31-Dec-14 Total health spending accounted for 6.2% of GDP in Mexico in 2012, among the third lowest of all OECD countries. Although improvements such as coverage of the uninsured are being made, and spending is on the increase, Mexico still has the lowest life expectancy in the OECD. [image: OECD]

Latin America’s lack of fiscal discipline is likely to prevent public health from addressing adequately the additional costs of an aging population. That paves the way for massive private sector growth in fields such as telemedicine, healthcare IT, medical devices and medical technologies, that help personalise medicine or improve the efficiency of doctors and other healthcare professionals. [Image: Global Health Intelligence]

02-Oct-14 China's ageing population, the age profile of rural-to-urban migrants and increasing affluence all mean that urban 40-64 year-olds earning over USD20k are the fastest growing population segment. There are currently 98 million and this will more than double to 236 million by 2024, implying a big rise in demand for healthcare and wellness. [image: Global Demographics]

28-Aug-14 The belief that Western Europe and the more affluent parts of Asia will 'run out of' working age people in the coming decades is a myth. A significant increase in propensity to work beyond age 64 and the increased participation of females in these workforces means that countries such as Japan, Korea and Taiwan will in fact have more than enough workers.

22-Jul-14 Korea is one of the most rapidly ageing countries - currently it has the third lowest dependency ratio (economically active people per elderly person) of 5.26, behind only Mexico and Chile, but this will jump to only 1.96 by 2036 - the fifth highest - with huge implications for healthcare and all aspects of medtech.