1965 — 1980
Generation X
Born between 1965 and 1980 — the smallest of the modern generations, and the last to have a fully analogue childhood.
- Cohort size: ~1.4bn
- Defining shift: The last analogue childhood
- Aged 46–61 in 2026
Birth year · Generation X · 1965–1980
Born in 1978?
Generation X.
Born into a world of 4.29 billion people, where women had 3.8 children on average and a newborn could expect to live to 60.
The short answer
Someone born in 1978 is Generation X — the generation born 1965–1980, a boundary Pew Research Center uses too. They turn 48 in 2026. About 122.1 million babies were born worldwide in 1978, about 3.5 million of them in the United States (UN estimates).
Generation
Generation X
Cohort 1965–1980 · Pew uses the same years
Age in 2026
48
Turning 49 next birthday
Babies born worldwide
122.1 million
UN World Population Prospects 2024
Born in the United States
3.5 million
UN estimate, not the registered count
World population
4.29 bn
In 1978
Place in the cohort
Year 14 / 16
Of 16 years in Generation X
The world in 1978, in numbers
| World population | 4.29 billion |
| Babies born worldwide | 122.1 million |
| Babies born in the United States | 3.5 million |
| Children per woman, worldwide | 3.79 |
| Life expectancy at birth, worldwide | 59.5 years |
Every figure is a UN World Population Prospects 2024 estimate, republished by Our World in Data. Life expectancy is a period figure for the conditions of 1978, not a forecast for anyone born that year. Pages for years before 2010 list no events: we add history only where each item has been checked, and would rather show nothing than something half-remembered.
Every milestone, dated
1996
Turns 18 — adult in most countries
Age 18 — already passed
1999
Turns 21
Age 21 — already passed
2008
Turns 30
Age 30 — already passed
2018
Turns 40
Age 40 — already passed
2028 · ahead
Turns 50
Age 50
2038 · ahead
Turns 60
Age 60
2043 · ahead
Turns 65 — a common state pension age
Age 65
2048 · ahead
Turns 70
Age 70
The cohort this year belongs to
NEIGHBOURING YEARS
One year either side
Cohort boundaries are hard lines drawn through a continuous thing. A child born a day before or after one of them lands in a different generation with an identical childhood.
Frequently asked
What generation is someone born in 1978?
They are Generation X, the cohort born from 1965 to 1980. Pew Research Center draws the same boundary. Some other sources put the lines a year or two away, so a year near a boundary can be labelled differently elsewhere.
How old is someone born in 1978?
They turn 48 during 2026, or are already 48 if their birthday has passed.
How many babies were born in 1978?
About 122.1 million worldwide and about 3.5 million in the United States, according to UN World Population Prospects 2024 estimates.
What was the world population in 1978?
About 4.29 billion, according to UN World Population Prospects 2024.
What was life expectancy for a baby born in 1978?
About 60 years worldwide at birth, as a period estimate. That is the average for the conditions of 1978, not a prediction for any one person, and it is pulled down heavily by deaths in infancy.
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