What will the world and industries look like in 50 years' time?

摘要

What will the global gypsum and insulation industries look like in 50 years' time (in 2068)? Let's take a look at some current trends and extend them into the future to see what our world will look like then. The global population is set to increase to 10.5bn in 2068, with the majority of the increase in Africa and Asia. At the same time, the rate of increase will reduce from 1% per year today to less than 0.3% per year and global urbanisation will increase from 55% today to more like 75% in 50 years' time. Populations in 'developed' nations will rapidly age (and progressively reduce), although developing countries with high proportions of young people today will see this 'bulge' ageing as well, and with fertility rates decreasing, will not see younger people coming up to replace them. This unavoidable demographic wave may be the defining global trend in the 21st century.