Small investments can produce an enormous economic effect. This is one of the key conclusions of the report The Longevity Dividend, presented at the «Summer Davos 2026» in Dalian, China.
The study’s central idea sounds almost paradoxical: the biggest gains in the longevity economy come not from fantastical biotechnologies, but from simple, cheap, and long-familiar solutions — a safe home, movement, and affordable hearing aids.
Just three low-tech measures could deliver more than $5.8 trillion in savings for healthcare systems by 2040, plus another $645 billion in productivity gains.
The first is protecting homes against falls. Handrails, illuminated staircases, anti-slip surfaces, and the absence of thresholds could prevent 400 million falls by 2040. The initial investment is estimated at $393 billion, with potential savings for global healthcare of $5.4 trillion.
The second is physical activity. Nearly a third of the world’s population does not get even 150 minutes of moderate activity per week. Yet public movement programs cost just $1–40 per person. Increasing activity by two hours per week could prevent more than 8.5 million new cases of type 2 diabetes by 2040 — of which 3.2 million would be in China and 1.6 million in India. The economic effect: more than $120 billion in productivity gains.
The third is hearing aids. Around 400 million people worldwide could use them, but fewer than 20% have access. Expanding access could prevent 2.4 million cases of dementia and save more than $320 billion in healthcare costs. Context matters: dementia has already become one of the most expensive diseases of an aging world — in 2019, according to WHO estimates, it cost the global economy $1.3 trillion.
For BRICS+ and the countries of the Global South, this is not an abstract social agenda. Aging long ago ceased to be a problem only for Japan and Europe. The demographic shift is moving fastest in economies that, until recently, were considered «young.» By 2040, the number of people over 65 will grow by 80% in the UAE, 75% in Indonesia, 69% in China, 68% in India, and 59% in Brazil.
This means that the key economies of the Global South are entering the era of the silver economy earlier than their healthcare, insurance, employment, urban environment, and pension-planning systems are able to adapt to it.
For business, the conclusion is straightforward: the longevity market is not only clinics, medicines, and premium wellness. It is adapted housing, insurance, corporate health programs, diabetes prevention, hearing devices, rehabilitation, fitness for older age groups, home care, financial products for a long life, and age-tech.
In other words, the silver economy in BRICS+ is no longer a niche «for the elderly.» It is a new infrastructure of consumption, employment, and urban development. And the winners will be those who understand sooner than others: longevity sells not as eternal youth, but as the ability to stay healthy, independent, and economically active for longer.
