World Consumer Outlook 2025: Navigating Global Uncertainties

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Today, World Data Lab launched their World Consumer Outlook, revealing that global consumer spending is forecast to grow by $3 trillion in 2025, reaching a total of over $61 trillion. This growth reflects increasing incomes and expanding markets rather than inflation, signaling a shift in global economic dynamics.

While headlines capture short-term noise and recent elections have added to consumer uncertainties, the true story is that Consumer Class growth is strong. We project that 2025 growth will be driven less by inflation and more by consumers getting richer compared to 2024." said Homi Kharas, Co-Founder and Chief Economist at World Data Lab.

Consumer spending in 2025 will be nearly evenly split across major regions:
USA: $20 trillion
APAC: $19 trillion
Rest of the World: $22 trillion

World Data Lab projects 129 million new consumers will enter the global consumer class in 2025, with India (+47 million), China (+32 million), and Africa (+11 million) leading the way. This shift highlights the expanding influence of emerging markets in shaping the future of global consumption.

"Emerging economies are not only contributing to growth—they are defining the future. Asia remains the most dynamic consumer growth region for the rest of this decade. Still, the USA outperforms everyone if you are looking for business opportunities," added Indermit Gill, Chief Economist and Senior Vice President for Development Economics, World Bank Group.

Key growth sectors include restaurants, health, and housing. Globally, housing spending is forecast to rise by 5.6%, while health and restaurants will grow 5.7% and 5.8%. These differences in category growth rates are heavily influenced by country-level demographic drivers across the globe.

"Consumer behavioral insights are no longer optional; they are essential. As we navigate this era of uncertainty and disruption, actionable insights are key to unlocking innovation and growth," added Marta Cyhan-Bowles, Chief Communications Officer and Head of Global Marketing at NielsenIQ.

The World Consumer Outlook offers a roadmap for navigating the complexities of today’s global economy. Combining proprietary data with expert analysis, it empowers organizations to turn uncertainty into opportunity, providing clarity on demographic shifts, regional trends, and category-specific growth.

For a detailed look at World Data Lab’s data models, please visit worlddata.pro.

For media inquiries, expert interviews, or additional information, please contact: Anne Mason / Senior Communications and Marketing manager / anne.mason@worlddata.io

About World Data Lab

World Data Lab (WDL) has a mission to create public goods that bring clarity to - and heighten the visibility of - some of the most complex challenges of our time, including the development of datasets and tools that track United Nations SDGs in real-time. To date, this includes tracking poverty, hunger, water scarcity, gender, health, and internet access in close cooperation with leading global organizations and governments. By combining new data sources with groundbreaking modeling methods, WDL assists the public, governments, and other organizations in making data-driven decisions to solve the world's biggest challenges. These tools are developed as part of our mission to democratize data and make it accessible and actionable for everyone. In short, making everyone count.