Demographics of Late Adulthood
Those in the Late Adulthood stage of life are persons ages 65 to 85 and older. In the year 2000 there were approximately 420 million people in the world in the late adulthood stage. (Hutchinson, 2008, p. 375). As of 2009, there were about 39.6 million people in the Late Adulthood stage living in the United States (Administration on Aging, 2012, p. 1-16) . The following are some of the major statistics on those living in the Late Adulthood stage:
These statistics were accessed through the Administration on Aging website. Please download the 2012 profile on older adults for more information:
- Those in late adulthood make up 13% of the total US population as of 2010.
- 20% of those in Late Adulthood are minorities with the rest being white (non-Hispanic).
- Men in late adulthood are more likely to be married than women in late adulthood.
- 12% of those in late adulthood are divorced, a rate that has doubled since 1980.
- As of 2012 81% have completed high school and 24% received a bachelor’s degree.
- As of 2011, 3.6 million persons or 8.7% of those in late adulthood were experiencing poverty
- The rate of poverty amongst persons in late adulthood is almost three times higher for African Americans than whites.
- The rate of poverty is also higher for women compared to men and single adults compared to adults living with families.
- Hispanic women in this group have the highest poverty rate with 38.8% in poverty.
- In 2011, approximately 35% of men and women reported some type of disability.
These statistics were accessed through the Administration on Aging website. Please download the 2012 profile on older adults for more information:
2012 Profile on Older Adults | |
File Size: | 616 kb |
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Aging and Marriage
Women are three times more likely to be widowed than men(Administration on Aging, 2012, p.4). This is mostly due to the fact that women on average live longer than men. As of 2000 the life expectancy for women was 79.4 years and for men it was 73.9 years. Another contributing factor is that many women are marrying older men ("Older Women," 2000).
Poverty
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Limitations in Activities of Daily Living
A common Myth about Late adulthood is that many older adults cannot take care of themselves or need a lot of assistance completing everyday tasks. This chart measures limitations in activities of daily living (ADLs) of older adults. This data from this chart shows that for the group of older adults aged 65-85 only between 2 and 28% find themselves limited in these ADLs. (Administration on Aging, 2012, p. 1-16). Many of these women are widows who were not actually poor until after the death of their husbands ("Older Women," 2000).
Additional Downloadable Resources:
2012profile.xls | |
File Size: | 355 kb |
File Type: | xls |
2010-03-poverty.pdf | |
File Size: | 3066 kb |
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