– Back in the 1900s, only a tiny percentage of Americans lived past the age of 70.

– You can see a big “baby bust” before and during the Great Depression, right before prosperity returns and the Baby Boom strikes. (You can also see the bulge of Baby Boomers ripple through the charts in the latter half of the 20th century.)

– It’s not until the 1990s that you start to see a detectable portion of the country older than 90. And the Census projects that the share of the U.S. population older than 95 will start growing around 2020 or so.

– Obviously the share of older people in the United States will grow in the next three decades, but it’s worth noting that even in 2060, the Census projects that there will be more Americans under the age of 40 than over.

The animated chart is here.

1 comment:

  1. Fascinating but a little scary when you plug in what these different population groups will be capable of doing depending on their age. Those under 18 - lovingly spent(hopefully)time,effort and expense by working adults. Those over 70 - lovingly spent time, effort and expense by working adults. The burden will definitely increase for those in the middle range age group unless a new paradigm presents itself for how "aging" Americans are viewed and utilized! Thanks! An excellent and fun chart to view! :)

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