Millennials were the largest generation group in the U.S. in 2023, with an estimated population of 72.7 million. Born between 1981 and 1996, Millennials recently surpassed Baby Boomers as the biggest group, and they will continue to be a major part of the population for many years. The rise of Generation Alpha Generation Alpha is the most recent to have been named, and many group members will not be able to remember a time before smartphones and social media. However, the group already makes up around 42.75 percent of the U.S. population, and they are said to be the most racially and ethnically diverse of all the generation groups, with the oldest Generation Alpha members aging into adolescents this year. Boomers vs. Millennials The number of Baby Boomers, whose generation was defined by the boom in births following the Second World War, has fallen by around seven million since 2010. However, they remain the second-largest generation group, and aging Boomers are contributing to steady increases in the median age of the population. Meanwhile, the Millennial generation continues to grow, and one reason for this is the increasing number of young immigrants arriving in the United States.

In 2023, there were approximately 14.69 million millennials in the United Kingdom, making it the largest generational cohort at that time. Millennials surpassed the Baby Boomer generation as the largest generation for the first time in 2019. The two youngest generations, Gen Z and Gen Alpha, numbered approximately 13.2 million, and 8.3 million respectively. Gen X are, as of the most recent year, the second-largest generation in the UK at 14.04 million people, with their parent's generation, the Silent Generation, numbering around 4.3 million people in the same year. There were estimated to be 85,920 people who belonged to the Greatest Generation, the parents of the Baby Boomer generation, who lived through major events such as the Great Depression and World War Two. Post-War Baby Boom The baby boomer generation was the largest generation for much of this period due to the spike in births that happened after the Second World War. In 1947 for example, there were over one million live births in the United Kingdom, compared with just 657,038 live births just thirty years later in 1977. Members of this generation are typically the parents of millennials, and were the driving force behind the countercultural movement of the 1960s, due to their large numbers relative to older generations at the time. The next generational cohort after Boomers are Generation X, born between 1965 and 1980. This generation had fewer members than the Boomer generation for most of its existence, and only became larger than it in 2021. Millennials and Gen Z As of 2022, the most common single year of age in the United Kingdom in 2020 was 34, with approximately 944,491 people this age. Furthermore, people aged between 30 and 34 were the most numerous age group in this year, at approximately 4.67 million people. As of 2022, people in this age group were Millennials, the large generation who came of age in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Many members of this generation entered the workforce following the 2008 financial crash, and suffered through high levels of unemployment during the early 2010s. The generation that followed Millennials, Generation Z, have also experienced tough socio-economic conditions recently, with key formative years dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and an increasingly unstable geopolitical situation.

In 2023, Millennials were the largest generation group in the United States, making up about 21.71 percent of the population. However, Generation Z was not far behind, with Gen Z accounting for around 20.69 percent of the population in that year.

There were approximately 14.69 million millennials in the United Kingdom in 2023. This generation, sometimes called Generation Y were born between 1981 and 1996 and are mainly the children of the post-war Baby Boomer generation. As of 2023, Millennials were the largest generational cohort in the UK, followed by Generation X at 14.04 million people, Baby Boomers at 13.57 million, and then by Generation Z at 13.2 million. The most numerous single-year of age for Millennials, and the UK as a whole, was 35 at 956,116. Boomerang generation The first cohort of millennials came of age at the turn of the century and have almost certainly been heavily influenced by the growth of internet accessibility during this time. The economic challenges faced by this generation may have a relation to the increasing share of young adults who live with their parents in the UK. This has led to the perhaps unfair, characterization of millennials as the boomerang generation, who failed to grow-up and mature. Some of these negative stereotypes regarding Millennials have since shifted to the next youngest generation, Generation Z, who have started to enter the workplace since the mid-2010s. Generation Remain One of the main challenges that British millennials currently face are their prospects after Brexit. Although the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union in June 2016, there were clear divisions between regions, classes and age-groups. Most millennials voted to remain in the Brexit referendum with 73 percent of people aged 18 to 24, and 62 percent of those aged 25 to 34 voting to remain. In the next UK election, the majority of 25 to 49-year-olds intend to vote for the Labour Party, with only a slight majority of those over 65 planning to vote for the Conservative Party. Millennials also still appear to oppose Brexit, with approximately 65 percent of 25 to 49-year-olds believing Brexit to have been the wrong decision.

The statistic shows the number of people in the U.S. in 2011 and 2030, by generation. By 2030, the Millennial generation will have 78 million people whereas the Boomer generation will only have 56 million people in the United States.

As of December 2023, Generation X was the most represented group among the generations in Germany, at almost 16.7 million people. The second-largest group, Generation Y, comprised around 16.45 million people.

As of 2021, Millennials and Baby Boomers made up an equal share of the Australian population at around 21.5 percent each, making them the largest generational groups at the time. Those aged 75 years and over made up the smallest portion of the population, followed by Gen Alpha, or those aged 0 to 9 years at the time.

Across all generations in Germany, it seemed that having good friends and close relationships was very important to people. Around 85 percent of Generation Y also said that it was important to them to have fun and enjoy life. The figures are based on a survey conducted in Germany regarding respondents' values and attitudes to life. The Allensbach Market and Advertising Media Analysis (Allensbach Markt- und Werbeträgeranalyse or AWA in German) determines attitudes, consumer habits and media usage of the population in Germany on a broad statistical basis. Generational differences The largest generations in Germany are Generation Y (also known as Millennials) and Generation X. Each generation has different defining characteristics, for example, Gen Z grew up with technology and are often characterized as being especially worried about their future. Millennials were the first generation to experience the transition from an analogue into a digital world whilst they were growing up and are therefore sometimes referred to as digital natives. Another large difference between generations is political allegiance. Die Grünen (the German Green Party) was especially popular among Generation Z. Whilst with Generation Y and Generation X, the CDU and SPD had stronger support. Leisure activities Although there are some differences there are also many similarities between generations. When it comes to leisure activities, for example, shopping, eating out, and photography were enjoyed by all. As expected, however, there are also some differences. Computer games and going clubbing were mostly undertaken by Gen Z, whilst hiking was a more common pastime among Gen X. In general, some of the most popular hobbies in Germany included socializing, cooking/baking, as well as various types of outdoor activities. In contrast, the most common ways for people in the U.S. to spend their free time included cooking, reading, and spending time with pets. This highlights that it is not just the generation in which one grows up that influences hobbies, world views and core values, but also the immediate environment in which one spends time.

According to China's most recent population census in 2020, Generation Z (defined as born between 1995 and 2009) accounted for about 16.5 percent of the Chinese population, while Generation Y (defined as born between 1980 and 1994) took up nearly 22.4 percent. The aging society is expected to become a major challenge for China in the coming decades.

According to a survey from March 2023 among U.S. Taylor Swift fans, also called 'Swifties', the largest share of Swift fans were in the group of millenials. The second largest share was within the group of baby boomers, followed by Gen X. In 2023, Swift announced her first tour in years, called 'Era', which already caused chaos when her significant fan base tried to purchase tickets for the long anticipated concerts.

There were over 4.7 million people aged between 30 and 34 in the United Kingdom in 2023, making it the most populous age group in that year. Those aged between 35 and 39 years comprised the next most numerous age group in 2023, at over 4.64 million people. Millennials overtake Boomers as biggest generation Post-war demographic trends, particularly the 'baby boom' phenomenon, have significantly influenced the current age distribution in the UK. The postwar peak of live births in 1947 resulted in the dominance of the Baby Boomer generation for several decades, until 2020 when Millennials became the largest generational cohort, surpassing the Boomers for the first time. The following year, the UK Boomer population was then overtaken by Generation X, the generation born between Boomers and Millennials. Generation Z, however, remains smaller than the three generations that preceded it, at 12.9 million individuals in 2022. Aging UK population poses challenges The median age of the UK population is projected to reach 44.5 years by 2050, compared to 34.9 years in 1950. This aging trend is indicative of broader global demographic shifts, with the median age of people worldwide forecasted to increase from 23.6 years in 1950 to 41.9 years by 2100. How countries like the UK manage their aging populations will be one of the key challenges of the next few decades. It is likely the UK's struggling National Health Service (NHS) will come under even more pressure in the coming years. There are also tough economic questions, in particular as more people enter retirement age and the UK's working population gets smaller in relation to it.

In the first quarter of 2024, 51.8 percent of the total wealth in the United States was owned by members of the baby boomer generation. In comparison, millennials own around 9.4 percent of total wealth in the U.S. In terms of population distribution, there is almost an equal share of millennials and baby boomers in the United States.

During a survey conducted in 2024, it was revealed that millennials represented the biggest share of pet owners in the United States (32 percent), followed in second place by Generation X (24 percent). Baby Boomer's came in third, representing some 24 percent of pet owners. Pet ownership in the United States Despite some fluctuations, household penetration rates for pet ownership in the United States have generally increased over the years, going from 56 percent in 1988 to approximately 66 percent in 2023. With millennials constituting the largest group of pet owners in the United States, they also constituted the generational group that planned to spend the most on their pets during the holidays in 2020, with an average spending of 51 U.S. dollars, compared to only 28 U.S. dollars of average planned spending on pets for Baby Boomers. Pet expenditure in the U.S. Pet food and treats constituted the highest selling category for pet products in the United States, with total food and treats sales reaching 58.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. Vet care and product sales were the second biggest pet market category that year, generating around 35.9 billion U.S. dollars in sales. Generally, average annual pet expenditure was higher for dog owners than for cat owners across all pet market categories in 2020.

According to a 2024 survey, millennials made up the largest share of consumers globally who mostly shopped for beauty products online (42 percent). Gen Z (36 percent) and Gen X (36 percent) consumers followed, while around 34 percent of Baby Boomers did so. Doubling the money The online beauty and personal care market worldwide generated a revenue of about 42.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, with China, the United States, and Japan being the three biggest markets. The cosmetics market is the fastest growing segment of the beauty market worldwide and is estimated to incur almost double its current revenue by 2027. In 2023, around 900 million people around the world purchased beauty products online. This number is expected to increase to over 1.2 billion by 2027.
Trending on TikTok With social media becoming more and more prominent, especially in younger generations, it is not a surprise that more people also engage in social commerce and purchase beauty products from apps. In the United States, TikTok has become the leading social media platform for purchasing various beauty items, followed by Instagram and Facebook. On TikTok, content creators and brands promote sales in two main ways, video sales and live sales. The majority of app-based sales are made through live sales, which refer to livestreams that promote products and offer shopping links. It is easy to see how popular beauty products are on TikTok from the number of views they receive, with Dyson, Cerave, and The Ordinary being the most popular beauty brands.

As of 2023, the estimated population of Gen Z in the United Kingdom was 13.2 million, ranging from eleven to 26-year's old. The most-common single year of age for Gen Z in this year was 26, at 887,804, while there were 788,039 that were aged 17, the least common year of age.

As of 2023, there were approximately 13.57 million members of the Baby Boomer generation in the United Kingdom, ranging from the ages of 59 to 77. The most-common single year of age for Baby Boomers in this year was 59, at 915,735, while there were 521,896 who were 77, the least common year of age.

In the third quarter of 2024, 51.6 percent of the total wealth in the United States was owned by members of the baby boomer generation. In comparison, millennials owned around ten percent of total wealth in the U.S. In terms of population distribution, there is almost an equal share of millennials and baby boomers in the United States.

According to a recent surveys conducted in the United States, tattoos were common the most among Millennials. Millennials represents that part of population born between the beginning of the 1980s and half 1990s. On the other hand, only 13 percent of respondents belonging to the Baby Boomer generation had at last one tattoo as of 2021.

In 2023, there were estimated to be 956,116 people who were aged 35 in the United Kingdom, the most of any age in this year. The two largest age groups during this year were 30-34, and 35 to 39, at 4.7 million and 4.64 million people respectively. There is also a noticeable spike of 693,679 people who were aged 76, which is due to the high number of births that followed in the aftermath of the Second World War. Over one million born in 1964 In post-war Britain, there have only been two years when the number of live births was over one million, in 1947 and in 1964. The number of births recorded in the years between these two years was consistently high as well, with 1955 having the fewest births in this period at 789,000. This meant that until relatively recently, Baby Boomers were the largest generational cohort in the UK. As of 2022, there were approximately 13.76 million Baby Boomers, compared with 14 million in Generation X, 14.48 million Millennials, and 12.9 million members of Gen Z. The youngest generation in the UK, Generation Alpha numbered approximately 7.5 million in the same year. Median age to hit 44.5 years by 2050 The population of the United Kingdom is aging at a substantial rate, with the median age of the population expected to reach 44.5 years by 2050. By comparison, in 1950 the average age in the United Kingdom stood at 34.9 years. This phenomenon is not unique to the United Kingdom, with median age of people worldwide increasing from 23.6 years in 1950 to a forecasted 41.9 years by 2100. As of 2022, the region with the oldest median age in the UK was South West England, at 43.9 years, compared with 35.9 in London, the region with the youngest median age.

According to a survey conducted in 2023, 15 percent of Gen Z adults in the United States said that they have attended a rally or demonstration compared to eight percent of Millennials and Gen Xers. Gen Z adults were also the most likely generation to volunteer for a group or a cause, at 30 percent.