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How Many Children? - An Aging Population

The median age (half are older and half are younger) of the American population has risen quickly. According to the U.S. Census Bureau in Census 2000 PHC-T-9. Population by Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic or Latino Origin for the United States: 2000, median age increased from thirty years in 1980 to 35.3 years in 2000. Within a ten-year span, from 1990 to 2000, the median age jumped from 32.9 years to 35.3 years. This rapid increase in the median age is the result of three separate trends:

  • Americans are having fewer children than their parents did.
  • Baby boomers are reaching middle age and leaving their childbearing years.
  • Americans are living longer because of health consciousness and medical advances.

FIGURE 1.2

How Many Children? - Racial And Ethnic Differences [next] [back] How Many Children? - Birth Indicators

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