Every year, Fortune publishes the Future 50, a ranking of the world’s largest public companies by their long-term growth prospects, co-developed with Boston Consulting Group (read more on the Future 50 and our methodology). In this series, we assess trends related to the future growth potential of businesses. Our previous article outlined why technology will remain the economy’s key growth engine going forward.

Societies around the globe are aging, as birth rates decline and lifespans increase. This is expected to result in significant economic and societal challenges—driven by a shrinking labor force, increased health expenditures, and more pressure on social safety nets.

Businesses will feel these effects in several ways. For one, the demographic shift will induce a change in demand. In Japan, for example, the domestic diaper market has shifted from the traditional target group (parents of young children) to older adults, who use the products for incontinence control. As wealth becomes concentrated with the elderly, companies must actively pursue opportunities to develop new products and services tailored to older people.

Moreover, there will be a significant change in the composition of the workforce—as younger age groups shrink (see graphic below), and as increasing health spans as well as changes to retirement regulations mean that older people work for longer. With a 60-year-old in the Western world now likely to live another 17 years of healthy life, it will be crucial for firms to improve their inclusion of more experienced workers.