The world has seen high consumption and high economic growth going from the 90s into the first decade of the 21st century. The baby boomer generation was the most prosperous modern era so far. The world’s demographics, however, with birth rate and death rate dropping, are constantly changing its shape. This Visual shows where each country locates on a coordinate map as time goes.

The countries in the first quadrant: the US, Australia, India, Mexico, Brazil and China, have a growing population that drive consumption up. The percentage of the young population (15 yo and under) is still higher than the percentage of the old (65 yo and above).

Russia, in the second quadrant, has a larger young population than the old, but its total population is declining nonetheless.

Japan, Portugal, Italy and Greece’s birth and death rate are below zero, so they sit in the third quadrant, having the worst demographics. Besides an aging population, these countries also suffer from a shrinking population.

Countries like Germany, Canada, the UK, France, South Korea and Taiwan have more old people than young people. Their population are aging while total population maintains a positive growth.

This Visual shows the changes in demographics from 1951 to 2100.

X-axis: Population Growth
Y-axis: % of 15 and Under - % of 65 and Above
The first quadrant represents the youngest and the fastest-growing population. Source: UN