|
Changes in U.S.
population coming sooner than expected
ANN ARBOR, March 15, 2013: A major cultural and geographic
divide is emerging between Americans under age 35 and over 50,
according to University of Michigan demographer
William Frey.
“More than 70 percent of today's baby boomers and seniors are
white, and they grew up during a time when the nation's minority
population was relatively small and consisted mainly of
African-Americans,” said Frey, a researcher at the U-M Institute
for Social Research and at the Brookings Institution. “By
contrast, 40 percent of those under age 35 belong to minority
groups. They have grown up during a period when racial mingling
is the norm at school, work, social occasions and houses of
worship.”
The resulting differences in social and political attitudes will
increase economic and cultural tensions in communities across
the nation, Frey says, with some areas affected much sooner and
more strongly than others.
Frey will present his projections March 19 at a meeting of
Society 2030, a consortium bringing together U-M researchers and
corporate leaders to prepare for society's changing age
structure and other demographic trends.
Based on analyses of the latest U.S. Census data, Frey made the
following predictions:
• The United States will become a
majority-minority population well before 2043, the year in which
that shift had been expected. For those under the age of 18,
however, the tipping point will arrive soonest—by 2018.
• Fast-growing states of the West and
South will have the youngest and most racially diverse
populations, while the non-coastal Northeast, Midwest and parts
of the old South will remain home to large numbers of white baby
boomers and seniors.
“It's vital for politicians, community and business leaders, and
policymakers to pay attention to these changes. The decisions
about how to incorporate this generation into the new American
mainstream have important implications for our nation's future.”
On the Internet: Society 2030: http://society2030.isr.umich.edu
|
