Markets

Animation: The Rapidly Aging Western World

Published

6 years ago

November 7, 2017

Jeff Desjardins

From issues such as declining fertility rates to the ongoing complications resulting from China’s famous “One Child Policy”, there are many demographic challenges that the world must grapple with in the coming years.

However, one problem of particular importance – at least in places like Europe and the Americas – is a rapidly aging population. As the population shifts grayer, potential consequences include higher dependency ratios, rising healthcare costs, and shifting economies and cities.

Europe: A Prime Example

We’ve discussed Germany’s demographic cliff before, but it’s not only Germany that will be impacted by a rapidly aging population.

Europe median age

The above animation from data visualization expert Aron Strandberg shows the median age of European countries between 1960 and 2060.

Starting about a decade from now, you can see that the U.N. projects some European countries to start hitting a median age of 50 or higher. This includes countries like Spain, Italy, Portugal, and Greece, and then later Germany, Poland, Bosnia, and Croatia.

The UK, France, Ireland, Scandinavia, and former Soviet countries will be younger – but only slightly so. Median ages in these places by 2060 will be in the early to mid-forties.

The Americas

Populations in North and South America are also graying fast, though not quite at Europe’s pace.

Here’s a similar map of the Americas that highlights median age between 1960 and 2060, based on U.N. projections.

Americas median age

Chile and Brazil, in particular, are trending older. Meanwhile, Canada is not far behind with an expected median age of 45 in 2060. Interestingly, the United States is anticipated to only hit a median age of 42 by 2060, which is lower than almost all Western countries.

While this makes the U.S. look younger in comparison, the country will still experience the same type of economic burden from an aging population. In fact, it’s expected that the population of Americans older than 65 years will nearly double from 48 million to 88 million over the coming three decades.

Related Topics:demographics united states europe population aging

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Markets

U.S. Debt Interest Payments Reach $1 Trillion

U.S. debt interest payments have surged past the $1 trillion dollar mark, amid high interest rates and an ever-expanding debt burden.

Published

3 days ago

April 16, 2024

Niccolo Conte

This line chart shows U.S. debt interest payments over modern history.

U.S. Debt Interest Payments Reach $1 Trillion

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

The cost of paying for America’s national debt crossed the $1 trillion dollar mark in 2023, driven by high interest rates and a record $34 trillion mountain of debt.

Over the last decade, U.S. debt interest payments have more than doubled amid vast government spending during the pandemic crisis. As debt payments continue to soar, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported that debt servicing costs surpassed defense spending for the first time ever this year.

This graphic shows the sharp rise in U.S. debt payments, based on data from the Federal Reserve.

A $1 Trillion Interest Bill, and Growing

Below, we show how U.S. debt interest payments have risen at a faster pace than at another time in modern history:

Date	Interest Payments	U.S. National Debt
2023	$1.0T	$34.0T
2022	$830B	$31.4T
2021	$612B	$29.6T
2020	$518B	$27.7T
2019	$564B	$23.2T
2018	$571B	$22.0T
2017	$493B	$20.5T
2016	$460B	$20.0T
2015	$435B	$18.9T
2014	$442B	$18.1T
2013	$425B	$17.2T
2012	$417B	$16.4T
2011	$433B	$15.2T
2010	$400B	$14.0T
2009	$354B	$12.3T
2008	$380B	$10.7T
2007	$414B	$9.2T
2006	$387B	$8.7T
2005	$355B	$8.2T
2004	$318B	$7.6T
2003	$294B	$7.0T
2002	$298B	$6.4T
2001	$318B	$5.9T
2000	$353B	$5.7T
1999	$353B	$5.8T
1998	$360B	$5.6T
1997	$368B	$5.5T
1996	$362B	$5.3T
1995	$357B	$5.0T
1994	$334B	$4.8T
1993	$311B	$4.5T
1992	$306B	$4.2T
1991	$308B	$3.8T
1990	$298B	$3.4T
1989	$275B	$3.0T
1988	$254B	$2.7T
1987	$240B	$2.4T
1986	$225B	$2.2T
1985	$219B	$1.9T
1984	$205B	$1.7T
1983	$176B	$1.4T
1982	$157B	$1.2T
1981	$142B	$1.0T
1980	$113B	$930.2B
1979	$96B	$845.1B
1978	$84B	$789.2B
1977	$69B	$718.9B
1976	$61B	$653.5B
1975	$55B	$576.6B
1974	$50B	$492.7B
1973	$45B	$469.1B
1972	$39B	$448.5B
1971	$36B	$424.1B
1970	$35B	$389.2B
1969	$30B	$368.2B
1968	$25B	$358.0B
1967	$23B	$344.7B
1966	$21B	$329.3B

Interest payments represent seasonally adjusted annual rate at the end of Q4.

At current rates, the U.S. national debt is growing by a remarkable $1 trillion about every 100 days, equal to roughly $3.6 trillion per year.

As the national debt has ballooned, debt payments even exceeded Medicaid outlays in 2023—one of the government’s largest expenditures. On average, the U.S. spent more than $2 billion per day on interest costs last year. Going further, the U.S. government is projected to spend a historic $12.4 trillion on interest payments over the next decade, averaging about $37,100 per American.

Exacerbating matters is that the U.S. is running a steep deficit, which stood at $1.1 trillion for the first six months of fiscal 2024. This has accelerated due to the 43% increase in debt servicing costs along with a $31 billion dollar increase in defense spending from a year earlier. Additionally, a $30 billion increase in funding for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in light of the regional banking crisis last year was a major contributor to the deficit increase.

Overall, the CBO forecasts that roughly 75% of the federal deficit’s increase will be due to interest costs by 2034.