After recovering from the global financial and economic crisis with remarkable speed and vigor, Asia now faces the fundamental challenge of sustaining economic growth in the medium and long term. The external environment is likely to be less favorable for Asia’s spectacularly successful export-led growth strategy in light of the prospective weakness
of the advanced economies and their declining demand for imports. In addition, Asia faces the challenge of population aging. The youthful populations that contributed substantially to growth in the past are maturing; even countries that currently have relatively youthful populations will experience substantial graying in the years to come.