VIENNA, AUSTRIA, June 17, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — World Data Lab analysis finds that consumers aged 60 and over already account for 26.4% of all global spending, with the United States alone making up 36% of the world’s “silver economy.”
The world is growing older, and its spending power is moving with it. Consumers aged 60 and over now account for $18.7 trillion in annual spending worldwide, 26.4% of all global consumer spending, according to new analysis from World Data Lab (WDL). That total has nearly doubled in a decade, up from $9.7 trillion in 2016, and is on course to reach $34.2 trillion by 2036.
1.24 billion people aged 60 and over today will become 1.61 billion by 2036. As that group expands, its share of the global wallet keeps climbing, from 22.2% in 2016 to a projected 29.8% by 2036, when nearly one in three dollars spent worldwide will be spent by someone over 60. They are not only more numerous but, individually, among the most valuable consumers on the planet. The average person over 60 spends around $15,200 a year, 75% more than the global per-capita average; the product of rising retirement incomes and a lifetime of accumulated wealth.
That wealth comes into sharpest relief in America, where the over-60s spend $6.7 trillion a year: 36% of all global silver spending, and roughly four times the size of China’s entire 60+ market.
“If Americans aged 60 and over were their own country, they would be the world’s third-largest consumer market, behind only the United States as a whole and China. It took 21 years for that group to add its first $5 trillion in spending; the next $5 trillion will take just 12. Any company building a global strategy for older consumers is, first and foremost, building a U.S. strategy.” Regan Leggett, Client Success, WDL
At an average of $77,345 a year, over-60s are the highest-spending age group in the country, and in a growing number of cities they are becoming the main event: Cape Coral, Florida is on track to be the first U.S. city of more than 300,000 people to draw over half its consumer spending from residents aged 60 and over (already 47% today, and rising to 51% by 2036). Where that money goes is changing too, flowing increasingly toward health products and services, beauty products, and financial services.
North America and Europe are the largest silver markets today, but the fastest growth lies in Asia-Pacific — on track to nearly match North America in size by 2036 — and in emerging markets, where China and India alone will add some $3.5 trillion over the decade.
Two deeper currents run beneath the headline numbers. The first is affluence: globally, the wealthiest tier makes up just 8% of the over-60 population but accounts for 43% of its spending, a skew even more pronounced in the U.S., where higher-income households drive 77% of the group’s spending. The second is generational. Baby Boomers dominate the silver economy today, with 74% of 60+ spending, but they are on course to be overtaken by Generation X around 2036; two large, affluent cohorts cresting at once in what WDL calls the biggest silver spending wave in history.
Underlying all of this is a long-running shift in longevity. Global life expectancy at birth has reached 73.3 years, up 8.4 years since 1995, and the United Nations projects it to climb to 77.2 years by 2050, even as the population aged 60 and over grows more than three times faster than the population as a whole. As people live longer, later life is becoming a longer and far more commercially significant stage than ever before.
“This is not simply the Silver Generation buying more of the same products. Longer lives are creating new needs, preferences and ways of living, giving rise to a $4.5 trillion global market for products and services designed specifically for older adults. From senior living and longevity health to finance and travel, we are only at the beginning of what is likely to become one of the most significant economic opportunities of the coming decades.” Pedro Ros, Founder, Silver Economy
“Today’s older consumers don’t see themselves as old. More than half of Americans over 60 feel younger than their age, and most say they hope to age better than their parents did. That optimism is reshaping demand, especially in health, beauty and wellness, even as the same group shops more deliberately and stays in the workforce longer. Brands that still treat 60+ as a single, declining segment are misreading the fastest-growing opportunity in consumer markets.”Sherry Frey, Vice President, Total Wellness at NielsenIQ
About World Data Lab
ABOUT WORLD DATA LAB
World Data Lab is a Vienna-based consumer intelligence platform that models consumer spending, population, and middle-class growth for every country worldwide. Its data is used by governments, multilateral organizations, and leading global brands to understand where consumer demand is emerging and how it is evolving. The World Poverty Clock and World Data Pro are among its flagship products.
WDL’s World Cup 2026 analysis is based on model run 2026.2.1, using Transfermarkt squad data from May 2026. All spending figures are in 2021 PPP USD unless otherwise noted. Subnational estimates are used for England and Scotland.
MEDIA CONTACT
Anne Mason, VP Marketing and Communications
World Data Lab
anne.mason@worlddatalab.com
worlddatalab.com
Notes to editors
All figures are from World Data Lab’s consumer-spending and population models, with additional consumer-attitude data from NIQ and market sizing from Silver Economy. “60+” refers to people aged 60 and over; spending is measured in nominal U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated.
Selected regional spending by people aged 60+ (2026 → 2036): North America $7.1T → $11.7T (+66%); Europe $5.4T → $8.8T (+63%); Asia-Pacific $4.6T → $10.2T (+120%); the Middle East and North Africa grow fastest. Country detail: United States $6.7T → $11.0T; China $1.9T → $4.6T (+144%); India $0.34T → $1.07T (+215%).
The “silver economy market” of $4.5 trillion (2026) refers to products and services designed specifically for aging populations
Anne Mason
World Data Lab
anne.mason@worlddatalab.com
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