Veterans Day: 5 facts you might not know

Veterans Day in the United States officially started 102 years ago as a way to commemorate the armistice that ended World War I.

Here are some facts and figures related to U.S. veterans:

17.4 million

The number of Americans who identified as military veterans in 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is down from 26.4 million in 2000 — with the drop attributed to deaths and the overall size of the military declining.

In 25 years, the VA estimates there will be 12.5 million living U.S. veterans.

Era of service

Gulf War veterans surpassed Vietnam era veterans in 2016. Here is a breakdown of percentage of veterans’ service by conflict, per 2019 census figures:

• 43.7% — Gulf War era (7.8 million*)
• 35.6% — Vietnam War era (5.9 m*)
• 6.6% — Korean War (933,000*)
• 2.2% — World War II (240,000*)

* = VA estimates for 2021.

Older vets

Just more than half (50.4%) of U.S. veterans are seniors, with the age group 65-74 accounting for 26.1% and those 75 or older accounting for 24.3%.

Women vets

In 2019, women accounted for 9.4% of U.S. veterans — up from 6% in 2000.

The VA estimates women will make up 18% of U.S. veterans in 2046, though the number of women who served in military is only expected to increase slightly — from 2 million today to 2.2 million by then.

Veteran leaders

The percentage of veterans elected to Congress has dropped along with the percentage of Americans who serve in the military.

In 1953, 74% of members of the U.S. Senate and 62% of the House of Representatives had prior military service. In 2021, that figure stands at 17% in both bodies.

Sources: USAFacts, Pew Research Center, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Census Bureau