According to the U.S. Census Bureau:

• 38.9 million. The number of people 65 and older in the United States on July 1, 2008.  This age group accounted for 13 percent of the total population. Between 2007 and 2008, this age group increased by 927,305 people.

• 88.5 million. Projected population of people 65 and older in 2050. People in this age group would comprise 20 percent of the total population at that time.
• 520 million. Projected 2009 midyear world population 65 and older. Projections indicate the number will increase to 1.53 billion by 2050. The percentage of the world’s population 65 and older would increase from less than 8 percent to 17 percent over the period. By 2050, Europe’s rate would be 29 percent.
• 4. Number of countries with 20 percent or more of their population 65 and older in 2009: Germany, Italy, Japan and Monaco.
• More than 100. Number of countries that could have 20 percent or more of their population 65 and older in 2050.
• 112 million. The number of people 65 and older in China in 2009, which led the world.  China’s older population is expected to reach 349 million in 2050.
• $29,744. Median 2008 income of households with householders 65 and older, statistically unchanged, in real terms, from the previous year. The corresponding median for all households was $50,303.
• 9.7%. Poverty rate for people 65 and older in 2008, statistically unchanged from 2007. There were 3.7 million seniors in poverty in 2008, statistically unchanged from the previous year. The corresponding rate for the population as a whole was 13.2 percent.
• $239,400. Median net worth for families in 2007 whose head was between 65 and 74. The corresponding median for all families was $120,300.
• 9.1 million. Estimated number of people 65 and older who were veterans of the armed
• forces in 2008.
• 6.2 million. Number of people 65 and older who were in the labor force in 2008. Projections indicate that by 2016, the number will reach 10.1 million.
• 16%. Percentage of people 65 and older in the labor force in 2008.
• 76%. Proportion of people 65 and older in 2008 with at least a high school diploma.
• 20%. Percentage of the population 65 and older in 2008 who had earned a bachelor’s
• 7.3 million. Number of people 66 and older taking adult education courses in 2004-05,
• comprising about 8 percent of these students.

• 56%. Percentage of people 65 and older who were married in 2009.
• 29%. Percentage of people 65 and older in 2009 who were widowed.
• 68%. Percentage of people 65 and older in households in 2008 who lived with relatives. Twenty-seven percent of all people this age lived alone, while 5 percent lived in group quarters and 2 percent in a household with nonrelatives.
• 1.6 million. Number of people 65 and older who lived in nursing/skilled nursing facilities in 2008. These residents comprised 4 percent of all people in this age group.
• 70%. Percentage of citizens 65 and older reporting casting a ballot in the 2008 presidential election. Along with those 45 to 64, people 65 and older had the highest turnout rate of any age group.
• 80%. Percentage of householders 65 and older in 2008 who owned their homes.
• 73. The number of men 65 and older on July 1, 2008, for every 100 women in this age
• 5.7 million. The number of people 85 and older in the United States on July 1, 2008.
• 104,754. Estimated number of centenarians in the United States on Nov. 1, 2009.
• 601,000. Projected number of centenarians in the United States in 2050.
• 4.1 million. Number of people 65 and older living in California on July 1, 2008, the highest total of any state. Florida, with 3.2 million, and New York,with 2.6 million, were the runners-up.
• 17%. Percentage of Florida’s population 65 and older in 2008, which led the nation. States with the next-highest percentages of older people included West Virginia (16 percent) and Pennsylvania (15 percent).