The Demographics of Aging...

Accommodating this exploding market demands a new mind-set and fresh criteria for designing a new generation of innovative products and environments. Start with an overview of the demographics of aging:

> Characteristics of the Aged Population

> The Swelling Aging Population

> Increased Life Expectancy

> Skewed Sex Ratio

> Race/Ethnicity

 

Characteristics of the Aged Population

The growth of the world's older population and the characteristics of its sub-populations all contribute to an extremely diverse, heterogeneous group of older adults that for the most part, other than advanced chronological age, defy characterization.

But extensive human aging is only a recent phenomenon. Today, one out of every nine Americans is old. This has not always been the case. As late as 1930, there were less than seven million older Americans. In 2004 alone, more than 3.5 million boomers turned 55. And by 2012, Americans age 50 or older will have swelled to more than 100 million.

This dramatic growth in numbers and proportions, increased life expectancies and energetic life styles will allow us to live 20 to 25 percent of our lives in active retirement. Moreover, today's physically and intellectually active younger generations suggest that tomorrow's elderly population will be better educated, healthier, culturally literate and, as individuals, more discerning consumers.

Such changes in the number of people reaching 65, coupled with an increased life expectancy, have expanded the elderly sub-population classifications beyond the "young old" (64-74) and the "old" (75-84). Today, the "old-old" (85+) group, representing over 10 percent of the older population. is growing most rapidly, and the one most in need of resources and environmental support systems.

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The Swelling Aging Population

Extensive human aging is a very recent phenomenon. One out of every nine Americans is old. Moreover:

• In the United States today, there are more people age 65 and older than the entire population of Canada.

• In the United states today, there are more people aged 65 and older than the populations of New York, London, and Moscow — combined.

• Throughout the world today, there are more people aged 65 and older than the entire populations of Russia, Japan, France, Germany and Australia.

The first wave of aging Baby Boomers will reach full retirement age in 2011.From then on, for the next 20 years, 10,000 new retirees will be added to the Social Secrity and Medicare rolls each day.

The fastest growing sub-group among the elderly are the "old-old"—those 85 years or older. In the United States, this group alone will more than triple from 5.7 million in 2010 to over 19 million by 2050.

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Increased Life Expectancy

As life expectancy increases dramatically, not only are the numbers of older people increasing, but they are also living longer. Two thousand years ago the average Roman could expect to live 22 years. A person born in 1900 could only expect to live 47.3 years; in 1930, 59.7 years; and in 1960, 69.7 years. Today, a newborn infant has a life expectancy of 78.3 years.

Put in perspective, life expectancy at age 65 has increased more in the last 30 years than the entire 200-year period from 1750 to 1950. Today, a person age 65 can expect to live another 15 years. A man of 75 has a 50-50 chance of reaching 84; a woman, 86. The longer you live, the longer you're likely to live!

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A Skewed Sex Ratio

As the population gets older, it also becomes predominantly more female. The U.S. Census Bureau's 2010 estimates show the 65 years and over population to be 40,229,000 with 43% male and 57.0% female.

The sex ratio (the number of men per 100 women) changes over the human life span. There are 106 male births for every 100 female births. The numbers of men continue to exceed women until the third decade (20-29).

From that age on, women increasingly outnumber men. In the 65-74 age group, there are 86 males for every 100 females. Their number drops to 72 in the 75-84 age group. The changes for the old-old (85 and older) groupbecome even more pronounced. For this sub-group, the sex ratio expands to an astounding 49 men to every 100 women.

The implications are self evident: to design for an aging population means to design for a predominantly older female population.

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Race/Ethnicity

One would expect to find aged people to be similarly distributed among racital/ethnic sub-populations in the United States. But this is not the case. In fact, about 17 percent of the entire population of older Americans is of minority race and/or ethnicity compaired with about 13 percent for whites. The distribution by sub-groups shows a disparity in life expectancy caused by:

• varying birth rates
• socio-economic factors
• immigration rates
• inaccuracies due to enumeration problems of the census itself

In the next several decades, the percentages are expected to change,resulting in a decrease in the white majority and proportionate increases in the percentages of minority elderly.

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Transgenerational homes and products can help maintain those active lifestyles, activities and independence. We can help you accommodate—and attract—their swelling purchasing power.