| Description |
Utah, along with the rest of the nation, is in the midst of an extraordinary demographic transformation which has far from run its course. The confluence of four major trends continues to dramatically reshape the size and composition of the national and state populations. These trends include the arrival of immigrants in record numbers, beginning in the 1980s and continuing for at least another generation. This most recent group of immigrants is very diverse, coming literally from throughout the world. Second, the post-WWII Baby Boom, which continues to numerically dominate the national age structure, is approaching retirement age. Third, while the fertility of native-born U.S. women has for decades been below replacement level, recent immigrants, who are concentrated in peak childbearing years, often have above-replacement-level fertility. Finally, life expectancy continues to increase, and this will result in many more people living to become very elderly, beyond 85 years of age. |
