The world population is aging. What are the implications?
There are several forces that are re-shaping our world culture of tomorrow and have implications for our global economy; one force is rapidly changing demographics –a aging population is one characteristic of the change.
The world population is aging due to declining fertility rates and increasing mortality rates . Median age is a good indicator of this fact. The world median age, which divides the world population in half, is 26 years today, growing to 37 years by 2050. Developed countries such as Europe and Japan, already have a median age of 40 or more today, moving to 47 or more by 2050. So the issue is escerbated in developed countries; developing countries, by and large, are still quite “young”.
An aging population means the labor pool in developed countries is shrinking. How will the labor pool be fed to meet demand? What are the implications for the future? What impact will these dramatic changes have on world culture, referred to here as not one culture but a polyglot of cultures. There is a fascinating book that provides piercing insights about the issue,Exceptional People: How Migration Shaped Our World and Will Define Our Future, by Ian Goldin, Geoffrey Cameron, and Meera Balaraian.
I explore the topic of shifting demographics in my talk, The Future of World Culture and the Role of Business, which I delivered at the Global Conference of the World Future Society in Toronto in July, and recently at the International Mobility Roundtable hosted by the Forum for Expatriate Management in DC (October 2012).
Please share any thoughts, facts, insights you have on the subject.