The Conference Boards StraightTalk on Global Demographics in the September online issue makes us revisit the two questions we hear most often when our customers do their internal Talent Inventory using Taleo and wonder about world demographics.

What about China and India? What about the aging population?

So what about China and India? Together today they represent 40% of the world population, and by 2034 India will overtake China. Less developed countries is where population growth will happen. With the high level of education delivered today in those regions and a way lower GDP with a growth rate of 6%/year, you are not likely to see offshoring stop anytime soon.

What about the aging population? Well it is a reality, but the interesting fact is that we wont see any change in the most advanced economies in the numbers of people in the working age group (20-64) for the next 20 years. In what is just a shift, the 20-44 group will decrease, while the 44-64 group will increase.

So how can developed regions ensure growth going forward with virtually no net workforce growth? Offshoring is one option of course. But maybe the best suggestion came from a recently promoted young CEO of an established midsize firm that I met last week when I was in my native Belgium: Sure, I am leveraging the expertise of the previous CEO, and will do so as long as he will allow me. He has 40 years in this business. I only have 10.