According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are roughly 18.5 million veterans in the country. Do you really know what a veteran is? The more we learn about this unique group, the more we become aware of the diversity that our nation’s veterans represent.

The statistics show that 1.6 million of the veterans are women, almost 12% of them are African-American, and just more than 6% of them are Hispanic. When it comes to age, 9.2 million of veterans are older than 65 while 1.6 million of them are younger than 35.

Additional interesting facts from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) about what a veteran is include:

• Careers: Female veterans are more likely to have completed some college compared to non-veteran females. They are also 7% more likely to be working in management and professional occupations, and twice as likely to be working for state, local or federal government.

• Wages: Compared to non-veterans of the same age, veterans who work full-time had higher earnings.

• Entrepreneurs: According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), more than 2.5 million businesses are majority-owned by veterans, which is around 9% of all firms. Of that, more than 442,000 of them employ other people, employing more than 5 million people. Their businesses collectively earn around $1.14 trillion per year.

• Industries: The top industries where veteran entrepreneurs own businesses include professional, scientific and technical services, followed by construction. The top states with veteran-owned businesses include California, Texas, Florida, New York and Pennsylvania.