The APO region is an area of demographic extremes, including countries with high life expectancies but declining fertility rates, such as Japan, the ROK, and Singapore, and other members with young and expanding workforces that provide potential demographic dividends, such as India, Indonesia, and the Philippines. With the phenomena of urbanization, transmigration, and changing population structures emerging and evolving rapidly in the region, understanding demographic trends and their implications for the labor force and productivity is crucial for welfare policymaking and human capital development.

To examine demographic trends and issues in APO members and provide recommendations for policy designs that address diverse related challenges and opportunities in the region, the Korea Productivity Center collaborated with the APO Secretariat in organizing a digital multicountry workshop on Demographic Trends and Their Implications for Productivity from 14 to 16 September. Forty participants from 12 APO members attended the workshop, with a total of four resource persons from Australia, the ROK, and the Philippines who shared their observations on demographic patterns and issues and suggestions for skill development, technology adoption, and policy strategies.

The delegates discussed major demographic challenges in their countries and exchanged ideas on policy responses to these issues. They also benchmarked against the ROK’s population and social welfare policies for pressing issues such as a declining fertility rate and an aging population, providing references for APO members’ long-term population strategies.