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Generation list

\ˌʤɛnəˈreɪʃən\ \lɪst\

People born in and living through the same period are often thought to share certain characteristics. Here is a list of generations and some of their characteristics for people born after the mid-1920s.

There are no precise dates for the cohort birth years for the following generations, so please note that the dates below may move a little between different sources.

Silent generation (aged mid-70s to mid-90s in 2019)

People born between the mid-1920s and the mid-1940s; the term is believed to refer to the focus of this group on careers over activism.

Baby boomers (aged mid-50s to mid-70s in 2019)

People born between the mid-1940s and mid-1960s. The birth rate ‘boomed’ over this period following the end of World War II – hence the name.

Generation X (aged late-30s to mid-50s in 2019)

People born between the mid-1960s and late-1970s who grew up during a period of social transition with the end of the Cold War. (The ‘X’ refers to the generation’s lack of social identity.) Their birth rate was much lower than that of the baby boomers, due largely to the introduction of the contraceptive pill in the 1960s;

Gen-X is sometimes referred to as the baby-bust-generation in the USA as a result. Also known as the latchkey generation due to the perceived change in levels of adult supervision in their youth.

Millennials/Generation Y (aged early 20s to late 30s in 2019)

People born between the early-1980s and late-1990s. Typically, Millennials represent the children of baby boomers and their birth rate was closer to that of the baby boomers than Gen-X – for this reason they are sometimes referred to as the ‘second baby boom’. They grew up during the rise of digital technology, graduating from high-school around the turn of the millennium.

Generation Z (aged up to early 20s in 2019)

People born after the late 1990s (no end date has emerged yet). Sometimes referred to as the i-generation.

Keep exploring our Lexicon of Longevity
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