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At its cadre, demography is the act of counting people. Simply it'southward also important to study the forces that are driving population change, and measure how these changes take an impact on people'south lives. For case, how does clearing impact U.S. population growth? Do Americans feel that children are better off with a parent at home, in an era when most women work? How is the rise of the young-adult Millennial generation contributing to the ascent of Americans with no stated religion? For this yr's Population Association of America (PAA) annual meeting, here is a roundup of some of Pew Research Center'due south recent census-related findings that tell united states of america how America and the world are changing.

1 Americans are more racially and ethnically diverse than in the by, and the U.S. is projected to be even more various in the coming decades. Past 2055, the U.Due south. will non accept a single racial or ethnic majority. Much of this modify has been (and will be) driven by immigration. Nearly 59 million immigrants take arrived in the U.South. in the past fifty years, mostly from Latin America and Asia. Today, a virtually-record 14% of the country's population is foreign born compared with just five% in 1965. Over the next v decades, the bulk of U.Southward. population growth is projected to be linked to new Asian and Hispanic immigration. American attitudes almost immigration and diversity are supportive of these changes for the about part. More Americans say immigrants strengthen the country than say they brunt it, and most say the U.S.'south increasing ethnic multifariousness makes it a improve place to alive.

two U.S. ImmigrantsAsia has replaced Latin America (including United mexican states) as the biggest source of new immigrants to the U.S. In a reversal of one of the largest mass migrations in modern history, net migration flows from Mexico to the U.S. turned negative between 2009 and 2014, as more Mexicans went domicile than arrived in the U.S. And after ascension steadily since 1990, the unauthorized immigrant population has leveled off in recent years, falling to xi.three one thousand thousand in 2014 from a high of 12.2 1000000 in 2007. Meanwhile, Asians are now the only major racial or ethnic group whose numbers are ascension mainly because of clearing. And while African immigrants make up a small share of the U.South. immigrant population, their numbers are as well growing steadily – roughly doubling every decade since 1970.

3 America'due south demographic changes are shifting the electorate – and American politics. The 2016 electorate will be the most diverse in U.S. history due to strong growth among Hispanic eligible voters, particularly U.Due south.-born youth. There are too wide gaps opening upward between the generations on many social and political issues. Young adult Millennials are much more likely than their elders to hold liberal views on many political and social bug, though they are as well less likely to identify with either political party: l% call themselves political independents.

4 Millennials, young adults born from 1981 to 1996, are the new generation to watch. By 2019 they will surpass Infant Boomers (born 1946-1964) as the largest U.S. adult generation, and they differ significantly from their elders in many ways. They are the about racially diverse adult generation in American history: 43% of Millennials are nonwhite, the highest share of any generation. And while they are on rail to be the well-nigh educated generation to engagement, this achievement has come at a cost: Many Millennials are struggling with student debt. In improver to the weak labor marketplace of recent years, student debt is perchance i reason why many are yet living at abode. Despite these troubles, Millennials are the nigh upbeat about their financial future: More than 8-in-x say they either currently have plenty money to atomic number 82 the lives they want or expect to in the future.

Notation: Item No. 4 in this mail was updated on March 23, 2018, to reflect the Center's revised definition of the Millennial generation and the updated year in which Millennials volition be the largest generation.

v Women's role in the labor force and leadership positions has grown dramatically. The labor strength participation charge per unit for American women has risen steadily since the 1960s. In fact, mothers were the sole or primary breadwinner in a tape 40% of all households with children in 2011. The gender pay gap has narrowed over this menstruum of time, specially for young women merely entering the labor strength, but it nevertheless persists. Equally more women take entered the workforce, the share of women in meridian leadership jobs has risen, simply they nonetheless make upwards a small share of the nation'southward political and business leaders relative to men. Why the continued disparity? While Americans say women are every scrap as capable of being good leaders every bit men, four-in-x believe they are held to higher standards than men and that the U.S. is simply not ready to put more women in meridian leadership positions.

6 The American family is changing. Subsequently decades of declining marriage rates, the share of American adults who have never been married is at an historic loftier. Two-parent households are on the decline in the U.S., while divorce, remarriage and cohabitation are on the rise. About one-in-vi American kids at present alive in a blended family. And the roles of mothers and fathers are converging, due in office to the rise of breadwinner moms. Dads are doing more housework and kid care, while moms are doing more than paid piece of work exterior the home. Americans are conflicted about some aspects of this change: While nearly half of 2-parent households have a mom and dad who both work total time, 51% of Americans say children are better off with a mother at home.

7The share of Americans who alive in center form households is shrinking. The share of U.Due south. adults living in center-income households fell to fifty% in 2015, after more than four decades in which those households served every bit the nation'southward economic bulk. And the financial gaps between middle- and upper-income Americans have widened, with upper-income households property 49% of U.S. aggregate household income (up from 29% in 1970) and vii times as much wealth as heart-income households (up from three times as much in 1983). Most Americans say the government doesn't practice enough to help the eye course, and neither political party is widely viewed as a champion for center-form interests.

Middle-income households in U.S.

eightChristians are declining as a share of the U.South. population, and the number of U.S. adults who do not identify with any religion has grown. While the U.Southward. remains habitation to more than Christians than any other country, the pct of Americans identifying as Christian dropped from 78% in 2007 to 71% in 2014. Past contrast, the religiously unaffiliated have surged 7 percentage points in that time span to make up 23% of U.S. adults final twelvemonth. This trend has been driven in big office by Millennials, 35% of whom are religious "nones." The rise of the "nones" is not a story unique to the U.Southward.: The unaffiliated are now the second-largest religious grouping in 48% of the world's nations. Americans are well aware of this shift: 72% say faith's influence on public life is waning, and most who say this see it as a bad thing.

9The world's religious makeup volition look a lot unlike past 2050: Over the next four decades, Christians will remain the largest religious group, but Islam will grow faster than whatever other major faith, more often than not because Muslims are younger and accept more than children than whatever other religious group globally. Past 2050, the number of Muslims will nearly equal the number of Christians. In the U.Due south., the Muslim population will remain small, but is projected to grow rapidly.

10The world is aging. The demographic future for the U.S. and the world looks very different than the recent by. Growth from 1950 to 2010 was rapid — the global population virtually tripled, and the U.S. population doubled. However, population growth from 2010 to 2050 is projected to be significantly slower and is expected to tilt strongly to the oldest age groups, both globally and in the U.S. Public opinion on whether the growing number of older people is a problem varies dramatically around the earth. Business organization is highest in Eastern asia where large majorities describe aging every bit a major problem for their countries.

Note: Item No. four in this post was updated on March 23, 2018.

D'Vera Cohn is a senior writer/editor focusing on clearing and demographics at Pew Research Middle.

Andrea Caumont is the digital engagement manager at Pew Research Heart.