The decade
Born in the 1960s
Written . By the BirthAlmanac team.
- Years
- 1960–1969Ten years.
- Age in 2026
- 57 to 66The age a birthday in 2026 brings.
- Generations
- Baby Boomers and Generation XAs the sources named on the generations page draw them.
- Leap years
- 1960, 1964 and 1968The years with a 29 February.
The world they were born into
The 1960s began, in South Africa, with the Sharpeville killings of March 1960, and the country became a republic in 1961; Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964. Seventeen African countries became independent in 1960 alone. In the United States the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964, and in July 1969 Apollo 11 landed the first people on the Moon.
Growing up
The oral contraceptive pill became available from the early 1960s, and the Beatles made British popular music a global export. A child born in the 1960s in Britain or North America grew up as colour television arrived in the living room, was a teenager in the 1970s or the 1980s, and was an adult by the time the Cold War ended in 1991.
Which generation
Births from 1960 to 1964 belong to the Baby Boomers, and from 1965 to 1969 to Generation X. The boundaries are conventions rather than facts, and the generations page names the source for each one. Where the tables disagree about the 1960s:
- 1961 to 1964. The US Census Bureau counts 1961 to 1964 in the baby boom. Strauss and Howe start their 13th Generation, which is Generation X, in 1961 and put these years there.
- 1965. The first year after the recorded baby boom ended, and Pew's first year of Generation X. Strauss and Howe, who call the cohort the 13th Generation, start it earlier, in 1961.
Boundary set by researchers or the birth record Named by a writer or a consultancy, or claimed by two sources; the dates are not settled
The marked line is 1960, where the decade begins.
Year by year
The Chinese year begins not on 1 January but at a new moon, usually the second after the December solstice, and from 1900 to 2100 always between 21 January and 20 February. In the 1960s it began as early as 21 January, in 1966, and as late as 17 February, in 1969, so a birthday in January or early February belongs to the animal of the year before. The table gives the day each year began.
| Year | Chinese year | Began | Generation | Age in 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960Leap year | Metal Rat | 28 January | Baby Boomers | 66 |
| 1961 | Metal Ox | 15 February | Baby Boomers | 65 |
| 1962 | Water Tiger | 5 February | Baby Boomers | 64 |
| 1963 | Water Rabbit | 25 January | Baby Boomers | 63 |
| 1964Leap year | Wood Dragon | 13 February | Baby Boomers | 62 |
| 1965 | Wood Snake | 2 February | Generation X | 61 |
| 1966 | Fire Horse | 21 January | Generation X | 60 |
| 1967 | Fire Goat | 9 February | Generation X | 59 |
| 1968Leap year | Earth Monkey | 30 January | Generation X | 58 |
| 1969 | Earth Rooster | 17 February | Generation X | 57 |
New year dates are worked out from the new moons and the solar terms, and checked against published tables. Born before the new year →