Editing Millennials (section)

===North America===
{{See also|Aging in the American workforce}}
[[File:US living adult generations.png|alt=|center]]
Historically, the early Anglo-Protestant settlers in the seventeenth century were the most successful group, culturally, economically, and politically, and they maintained their dominance till the early twentieth century. Commitment to the ideals of the Enlightenment meant that they sought to assimilate newcomers from outside of the [[British Isles]], but few were interested in adopting a pan-European identity for the nation, much less turning it into a global melting pot. But in the early 1900s, liberal progressives and modernists began promoting more inclusive ideals for what the national identity of the United States should be. While the more traditionalist segments of society continued to maintain their Anglo-Protestant ethnocultural traditions, universalism and cosmopolitanism started gaining favor among the elites. These ideals became institutionalized after the Second World War, and ethnic minorities started moving towards institutional parity with the once dominant Anglo-Protestants.<ref name="Varzally-2005">{{Cite journal|last=Varzally|first=Allison|date=2005|title=Book Review: The Rise and Fall of Anglo-America|url=https://www.sneps.net/research-interests/the-rise-and-fall-of-anglo-america-the-decline-of-dominant-ethnicity-in-the-united-states/the-rise-and-fall-of-anglo-america-review|journal=The Journal of American History|volume=92|issue=2|pages=680–81|doi=10.2307/3659399|jstor=3659399}}</ref> The [[Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965]] (also known as the Hart–Celler Act), passed at the urging of President Lyndon B. Johnson, abolished national quotas for immigrants and replaced it with a system that admits a fixed number of persons per year based in qualities such as skills and the need for refuge. Immigration subsequently surged from elsewhere in North America (especially Canada and Mexico), Asia, Central America, and the West Indies.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The American Nation: A History of the United States|last=Garraty|first=John A.|publisher=Harper Collins Publishers|year=1991|isbn=978-0-06-042312-4|pages=857–58|chapter=Chapter XXXI: The Best of Times, The Worst of Times}}</ref> By the mid-1980s, most immigrants originated from Asia and Latin America. Some were refugees from Vietnam, Cuba, Haiti, and other parts of the Americas while others came illegally by crossing the long and largely undefended U.S.-Mexican border. At the same time, the postwar baby boom and subsequently falling fertility rate seemed to jeopardize America's social security system as the Baby Boomers retire in the twenty-first century.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The American Nation: A History of the United States|last=Garraty|first=John A|publisher=Harper Collins|year=1991|isbn=978-0-06-042312-4|pages=932–33|chapter=Chapter XXXIII: Our Times}}</ref> Provisional data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reveal that U.S. fertility rates have fallen below the replacement level of 2.1 since 1971. (In 2017, it fell to 1.765.)<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/10/health/us-fertility-rate-replacement-cdc-study/index.html|title=US fertility rate is below level needed to replace population, study says|last=Howard|first=Jacqueline|date=10 January 2019|work=CNN|access-date=1 January 2020}}</ref>

[[File:Population pyramid of the United States 2016.png|thumb|left|400x400px|Population pyramid of the United States in 2016]]
Millennial population size varies, depending on the definition used. Using its own definition, the Pew Research Center estimated that millennials comprised 27% of the U.S. population in 2014.<ref name="Stokes-2015" /> In the same year, using dates ranging from 1982 to 2004, Neil Howe revised the number to over 95&nbsp;million people in the U.S.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Millennial Generation, 'Keep Calm and Carry On'|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilhowe/2014/09/04/the-millennial-generation-keep-calm-and-carry-on-part-6-of-7/#3324e014bb20|last=Howe|first=Neil|website=[[Forbes]]|access-date=2 April 2019}}</ref> In a 2012 [[Time (magazine)|''Time'' magazine]] article, it was estimated that there were approximately 80&nbsp;million U.S. millennials.<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Dan Schawbel|date=29 March 2012|title=Millennials vs. Baby Boomers: Who Would You Rather Hire?|url=https://business.time.com/2012/03/29/millennials-vs-baby-boomers-who-would-you-rather-hire/|magazine=Time Magazine|access-date=27 May 2013}}</ref> The [[United States Census Bureau]], using birth dates ranging from 1982 to 2000, stated the estimated number of U.S. millennials in 2015 was 83.1&nbsp;million people.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Millennials Outnumber Baby Boomers and Are Far More Diverse|url=https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2015/cb15-113.html|website=www.census.gov|access-date=5 October 2015}}</ref>

In 2017, fewer than 56% millennials were [[non-Hispanic whites]], compared with more than 84% of Americans in their 70s and 80s, 57% had never been married, and 67% lived in a metropolitan area.<ref name="pewmillennials" /> According to the [[Brookings Institution]], millennials are the "demographic bridge between the largely white older generations (pre-millennials) and much more racially diverse younger generations (post-millennials)."<ref name="Frey-2018">{{cite web|title=The millennial generation: A demographic bridge to America's diverse future|url=https://www.brookings.edu/research/millennials/|last1=Frey|first1=William|date=January 2018|publisher=The Brookings Institution|access-date=13 March 2019}}</ref>

By analyzing data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Pew Research Center estimated that millennials, whom they define as people born between 1981 and 1996, outnumbered baby boomers, born from 1946 to 1964, for the first time in 2019. That year, there were 72.1 million millennials compared to 71.6 million baby boomers, who had previously been the largest living adult generation in the country. Data from the [[National Center for Health Statistics]] shows that about 62 million millennials were born in the United States, compared to 55 million members of Generation X, 76 million baby boomers, and 47 million from the Silent Generation. Between 1981 and 1996, an average of 3.9 million millennial babies were born each year, compared to 3.4 million average Generation X births per year between 1965 and 1980. But millennials continue to grow in numbers as a result of immigration and naturalization. In fact, millennials form the largest group of immigrants to the United States in the 2010s. Pew projected that the millennial generation would reach around 74.9 million in 2033, after which mortality would outweigh immigration.<ref name="2020Overtake">{{Cite web|last=Fry|first=Richard|date=28 April 2020|title=Millennials overtake Baby Boomers as America's largest generation|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/04/28/millennials-overtake-baby-boomers-as-americas-largest-generation/|access-date=28 April 2020|website=Pew Research Center}}</ref> Yet 2020 would be the first time millennials (who are between the ages of 24 and 39) find their share of the electorate shrink as the leading wave of Generation Z (aged 18 to 23) became eligible to vote. In other words, their electoral power peaked in 2016. In absolute terms, however, the number of foreign-born millennials continues to increase as they become naturalized citizens. In fact, 10% of American voters were born outside the country by the 2020 election, up from 6% in 2000. The fact that people from different racial or age groups vote differently means that this demographic change will influence the future of the American political landscape. While younger voters hold significantly different views from their elders, they are considerably less likely to vote. Non-whites tend to favor candidates from the Democratic Party while whites by and large prefer the Republican Party.<ref>{{Cite web|title=An early look at the 2020 electorate|url=https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/essay/an-early-look-at-the-2020-electorate/|last1=Cilluffo|first1=Anthony|last2=Fry|first2=Richard|date=30 January 2019|website=Pew Research Center|access-date=8 May 2020}}</ref>
[[File:US Navy 050223-N-5821P-054 Seaman Chanthorn Peou of San Diego, Calif., takes his Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) aboard the conventionally powered aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63).jpg|thumb|A U.S. Navy sailor taking the [[SAT]] aboard the U.S.S. ''[[USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63)|Kitty Hawk]]'' (2004)]]
As of the mid-2010s, the United States is one of the few developed countries that does ''not'' have a top-heavy population pyramid. In fact, as of 2016, the median age of the U.S. population was younger than that of all other rich nations except Australia, New Zealand, Cyprus, Ireland, and Iceland, whose combined population is only a fraction of the United States. This is because American baby boomers had a higher fertility rate compared to their counterparts from much of the developed world. Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, and South Korea are all aging rapidly by comparison because their millennials are smaller in number than their parents. This demographic reality puts the United States at an advantage compared to many other major economies as the millennials reach middle age: the nation will still have a significant number of consumers, investors, and taxpayers.<ref name="Zeihan-2016" />

According to the Pew Research Center, "Among men, only 4% of millennials [ages 21 to 36 in 2017] are [[veteran]]s, compared with 47%" of men in their 70s and 80s, "many of whom came of age during the [[Korean War]] and its aftermath."<ref name="pewmillennials">{{cite news|url=http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/03/16/how-millennials-compare-with-their-grandparents/|title=How Millennials today compare with their grandparents 50 years ago|date=16 March 2018|publisher=Pew Research Center}}</ref> Some of these former military service members are combat veterans, having fought in [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|Afghanistan]] or [[Iraq War|Iraq]].<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Smith|first=C. Brian|date=2018|title=A Millennial Veteran Takes On The Notion That His Generation Isn't Man Enough|url=https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/a-millennial-veteran-takes-on-the-notion-that-his-generation-isnt-man-enough-2|magazine=Mel Magazine|location=Los Angeles|publisher=Dollar Shave Club|access-date=11 May 2019}}</ref> As of 2016, millennials are the majority of the total veteran population.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://medium.com/@martian_bob/what-percentage-of-veterans-are-millennials-d5309d51481b|title=What percentage of veterans are Millennials?|last=Arens|first=Bob|date=4 April 2016|website=Medium|access-date=11 May 2019}}</ref> According to the Pentagon in 2016, 19% of millennials are interested in serving in the military, and 15% have a parent with a history of military service.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2016/07/09/the-pentagon-keeps-data-on-millennials-this-is-what-it-says/|title=The Pentagon keeps data on millennials. This is what it says|last=Tilghman|first=Andrew|date=9 July 2016|work=Military Times|access-date=11 May 2019|location=Virginia}}</ref>