Many countries with youthful demographics are in Sub-Saharan Africa, which has by far the highest fertility rate globally.84 These demographics will help sustain rising working-age populations for several decades. But a key challenge over the next decade will be to generate employment opportunities on a sufficient scale and that offer job security. The International Labour Organization (ILO) notes that 72% of young adult workers (aged 25 to 29) in the region are in a form of work deemed “insecure”.85 Limited investment in human capital, which is essential to developing an attractive economy that can generate sufficient employment opportunities, is a significant risk.86 Societies that are young today and looking at positive demographic trends for the next decade or more could ultimately follow similar demographic trajectories to the super-ageing societies of today and will then face problems that could be even more complex. While this risk may play out fully only over several decades, eventually low-income, super-ageing societies of the future could face a perfect storm – all the social and economic problems associated with today’s super-ageing societies but without fully developed social safety nets in place, and without the pools of private savings accumulated by some in today’s super- ageing societies. Actions for today A. Further encourage flexible work policies Organizations in both the public and private sectors need to further develop their flexible work policies as part of their Corporate strategies (Figure 2.16), with more options for leaving and coming back to the workforce at different life stages. This will help employees who are taking a non-linear life path, for example, including education, working across different sectors, and professional training or reskilling in the middle of a career, as well as years taken out to care for children or elderly family members before coming back to work.87 B. Campaign to improve pre-retirement health choices A large-scale, multi-faceted public-private effort to improve the health choices of future retirees should be launched. An impactful way to address the long-term care crisis, and to give the elderly the opportunity to contribute productively to the economy, is for individuals to lead healthier lives pre-retirement, thereby diminishing the need for long-term care in the first place. In Singapore, for example, the government is creating a “health district” to help their citizens live healthier, longer lives.88 Such initiatives can include helping people to understand the impacts of building healthy habits early on, focusing on key areas such as exercise, nutrition and social interactions. National and local regulations, the approach cited in the GRPS as having the most potential for driving action on risk reduction and preparedness when it comes to Insufficient public infrastructure and social protections, can play a role in this regard (Figure 2.16). The initiative would have not only an individual dimension, but a patriotic, national- level one, too: By becoming healthier for longer, individuals can contribute to a stronger economy and lower fiscal pressures in the decades ahead. Austin Curtis, Unsplash Global Risks Report 2025 64