We are living at a time of significant demographic change. The world’s population is expected to grow to about nine billion people by 2050, with the majority of the growth occurring in Africa. At the same time, the global population is more affluent, more educated and more aspirational than ever.

People are also more willing to relocate to realise their potential. Urban regions around the world are growing at a rate of more than one million people every week and this rate of growth is expected to continue for at least the next 30 years.

Birth rates are falling in many regions around the world, while life expectancy is increasing. Half of all the people that have ever reached the age of 65 are alive today; and it is forecast that, by 2035, there will be more than 1.1 billion people exceeding the age of 65. The working-age population has already started to decline in Japan and some European countries (a trend expected to become much wider by 2030), leaving a shrinking labour force to support an increasingly large elderly population.

The next 30 years will also see the first generation of citizens born in a technology-enabled world grow into adulthood, with different lifestyle and relationship expectations. Many emerging economies will continue to have a significant proportion of their population aged under 20, presenting significant challenges around how governments manage and meet the expectations of their young people.

Read more from this year's KPMG/Irish Farmers Journal Agribusiness report here.