News from World Data Lab

World Economic Forum · 2026

Ageing consumers are reshaping the global economy

People aged 60+ account for $19 trillion of consumer spending in 2026, rising to $34 trillion by 2036. By Anna Kiknadze and Regan Leggett.

Everyday Marketing · 2026

100 insights on Gen Z, 2026 to 2027

Gen Z spending power and behaviour, drawing on World Data Lab consumer projections.

Global Brands Magazine · 2026

The silver economy: a USD 19 trillion opportunity

How consumers aged 60+ are becoming one of the largest spending blocs on earth.

Ecofin Agency · 2026

WAEMU youth employment lags despite strong economic growth, report finds

Demographic and labour-market data on West Africa's fast-growing young population.

Punto Vendita · 2026

MediaWorld Trend Radar: Gen Z e tecnologia

The generation worth USD 12.6 trillion is already reshaping retail tech.

Modern Ghana · 2026

Germany flexes its muscles for Africa's youth

Africa's demographic dividend and what it means for investment and jobs.

Business Community · 2026

Gen Z guida il retail tech: 12,6 trilioni di spesa entro il 2030

New buying rules as Gen Z spending approaches USD 12.6 trillion by 2030.

The Business Times · 2026

The global e-commerce playbook is being rewritten by emerging markets

Where online consumer demand grows fastest over the next decade.

UOL Publicidade · 2026

Estudo: marcas, Geração Z e marketing geracional

Generational marketing in Brazil, built on global consumer spending data.

Yahoo Finance · 2026

What the world learned from the American century of global consumption

The shift of consumer power away from the US and towards Asia and Africa.

Brookings · February 2026

The present and future of global inequality

Global inequality has declined this century, especially in consumption terms, helping drive the rapid expansion of the global middle class. By Jesus Crespo Cuaresma, Homi Kharas, and Sourav Suman.

World Economic Forum · February 2026

India's consumer growth is happening where you're not looking

93% of India's consumer growth is decentralizing beyond major megacities, creating nearly 500 new consumer cities. By Anna Kiknadze.

World Economic Forum · November 2025

Why businesses should align with time zones and spending rhythms

Timing is the new competitive advantage: how global time zones shape when and where consumer spending happens. By Wolfgang Fengler and Yara Antoniassi.

World Economic Forum · October 2025

How individual households shape global economic development

Household economics and consumer behaviour at the level of individual families drive wider economic development. By Anna Kiknadze and Jonathan Haigh.

World Economic Forum · September 2025

Gen X and their families are driving consumer spending

Gen Xers often act as the household CFO, making key spending decisions across generations. By Wolfgang Fengler and Marta Cyhan Bowles (NIQ).

World Economic Forum · July 2025

How the consumer class continues to rise, against the odds

Despite turbulence, the global consumer class keeps growing and has passed 4 billion people. By Juan Caballero and Ana Sampaio.

World Economic Forum · February 2025

How Gen Beta will fit into and redefine tomorrow's world

Gen Beta, born between 2025 and 2038, will be the most urbanised generation ever and will make up 18% of the world population by 2050. By Juan Caballero and Marco Fengler.

World Economic Forum · June 2024

Cities drive global prosperity, but the way they do so is changing

The economic power of megacities is in slow decline, with smaller cities picking up the pace of consumer growth. By Matthew Cooper and Marco Fengler.

World Economic Forum · May 2024

World prosperity: 4 key data points you need to understand

Prosperity is less prevalent than many assume, but the number of people living well, above $25 a day, keeps rising. By Wolfgang Fengler and Homi Kharas.

World Economic Forum · December 2023

Have we reached peak greenhouse gas emissions?

The average person now accounts for 7.4 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, and the per-capita peak may already be behind us. By Homi Kharas and Wolfgang Fengler.

Brookings · July 2023

How the world consumer class will grow from 4 billion to 5 billion people by 2031

The world reached 4 billion consumers in June 2023, with Asia contributing most of the next billion. By Wolfgang Fengler, Homi Kharas, Juan Caballero, and Luis Simoes.

Brookings · June 2023

Fighting poverty with synthetic data

How synthetic microdata can help policymakers target social programmes at a granular level while protecting privacy. By Jack Gisby, Anna Kiknadze, Isabell Roitner-Fransecky, and Thomas Mitterling.

Brookings · June 2022

Asia's tipping point in the consumer class

Asia's share of the global consumer class passed the halfway mark, with South Asia driving the next decade of growth. By Wolfgang Fengler, Homi Kharas, and Juan Caballero.