Generation X

"Generation X" are one of the main generational groupings in established economies. The term is taken from a novel by the Canadian author Douglas Coupland, published in 1991, where it was used to describe the generation of people who had come of age in the eighties and early nineties.

As a smaller "sandwich generation" between Millennials and Baby Boomers, there is greater variation in the period that is copnsidered to cover Generation X. For instance - Pew Research Center classifies Generation X as those born 1965-1980, and Douglas Coupland's original definition is wider, ranging from the early sixties into the eighties. Ipsos defines Generation X as those born 1966-1979.

Generation X are beginning to be eclipsed by the Millennial generation on some measures – in 2015 in the US they were replaced by Millennials are the largest generation in the US workforce, with 53.5 million Millennial workers compared to 52.7 million in Generation X (Pew 2015). However, as they are older they will tend to be richer and more influential than Millennials.

As with other generational groups, this frame of analysis should be applied to emerging markets with care – the cultural context that characterises Generation X in established, "western" markets may be absent elsewhere.

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Generation Z research

Generation Y (Millennials) research

Baby Boomers research

Contact our Generation X experts

Rozemarijn Landeweerd

+31 20 6070 759