The Aug. 24 issue of the Economist profiles the "diverg[ing]" demographic trends in the United States and Western Europe, noting that the United States is becoming younger, while Europe's population is aging. Previously, Western European nations and the United States had the characteristics of "rich" nations: stable populations, low and declining fertility and increasing numbers of seniors. Between 1960 and 1985, the U.S. fertility rate dropped to 1.8 births per woman, lower than Europe's rate. However, in the 1990s, possibly because of "higher-than-average fertility" among immigrants and the U.S. "economic boom," the U.S. fertility rate rose to just below the "replacement level" -- the rate required to keep the population steady -- of 2.1 births per woman. Europe's fertility rate, however, has continued to decline, and women there average fewer than 1.4 births in their lifetime (Economist, 8/24). The complete article is available online.