Perhaps the most striking shift in the nation's population in recent years has been the growing number of citizens living past their 80s. Not only are they living on the other side of 90, they're living vital, active lives.
Born between 1910 and 1920, when a person's life expectancy was projected to be between 51.5 and 56.4 years, they've already beaten long odds to get where they are today.
While living into your 90s used to be a rarity, the number of those who do is rapidly growing. Between 2000 and 2005, the population of those 85 and older grew by 20 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, making it one of the fastest growing demographics.
The bureau projects that between now and the year 2050, the number of people in that age group will have grown by a massive 231 percent, to a total population in excess of 19 million.
