The United States differs from other major developed countries¹ (MDCs) not only because its population is growing at a faster rate, but also because a relatively large percentage of its population is children under age five, accounting for 3.1% of the world’s total population of this category. The United States is the only MDC that appears in the top 10 list of countries for population under the age of five. However, like most MDCs, the United States population is aging, with 13.1% of the world’s total population aged 80 and above residing in the United States, second only to China which has a much larger total population.

The distributions of the world’s children and its oldest old (population ages 80 and above) indicate where in the world the needs for children and elderly health care services are greatest in the current time period, and where needs for schooling and elderly support will be greatest in the coming years. The United States’ or any country’s age structure and its support ratios, together with its national wealth, indicate the extent to which it is likely to be able to address those needs in the current period. Countries with rapidly growing under-five and oldest-old populations are likely to face additional challenges in the decades ahead.²

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1. Canada, Europe, Russia, Japan, Australia and New Zealand

2. The United States in International Context: 2000 (U. S. Census Bureau publication C2KBR/01-11 issued February 2002).

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