Aging

Demographic Overview

Life expectancy is typically measured by averaging the number of years that people in a given population can expect to live. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau in 2003 indicate that the life expectancy at birth for all races was 77.5 years. However, there is a gap in life expectancies when accounting for race and gender. [Page 43]The life expectancy at birth for White males was 75.3 years and for White females was 80.5 years. Comparatively, the life expectancy for Black males was 69.0 years and for Black females was 76.1 years.

Three terms are commonly used to describe the old. Individuals between 65 and 75 years of age are referred to as the young old, individuals between 75 and 85 years of age are referred to as the old old, and individuals over 85 years of age are referred to as the oldest old. With people living longer than in previous times, the total amount and proportion of older people in the U.S. population is growing. For instance, the older population now constitutes approximately 12% of the total U.S. population. At the same time, the number of individuals living past 100 years of age, or centenarians, has increased during the past century as well.

A large birth rate between the years 1946 and 1964 produced more than 70 million people. Demographers label this cohort of births the “baby boom” population. The first wave of the baby boomers will turn 65 years of age in 2011. The mass amounts of people aging are expected to put a strain on society's resources and institutions. Economic issues such as age of retirement, living arrangements, and costs of health care are of great and real concern because of the enormous pressures placed on government programs such as social security and Medicare benefits as means of support. Consequently, social institutions will also need to become flexible to meet the needs of a diverse population whose members might not have, or might never have had, equal treatment and resources in the society.

Reflecting the demographic changes of the U.S. population over the past decades, the older population will become more diverse. In 2003, the breakdown of the older (65+ years) U.S. population was as follows: non-Hispanic White, 82%; Black, 8%; Hispanic (of any race), 6%; Asian, 3%; and Native American, less than 1%. However, projections for 2050 indicate that the pattern is shifting. The Hispanic population is projected to grow the fastest, from just over 2 million in 2003 to 15 million in 2050, and to be larger than the older Black population by 2028. The diverse population of older people presents special issues and special needs.

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