Led by baby boomers, those born in the United States between mid-1946 and mid-1964, the nation's 65-and-older population is projected to hit 83.7 million in the year 2050, almost double in size from the estimated 43.1 million older residents who crossed that threshold in 2011, according to two reports released this week from the U.S. Census Bureau.

That burgeoning population of seniors will in turn spur great expansion in health care-related industries, already one of the fastest growing segments of the country's economy.

In 2011, the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns statistics determined health care and social assistance outfits represented about 819,000 establishments, including home and health care services, care facilities for the older population and continuing care retirement communities, which all experienced an increase of over 20 percent in the workers hired between 2007 and 2011.

One of the reports, "An Aging Nation: The Older Population in the United States," considers the demographic changes to the 65-and-older population that will comprise 21 percent of the U.S. population by 2050, along with the impact such changes will have on the composition of the total population.

A second report, "The Baby Boom Cohort in the United States: 2012 to 2060," focuses on the changing size and structure of the baby boom population.

"The United States is projected to age significantly over this period, with 20 percent of its population age 65 and over by 2030," Jennifer Ortman, chief of the Census Bureau's Population Projections Branch, said in a news release. "Changes in the age structure of the U.S. population will have implications for health care services and providers, national and local policymakers, and businesses seeking to anticipate the influence that this population may have on their services, family structure and the American landscape."

Although the older population currently is not as racially or ethnically diverse as their younger generation counterparts, it's nevertheless projected to experience a notable boost in diversity over the next four decades.

The 65-and-older population is projected to be 39.1 percent minority in 2050, up from 20.7 percent in 2012, while the 85-and-older population is projected to be 29.7 percent minority in 2050, up from 16.3 percent in 2012.