Population Reference Bureau Population Bulletin Vol. Age and Sex Composition Immigration and differences in childbearing patterns have given Asian Americans an age structure that is strikingly different from the overall U.S. population and from other ethnic minority groups.
Most immigrants move when they are young adults.
At least 70 percent of Asian Americans are post-1970 immigrants or their children, which gives Asians a young age structure. Only about 7 percent of Asians were ages 65 or older in 1997, compared with 13 percent of the total U.S. population. The easing of immigration restrictions in 1965 has also affected the ratio of men to women among Asian Americans. The sex ratio for the total U.S. population in 1997 was 96. This figure varies among the Asian groups depending upon their immigration history.