World Data Lab

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Where spending is heading, one chart at a time.

84 charts in 26 stories. Each story takes a minute to read.

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26 stories, 84 charts

  1. Only 2020 interrupted the 124 million new consumers a year

    People crossing $13.20 a day in 2021 PPP dollars each year, net of those who fall below it, millions. The consumer class reaches five billion in 2029 and 5.9 billion by 2036

  2. India adds 175 million consumers by 2030, more than China and Africa

    People joining the consumer class, above $13.20 a day in 2021 PPP dollars, between 2026 and 2030; the world adds 490 million

  3. The gap between the average and the typical spender is closing

    World consumer spending per person a day in 2021 PPP dollars: the mean against the median. Half the world spends less than the median; the mean is pulled up by the top

  4. Without China the gap is wider: $34 a day against $15

    Consumer spending per person a day in 2021 PPP dollars for the 193 countries outside China. China's rise is what has pulled the world's typical person towards its average; take it out and the two are further apart

  5. Discretionary spending grows 9% for the typical person, 7% for the average

    The typical person spends $2.16 a day on discretionary goods in 2026 and the average person $4.69

  1. The richest tenth is not pulling away: China +10%, India -13% since 2000

    Share of each country's consumer spending made by the tenth of its people who spend the most per head, indexed to 2000 = 100; the five largest consumer markets. In 2026 the share is 36% in India, 30% in the United States and 30% in China

  2. America's top tenth spends 30% of its money, South Africa's 49%

    Share of a country's consumer spending made by the 10% of its people who spend the most per head, 2026, 2021 PPP dollars; the world bar is the richest tenth of everyone alive, ranked across all 194 countries together. American analysts put the top-income decile at 23% to 50% of spending depending on the source

  3. The Global West's middle class shrinks by 23m by 2030 while its affluent gain 30m

    Change in the number of people in each band in the Global West, 2026 to 2030, millions; 572 million middle class in 2026, 374 million affluent

  1. 18 of the 79 big markets lose people by 2027 and every one still grows

    The 79 markets spending more than $100bn a year, sized by that spending; consumer spending in 2021 PPP dollars, 2026 to 2027. Japan grows 0.6% with 0.5% fewer people, China 4.0% with 0.2% fewer

  2. 21 consumer markets have already passed their peak

    Year in which a country's consumer class (people above $13.20 a day, 2021 PPP) reaches its largest size before 2050; markets over five million people. Spending keeps rising in every one of them

  3. China loses 3 million people by 2027 and gains 25 million consumers

    Change in China between 2026 and 2027, millions of people. In one year its consumer class goes from 1.053bn to 1.078bn and its affluent from 41m to 46m, while the population falls from 1.413bn to 1.410bn

  1. Towns take 48% of the world's population growth, big cities 23%

    People added between 2026 and 2030 by where they live, millions; the world adds 268 million. Cities are the 9,561 modelled cities

  2. India's consumer class grows 26% by 2030, and 21 countries lose theirs

    Growth in the number of people spending more than $13.20 a day in 2021 PPP dollars, 2026 to 2030. The world adds 490 million, 175 million of them in India

  3. India adds the people, America adds the money

    People above $90 a day in 2021 PPP dollars, and their consumer spending in current US dollars, added between 2026 and 2030. The world adds 127 million affluent people

  1. China, India and Africa hold 1.05bn, 675m and 333m consumers

    Population, and the people inside it spending more than $13.20 a day in 2021 PPP dollars, 2026

  2. India's consumer class passes China's in 2040

    China's consumer class peaks in 2044 at 1.25bn, and Africa's has not peaked by 2050

  3. By 2050 Africa holds 1.5 billion people under $13.20 a day

    People spending less than $13.20 a day in 2021 PPP dollars. Africa is the 54 UN member states

  1. India quadruples its affluent by 2036 while America's grow 16%

    Growth in the number of people spending more than $90 a day in 2021 PPP dollars, 2026 to 2036

  2. Texas grows its affluent almost twice as fast as America

    Growth in the number of people spending more than $90 a day in 2021 PPP dollars, 2026 to 2036, by state

  3. Seven in ten American counties beat the nation on affluent growth

    Growth in the number of people spending more than $90 a day in 2021 PPP dollars, 2026 to 2036, by county; the lower 48

  1. The over-65s have outspent the 15 to 29s since 2023

    World. In the West the over-65s have outspent the 15 to 29s since 2009, and by 2030 spend $12tn against $6.9tn

  2. The over-65s already outspend the 15 to 29s across the West

    Year in which people aged 65 and over permanently outspend people aged 15 to 29, consumer spending in current US dollars

  3. A third of the world's new consumers are over 60

    People joining the consumer class, above $13.20 a day, between 2026 and 2030 by age, millions; 490 million in total

  1. Gen Z spends 49% of its money in the West, the Boomers 68%

    Share of each generation's consumer spending in 2026 made in the Global West: North America, Western Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Gen Alpha is still mostly children

  2. At 27 Gen Z outspends Millennials by 14% in the West, 53% outside

    Real consumer spending per person aged 25 to 29, 2021 PPP dollars a year, averaged over the years each generation is that age; Gen Z's later years are forecast

  3. Korea's under-30s, children included, have lost 22 points of the national wallet since 2000

    Change in the under-30s' share of national consumer spending, 2000 to 2026, percentage points; current US dollars. It falls in 186 of 194 countries; the eight that rise are small, and six of them are African

  1. 82 of the world's 159 big countries lose under-30s by 2036

    Change in the number of people under 30 between 2026 and 2036, the 159 countries of a million people or more

  2. The Midwest loses a tenth of its under-30s, Texas gains 7%

    Change in the number of people under 30 between 2026 and 2036, by state; the lower 48

  3. 2,736 of America's 3,148 counties lose under-30s by 2036

    Change in the number of people under 30 between 2026 and 2036, by county; the lower 48

  1. The world loses 8 million family homes by 2030 and gains 24 million solos

    Households added between 2026 and 2030, millions, 194 countries; the world adds 69 million households in total

  2. China loses 14 million family homes by 2030, more than anywhere

    Change in the number of households with children under 18 at home, 2026 to 2030, millions: the six largest falls and the two largest rises

  3. One-person homes grow 7% by 2030, all homes and people 3%

    World, indexed to 2016 = 100. 322 million one-person homes in 2026, 345 million by 2030 and 385 million by 2036

  1. Almost one in three British households is one person

    People living alone in the United Kingdom, millions, ONS Families and households. They are 29.5% of all households, and 51% of them are aged 65 or over against 46% in 2014

  2. Americans spend half their day alone, against 44% in 2003

    Share of the day spent with nobody else present, Americans aged 15 and over, American Time Use Survey. Diary years, not a continuous series

  3. Young people report the highest loneliness in England

    England, 2024/25: the share of adults who say they feel lonely often or always, Community Life Survey. Across Great Britain that is 3.9 million people

  1. 18% of rich American homes have a child, against 48% of lower-middle ones

    United States 2026: the share of households with a child under 18 at home, by what the household spends per person per day in 2021 PPP dollars. 60 million American homes are in the top band

  2. Rich households are less likely to have children in every country

    Households spending over $90 a person a day are less likely to have a child under 18 at home than every other household in the same country, 2026, percentage points. The gap runs the same way in all 20 markets measured

  3. Under-15s are 6% of Korea's affluent, half their share in 2000

    Children under 15 as a share of the people spending more than $90 a day in 2021 PPP dollars. Worldwide the share falls from 12% in 2000 to 11% by 2030

  1. The West's discretionary spending grows 3.1% a year, its necessities 4.1%

    Growth a year in current US dollars, 2026 to 2030. Wants are clothing, home and furnishings, electronics, recreation and pets, phones, alcohol and tobacco

  2. Americans have spent more on restaurants than groceries since 2018

    Groceries: food bought for the home, COICOP 01.1. Eating out: restaurants, cafes and canteens, COICOP 11.1. Both in current US dollars

  3. The West spends less per adult on clothes and phones than in 2018

    The 25 markets of the Global West, retail spending per person aged 15 and over in 2021 PPP dollars, indexed to 2018 = 100

  1. Health and personal care gain wallet share, clothes and gadgets lose it

    Change in each category's share of world consumer spending, 2026 to 2036, percentage points. Personal care is $1.7tn today and $3.0tn by 2036

  2. The rest of the world spends more of its wallet on itself than the West

    Spending on personal care as a share of all consumer spending. Outside the West it is $818bn today and $1.6tn by 2036, passing the West's along the way

  3. The rich drive personal care, 7.4% a year against the poorest's 1.6%

    Growth a year in spending on personal care, 2026 to 2036, by what the household spends per person a day in 2021 PPP dollars, current US dollars

  1. 78% of the world's adults have an account, against 61% in 2014

    Share of people aged 15 and over with an account at a financial institution or a mobile-money provider, World Bank Findex modelled to 2036. Surveyed in 2014, 2017, 2021 and 2024

  2. 1.4 billion adults still have no account, and 1.2 billion in 2036

    Adults aged 15 and over with no account, outside the 25 markets of the Global West, millions. The share without one falls from 45% to 21% over the same years; the number falls slowly because the adult population grows by 1.54 billion

  3. Mobile money reaches 54% of adults outside the West, credit cards 21%

    Share of adults aged 15 and over outside the Global West, World Bank Findex modelled to 2036. 85% of them have a mobile phone today, more than have an account

  1. British spending per adult is still below where it stood in 2018

    United Kingdom, consumer spending per person aged 15 and over in 2021 PPP dollars, indexed to 2018 = 100. It reaches $32,900 a head by 2030, 4% above 2018

  2. British discretionary spending per adult is a tenth below 2018

    United Kingdom, spending per person aged 15 and over on clothing, home and furnishings, electronics recreation and pets, phones, alcohol and tobacco, in 2021 PPP dollars, indexed to 2018 = 100

  3. Britain's under-30s put 23% of their money into housing, America's 16%

    Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels as a share of the consumer spending of people aged 15 to 29, 2026. Every country's under-30s put in less than the country as a whole, because fewer of them own: Britain's whole population puts 27.7% into housing

  1. Towns take 41% of Southeast Asia's population growth, big cities 34%

    People added across the eleven markets of Southeast Asia between 2026 and 2036, millions. Big cities already hold 28% of the region against 21% in 2000, so the shift has mostly happened

  2. Singapore's people spend 17 times what Yangon's do

    The city with the highest consumer spending per person in each Southeast Asian market, 2026, current US dollars a year; cities over a million people. The eight of them hold $918bn of spending between them

  3. Cambodia's consumer class doubles while twelve regions lose theirs

    Growth in the number of people spending more than $13.20 a day in 2021 PPP dollars, 2026 to 2036, across the 351 regions of the eleven Southeast Asian markets. The region adds 138 million consumers in all

  1. Jakarta takes half the money Indonesia's 345 cities add by 2036

    Share of the consumer spending Indonesia's cities add between 2026 and 2036, current US dollars. Jakarta holds 48% of their spending today and takes 62% of the people who become affluent

  2. Indonesia's frontier provinces grow three times faster than Java

    Growth in consumer spending between 2026 and 2036 in 2021 PPP dollars, by province. Papua and Kalimantan grow from a small base; Java holds 130 million of Indonesia's 283 million people and its three biggest provinces lose people over the same years

  3. Samarinda grows 10.1% a year against Jakarta's 8.1%

    Growth a year in consumer spending, 2026 to 2036, current US dollars; Indonesian cities of more than seven hundred thousand people. Jakarta still adds $335bn of the country's $668bn, but it is no longer the fastest

  1. France's people are moving south and west

    Change in population between 2026 and 2036 by region, with the 68 modelled cities outlined inside them. France adds 1.4 million people in all, 0.9 million of them outside those outlines

  2. France adds more spending outside its cities than inside

    Consumer spending added between 2026 and 2036 in 2021 PPP dollars, inside and outside the 68 French built-up areas the model draws as cities. The Paris region adds 0.9% more people over the same years, against 4.9% for Occitanie

  3. Europe adds more outside its cities, and loses people there too

    Consumer spending added between 2026 and 2036 in 2021 PPP dollars, inside and outside the 768 European built-up areas the model draws as cities. 62% of Europeans live outside them and they take 53% of the growth, even as their number falls by 5.2 million

  1. 280 of Europe's 424 regions lose people by 2036

    Change in population between 2026 and 2036 by region, the 424 regions of 28 European markets. Europe's population falls 0.5% over the ten years while its consumer spending rises 15%

  2. Every region of Romania, Poland and Czechia loses people

    The number of regions whose population falls between 2026 and 2036, against how many the country has. Every region of Romania, Poland and Czechia shrinks; Belgium and Switzerland have none that do

  3. Europe loses people and gains $2.1 trillion of spending

    Consumer spending added between 2026 and 2036 in 2021 PPP dollars, with the population change underneath; Europe adds $2.10 trillion in all. The one region that loses money is Mount Athos, a monastic community of a few thousand men

  1. American spending per adult is 17% above 2018, Britain's is below it

    Change in consumer spending per person aged 15 and over, 2018 to 2026, in 2021 PPP dollars

  2. America keeps 31% of the world's wallet on 4% of its people

    Shares of world consumer spending in current US dollars, 2000 to 2050

  3. At PPP India passes America in 2040 and China does in 2044, neither in dollars

    Consumer spending in 2021 PPP dollars, which prices what the money buys at home. In current US dollars America stays ahead: $58tn against China's $29tn in 2050

  1. American couples without children passed families with them in 2021

    United States households by form; children are household members under 18. Shared homes of three or more adults, 13m, not shown

  2. 74% of the homes America adds by 2030 are one person

    Households added in the United States between 2026 and 2030, millions; 2.0 million in total

  3. Older Americans have outspent the under-30s since 2022

    The over-65s' share of all American consumer spending: 14% in 2010, 22% today, 24% by 2030

  1. American Gen Z spend $48k a year at 27, Millennials spent $43k

    United States, real consumer spending per person aged 25 to 29, 2021 PPP dollars a year, averaged over the years each generation is that age; Gen Z's later years are forecast

  2. Gen X became America's biggest spending generation in 2025

    Boomers born 1946 to 1964, Gen X 1965 to 1980, Millennials 1981 to 1996, Gen Z 1997 to 2012

  3. American Gen Z passes the Boomers on discretionary spending in 2027

    Wants are clothing, home and furnishings, electronics recreation and pets, phones, alcohol and tobacco. Every year shown is forecast. On all spending together the Boomers hold on until 2032

  1. 72% of American counties grow slower than the nation

    Growth in consumer spending between 2026 and 2036 in 2021 PPP dollars, by county; the lower 48 states. America as a whole grows 20%, and 1,251 of its 3,148 counties lose people over the same years

  2. 100 of America's 3,148 counties take 57% of its growth

    Share of the consumer spending America adds between 2026 and 2036 that falls in its biggest-adding counties, 2021 PPP dollars. Those 100 counties hold 50% of the country's spending today, so they gain share as well as money

  3. Urban America takes 86% of the country's spending growth

    Consumer spending added between 2026 and 2036 in current US dollars, inside and outside American urban areas. In real terms the two add $3.2tn and $0.4tn, and rural America still grows with fewer people living in it

  1. Seven of California's 58 counties lose people, none loses money

    Change in population between 2026 and 2036, by county. The seven that shrink are on the north coast and in the bay's outer ring; Los Angeles adds $150bn of spending on 3% more people

  2. San Francisco spends twice what the average American does

    Consumer spending per person a year, 2026, current US dollars. San Francisco's 4.7 million people spend $674bn between them, more than 45 of the 50 states

  3. San Francisco pays for rent and restaurants, not doctors

    San Francisco's share of wallet against the American average, 2026, percentage points. Housing takes 20.6% of what San Franciscans spend against 18.4% nationally, and health 16.4% against 18.9%

  4. San Francisco is a city of 30-somethings, not of the young

    The age mix of the adults of every American city of a million people or more, 2026. San Francisco has the 4th fewest under-30s of the 25 and the 3rd most people in their thirties and early forties

  1. Americans outspend Europeans two to one, and the gap is widening

    Consumer spending per person a day in 2021 PPP dollars: the United States against the 28 European markets. Over a year that is $53,200 a head against $27,000, and by 2036 $61,000 against $31,100

  2. Health eats half of the American's spending advantage against a German

    The person at the middle of each country's spending distribution, 2026, 2021 PPP dollars a year: the American spends $38,899 and the German $25,315. Household health spending includes insurance premiums, which is why it takes $6,012 of the difference

  3. The gap is $6,000 between countries and $50,000 between cities

    The middle person's consumer spending less the share their country puts into food, housing and energy, health and transport. The 2026 prices step is the same two people measured at market exchange rates instead of 2021 PPP; the rest is that American big cities sit far further above their country than German ones do

  4. Every big American city has more left over than any European one

    The person at the middle of each city's spending distribution, 2026, current US dollars a year, less the share their country spends on food, housing and energy, health and transport. On means rather than medians the order is the same

  5. 24 of America's 25 big cities beat every city in Europe

    Consumer spending per person less the share the country puts into food, housing and energy, health and transport, 2026, 2021 PPP dollars; every city of a million people or more in the United States and the 28 European markets, each disc sized by its people

  6. No European town reaches the American middle

    Consumer spending per person less the share the country puts into food, housing and energy, health and transport, 2026, 2021 PPP dollars; every built-up area the model draws in the United States and the 28 European markets

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Older adults outspend their share of the population

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Asia rises across every rung of the consumer ladder

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Spending inequality varies by region

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The K-shaped economy is a US, not G7, trend

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