The age structure of the U.S. population has been stable for the past ten years and currently looks as follows: 20 percent of the population is 65 or older, 13 percent is younger than 15 and the 67 percent is aged between 15 and 64. The median age in the United States is 36.9 years, which is relatively low compared to other developed countries. The Life expectancy in the U.S. has been rising continuously for decades. It is almost 79 years for Americans born in 2009.
The population of the United States is ethnically diverse due to the country’s history as an immigration country. In 2009, the ethnic composition of the U.S. population looked as follows: With 244.3 millions, the majority of the American population is white. 39.64 million Americans are black or African American; 14.01 millions are Asian; 3.15 millions are American Indian or Alaska Natives; 0.58 millions are Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islanders and 5.32 million Americans reported two or more races. The 48.42 million people of Hispanic descent in the United States are included in the aforementioned numbers, because Hispanic heritage is reported separate from race by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Picture: istockphoto.com / mevans