“Demographic transformations are dramas in slow motion. America is in the midst of two right now. Our population is becoming majority non-white at the same time a record share is going gray. Each of these shifts would by itself be the defining demographic story of its era. The fact that both are unfolding simultaneously has generated big generation gaps that will put stress on our politics, families, pocketbooks, entitlement programs and social cohesion. . . .
“In every society since the start of history, whenever you broke down any population [into five year groups], you’d always get an age pyramid [with those ages 0-4 on the bottom and those ages 85 and older on the top].
“But from 1960 to 2060, our pyramid will turn into a rectangle. We’ll have almost as many Americans over age 85 as under age 5. This is the result of longer life spans and lower birthrates. It’s uncharted territory, not just for us, but for all of humanity.”
Get more information here and in the book, The Next America, by Paul Taylor and the Pew Research Center. You can see the changes animated on the pyramid at the link. Just click the arrow below the graph. [Hat tip to Ann Davis Garvin for the link.]
