e Social Environment

e social environment involves the nature and composition of the

population and its social structure. Demographers study the composition of
the population by looking at the distribution of age, race, gender, and other
aributes. Our nation’s founders called for a census to be taken every ten
years, whi has allowed for the collection of a vast amount of demographic
data. e U.S. Census Bureau and other agencies collect a huge amount of
data between the censuses, so we have very good indicators of social trends.
ese trends have an important influence on public policy making.

demographers Individuals who study the composition of the population by looking at

the distribution of age, race, gender, and other aributes.

A Growing, but Aging, Population

e population of the United States is growing, as reflected in Figure 2.3, but

the rate of growth is relatively slow compared with that of other countries.
e slope of the population growth line is nearly constant until about 1990,
when growth increased as the kids of baby boomers began to have kids and
there was an increase in immigration. Still, since 1960, the annual growth
rate has never exceeded its 1961 high of 1.67 percent annually (Figure 2.4). Of
course, this growth rate is not uniform nationally, and some states, su as
California and Florida, are growing faster than others, su as New York and
Ohio.
Figure 2.3 U.S. Population, 1900–2017
Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Figure 2.4 U.S. Annual Population Growth Rate, 1900–2017

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

is slow growth means that the nation is trending toward an older
population; in 1980, over half the nation’s population was under 35 years old;
by 2000, more than half the population was older than 35; and in 2017, those
age 50 or older accounted for one-third of the nation’s population, up from
just over 26 percent in 1980 (Figure 2.5).