Statistics

Special Topic: The Older Foreign-Born Population

There were 3.1 million foreign born persons aged 65 or more in 2000. More than one-third (39%) of this older foreign born is from Europe and another 31% is from Latin America; 22% is from Asia; and 8% is from other parts of the world. In the future, the older foreign born are more likely to be from Latin America or Asia. Almost two-thirds of the older foreign born have lived in the US for more than 30 years. About one-third of the older foreign born live in the West.

The older foreign born are more likely than their native counterparts to live in family households. Eight of ten older foreign born men are married; nearly half of older foreign-born women are widowed. Older foreign-born women are much more likely to live alone than older foreign-born men. The poverty rate is higher for the older foreign born than for the older native population. Households with older foreign-born householders participate in means-tested programs at higher rates than households with older native householders.

[Source: “The Older Foreign-Born Population of the United States: 2000,” P23-211, September, 2002, U.S. Bureau of the Census]

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