This process is a result of the combined effects of declining mortality rates, increased longevity, and lower fertility rates. Older persons aged 60 and over, today comprise the world’s fastest growing age group and in 2045, this group is expected to exceed the number of children (aged under 15) for the first time, according to UN data (refer to diagram) . 

While ageing populations are more prominent in developed countries, it is a global phenomenon. By 2050, one in three people in developed countries is expected to be aged 60 and over compared with one in five today.

Ageing of the world’s population has massive investment implications and opportunities in industries such as healthcare, robotics, aged services and finance. 

In its most basic form, automation is the replacement of a human worker with a machine. These machines reduce costs, free up worker capacity for other tasks – and they never sleep. We see a long runway for growth in automation, with low density rates in other parts of the world.

Ageing is naturally linked to rising health expenditures, but urbanisation is also important as people move to cities, incomes rise and diets change. That raises not only the propensity to spend more on healthcare, but the necessity to do so as people consume more processed food, meat, sugar, diary, and alcohol. In turn, this raises the risks of obesity rates in Asia with consequence of a rise in chronic diseases, which in turn create a demand for a wider range of healthcare products and services. 

Private hospitals, care services and drug manufacturers are positioned to see rising demand. As people live longer, there will also be increasing demand for discretionary treatments for eye and hearing products to improve their quality of life.

Most of the growth will come from the developing world, particularly Asia, which McKinsey estimates will represent more than US$10 trillion worth of consumption over the next 10 years. [2]

The growth in the emerging middle class provides support for a wide range of discretionary products from phones to fashion and electronics to automobiles, boosted by the trend of “premiumisation”, where consumers trade up for superior products as incomes rise.

As more people join the middle class, the challenge for businesses will be to meet this demand while protecting the long-term sustainability of people and the planet. Over the past 50 years, global consumption has been exerting increasing stress on the Earth’s ecosystems. 

In general, consumers are growing more aware of sustainability issues and making more conscious purchasing decisions, with most younger people willing to use their consumption power to affect change. These new consumption patterns will both benefit and disrupt several sectors, crystallising the need for an ongoing focus on sustainability.

The projected population will boost global demand and underpin economic growth. But a growing population also raises demand for resources, such as food, water, arable land and energy, contributing to climate change. 

The World Bank estimates that demand for food will rise by 70% by 2050. This poses a serious challenge for food production, particularly given that the amount of arable land in the world is falling due to industrialisation and urbanisation. To help meet this demand, companies are producing sustainable fertilisers and pesticides and developing precision farming techniques to increase crop yields.

Likewise, to meet increasing water and energy demands, we expect to see investment in sustainable water solutions across the supply and distribution of water, as well as into renewable energy sources, with wind and solar set to be the largest beneficiaries.