Statistics 101: Population Size

Don’t Look Now, But The Pig Is Passing Through The Python

I’m always amazed at how little people really know about demographics and population statistics. Sure, I know why people aren’t interested in this information–it’s B-O-R-I-N-G. But even though I’m not a digithead, I am smart enough to know that without having a firm grasp on this information, pretty much everything else we need to know about health and well-being is useless because, without a good understanding of basic demography, there can be no context.

So let’s get this party started.

From 1950 to 2005, the total resident population of the United States increased from 151 million to 296 million–representing an average annual growth rate of about 1.2% per year. By 2050, it’s estimated that the U.S. population will double to just over 400 million people.

While I’m sure that you’re feasting on these fast-facts, I think’s it’s important to drill down just a little bit here and point out an observation that I think is particularly fascinating about the present U.S. population–and that’s the impact that the baby-boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) are having on…well, just about everything.

Eighty-million strong, the boomers are presently screaming into retirement and/or preparing for it–and that means that America is about to get old(er)…fast. Indeed, by 2029 all of the baby boomers will be age 65 years and older. As a result of this migration, the population aged 65 years and older will increase from 6% to 10% of the total population between 2005 and 2030. And, as the boomers age, the population 75 years and older will rise from 5% to 9% of the population by 2030 and continue to grow to 12% in 2050.

Now this may not seem like a big deal to the uninformed, but this shift has profound ramifications on important things like social security, medicare, and the labor pool for keeping America competitive–all things that we will cover in upcoming segments.

For now, burn this into your brain: 296 million American’s and 80 million baby boomers.

For more information, be sure to check out: Health In the United States, 2006, available from the U.S. Department if Health and Human Services.