FT.com / World - Asian economies on ‘demographic cliff’

FT.com / World - Asian economies on ‘demographic cliff’: "Asian economies on ‘demographic cliff’ By Andrew Taylor in London Published: August 12 2007 21:41 | Last updated: August 12 2007 21:41 The rise in the size of Asia’s labour force is expected to slow over the next decade threatening output growth in some of the region’s fastest growing economies, according to the International Labour Organisation. Uneven rates of population growth, ageing workforces, and a huge shift in employment from rural areas to cities pose challenges for the region’s rapidly growing economies it says in a report to be published on Monday. Asia’s workforce is expected to increase by 221m to 2bn by 2015 as countries such as Iran, Bhutan, Cambodia and Pakistan continue to benefit from a rise in the proportion of “prime working-age” people, between 25 and 54. But the life of this “demographic dividend” would be limited with the proportion of children aged 0 to 15 and youth aged 15 to 24 declining across the whole of the region. The ILO warns that more developed regions such as Singapore, South Korea and parts of China are likely to hit the “demographic cliff” even earlier."