Economics is a study of man in the ordinary business of life. It enquires how he gets his income and how he uses it. Thus, it is on the one side, the study of wealth and on the other and more important side, a part of the study of man.
In developed countries, an increase in the average age of the gravida has been documented. The mean age of primiparous women in Austria rose from 25 years in 1991 to 28 years in 2008. In Germany in 2006, most gravidas were between the ages of 30 and 34 years whereas in the 1970s, most babies were born to women aged 20â24 years.
But the states with the most elderly do not necessarily have the oldest population age profiles. California is still a relatively young state even though it has the greatest number of elderly residents: Less than 11 percent of the state's total population was age 65 or older in 2000. In contrast, nearly 18 percent of Florida's population was age 65 or older, the highest proportion of any state (see table).