Elderly Americans (PDF: 340KB)

 The United States is in the midst of a profound demographic change: the rapid aging of its population. The 2000 Census counted nearly 35 million people in the United States 65 years of age or older, about one of every eight Americans. By 2030, demographers estimate that one in five Americans will be age 65 or older. The effects of this older age profile will reverberate throughout the American economy and society in the next 50 years. Preparing for these changes requires an understanding of the growing diversity within the older population. (BUL56.4, December 2001)

Warm Welcome, Cool Welcome: Mapping Receptivity Toward Immigrants in the U.S.
The dramatic increase in the minority population of the United States due to immigration has been a major story emerging from the 2000 Census. While the largest number of immigrants have concentrated in a handful of large gateway cities, some of the highest rates of minority population growth have been in smaller and geographically dispersed metropolitan areas. (Population Today, November/December 2001)

Quebec's Alternative to Pronatalism
For centuries, fertility was seen as central to the survival of Quebec's distinct French-Canadian culture. The province's political elite and its clergy successfully promoted relatively high fertility rates to overcome subordination to English-Canada. (Population Today, November/December 2001)

Rapidly Aging U.S. Society Faces Complex Issues
The aging of unprecedented numbers of Americans will have profound implications over the next several decades, and preparing for these changes will require an understanding of the changing characteristics of older Americans. (December 2001)

New Index Tracks Children's Well-Being
Is the well-being of America's children good and getting better, or bad and getting worse? A new Index of Child and Youth Well-Being charts the annual change in indicators of the life conditions of children and youth, and reports the results as a single number. (Population Today, November/December 2001)

One in Five U.S. Households Struggle to Afford Rent, Mortgage Payments
According to a special nationwide survey conducted by the Census Bureau last year, in over a fifth of all households, housing expenses consumed more than a third of total income in 1999 and 2000. (Population Today, October 2001)

Charter Schools Catching On
Both demand by parents for greater school choice and political support for education reform in the U.S. have heightened the popularity of charter schools, but so far there is little evidence that charter school attendance boosts academic achievement. (Population Today, August/September 2001)

Emerging Trends in Disability
Disability is an ambiguous demographic — affecting anywhere from 13 percent to 20 percent of the population — but one that is unambiguously increasing. Find out why by reading this Population Today article. (Population Today, August/September 2001)

Black Women, Gay and Bisexual Men Face High HIV Risks in U.S., Canada
Two decades into the AIDS epidemic in North America, the face of AIDS is darker and increasingly female. The numbers in North America, however, give us a sense of how the epidemic in the United States and Canada has evolved in 20 years, compared with other world regions. (September 2001)

Tackling Asthma in West Harlem
West Harlem Environmental Action (WE ACT), a community-based environmental health and justice organization, has been working since 1988 to reduce childhood asthma in the highly burdened neighborhoods of northern New York City. (August 2001)