Editing Death rates in the 20th century (section)

==Ageing population==

A natural population increase occurs when birth rates are higher than death rates. Recently and most notably, the years immediately after [[World War II]] saw an explosion in fertility rates called the [[Baby Boom]] because the returning soldiers and displaced people started new families. Death rates were significantly lower during the baby boom and thus populations increased substantially. Today these baby boomers are approaching old age and driving up the average age of the overall population. The World Bank predicts a dramatic decrease in population size from the increase in death rates over the next decade.<ref>{{cite web|title=Beyond Economic Growth|url=http://www.worldbank.org/depweb/english/beyond/beyondco/beg_03.pdf|work=World Population Growth|publisher=Worldbank}}</ref>

[[Fertility rate]]s and consequently live birth rates declined over the century, while age-adjusted death rates fell more dramatically. Children in 1999 were 10 times less likely to die than children in 1900.

For adults 24–65, death rates have been halved. The death rate for Americans aged 65 to 74 fell from nearly 7% per year to fewer than 2% per year.