The share of Hispanic veterans is expected to roughly double from 9% to 15%, while the share who are Black is expected to increase from 13% to 15%. Race and ethnicity: The share of non-Hispanic White veterans is projected to drop from 74% to 63%.The number of male veterans, on the other hand, is projected to drop from about 16.2 million in 2023 to just under 10 million in 2048. The overall number of women veterans is also expected to increase, from around 2 million to about 2.2 million. Gender: The share of women veterans will increase from 11% this year to 18% in 2048.By then, Gulf War-era veterans are projected to make up the majority of living veterans.Īs the number of veterans declines over the next 25 years, their demographics will shift, VA population models show. Women, Hispanic and Black adults, and adults under 50 will all make up larger shares of the total veteran population. The VA projects that the number of living veterans will continue to decline over the next 25 years. The department estimates that the number of veterans will drop from today’s 18.3 million to 12.1 million in 2048 – a decrease of about 34%. Active-duty service members now comprise less than 1% of all U.S. The number of active-duty service members dropped from 3.5 million in 1968, during the military draft era, to about 1.3 million in today’s all-volunteer force. This happened alongside a decrease in active-duty personnel after the military draft ended in 1973. adults were veterans, but that share fell to 6% in 2022. Census Bureau. In 1980, about 18% of U.S. population with military experience has declined, according to data from the U.S. (Veterans with both types of service are only counted in wartime.) Fewer than 120,000 World War II veterans are alive today, making up less than 1% of all living veterans.Īs of 2023, roughly three-quarters (78%) of veterans served during wartime, and 22% served during peacetime.Around 767,000 veterans who served during the Korean conflict in the 1940s and 1950s are alive today.

5.6 million living veterans (30%) served during the Vietnam War era from 1950 to 1973.veterans, or 43%, served in the Gulf War era. (Veterans who served in multiple eras are counted only in the earliest one.) Veterans from the Gulf War era, which spans from August 1990 through the present, surpassed Vietnam-era veterans in 2016. Veterans who served in the last 30 years make up the largest number of living veterans, according to population model estimates from the VA. All racial groups include Hispanic adults unless specified. Racial and ethnic categories are taken from VA population projections. More information on that survey’s methodology, can be found in the originally published analysis. Census Bureau and previously published Pew Research Center data, including a survey conducted March 13-19, 2023. Information for this analysis comes from the Department of Veterans Affairs, the U.S. veteran population and how it will change in coming decades. Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to understand the makeup of the U.S.

2016 2017 google trends data