Global Longevity Economy Report to 2050 – Executive Summary

Index – Global Longevity Economy Report to 2050

Executive Summary
Demographic Context
- Global aging trends
- Demographic inversion: when elders outnumber the young
- UN projections to 2050
- Life expectancy, healthspan, and longevity milestones
Key Findings and Surprising Statistics
- Population growth: 50+ and 60+ age brackets
- Healthcare transformation
- Life expectancy and centenarian boom
- Economic value of added healthy years
- Tech adoption and the rise of AgeTech
Outlook to 2050
- Aging by region and country
- Median age and population structure shifts
- Technological and biomedical progress
- Preventive health, AI, and regenerative therapies
- The vision of “living well, longer”
Core Economic Segments of the Longevity Economy
- Healthcare and long-term care
- Biotechnology and pharmaceuticals
- Financial services, pensions, and senior fintech
- Housing, smart homes, and age-friendly cities
- Nutrition, wellness, and preventive lifestyles
- Tourism, leisure, and cultural participation
- Assistive technology and AgeTech
Business and Innovation Opportunities
- The silver consumer market
- Innovation in longevity startups
- Employment, consulting, and senior workforce inclusion
- Education, retraining, and lifelong learning
- Digital solutions for healthy aging
- Public-private partnerships and social innovation
Global Risks and Structural Challenges
- Pressure on healthcare and pensions
- Workforce and productivity shifts
- Caregiver shortages and dependency
- Inequality in access to longevity
- Social isolation, ageism, and quality of life
- Policy lags and geopolitical imbalances
Conclusion
- Longevity as a global opportunity
- The urgency of forward-looking action
- A call to shape the longevity century

Demographic Context

The world’s population is aging at an unprecedented rate, leading to a historic demographic inversion. In 2018, for the first time in recorded history, the number of people over 65 exceeded the number of children under five. This trend will only intensify: by 2050, older adults will also outnumber adolescents under 15. Overall global population is projected to reach 9.7 billion by mid-century, with longevity gains contributing to a dramatically older age structure. Median life spans have been rising steadily (life expectancy has been increasing by ~2.5 years per decade since 1840), and more people are living into their 80s and 90s than ever before. The aging of society is a worldwide phenomenon – one that no country can ignore – reshaping economies and social structures across the globe.

This demographic shift means that a much larger share of humanity will be in older age brackets. By 2050, about 16% of the world’s population will be 65 or older, up from just 9% in 2019. Put another way, roughly one in every six people on Earth will be over 65 years old. In fact, if current trends hold, half of the world’s population will be age 50 or above by 2050 – a striking “50-50-50” milestone that underscores the magnitude of the change. Life expectancy is steadily rising in most countries; the global average life expectancy is projected to reach about 77 years by 2050, an increase of over three decades within a century. Many developed nations will see life expectancies well into the 80s, and the number of centenarians (people aged 100+) worldwide is expected to soar to over 3 million by 2050. This longevity revolution presents immense opportunities, but also profound challenges, as societies must adapt to a new age-balanced reality

Figure 1: The global population age structure is undergoing a historic inversion. In 2018, for the first time, people over 65 outnumbered children under 5; by 2050, those over 60 will even outnumber those under 15. (Source: United Nations data).