A s I began writing this piece, I was trying to convey some sense of the great diversity of peoples and cultures in the Asia-Pacific region-the geographical and demographical extremes across this huge area and the transformations over recent decades that make it the fastest-growing region in the global economy. Then came news of the earthquake off Sumatra and the ensuing catastrophic tsunami that struck on December 26, 2004. Since then the region has been foremost in the minds of people around the globe, as we have struggled to comprehend the scale of the loss and devastation. No one could have foreseen the tragedy or the outpouring of sympathy and support from all corners of the world as people provided aid on an unprecedented scale to help survivors rebuild their lives.
As a result, we have become more conscious than ever of Asia's significant place in the world. Although the disaster underlined the fragility of some of the regional infrastructures, it also highlighted the strength of the bonds between the countries of the region and the rest of the world.
The Asia-Pacific region is home to nearly 60 percent of the world's population. It is becoming increasingly important in the global economy. The World Competitiveness Yearbook, published by the International Institute for Management Development in 2004, stated that six of the world's top ten economies were Asian and that the region's gross domestic product accounted for 23 percent of the world's economy, compared with 17 percent in 1980. Nonetheless, although per capita income in the region has quadrupled in the past twenty years, Asia is still home to many of the world's poorest people, with an estimated 690 million living on less than $1 a day.
However, Asia is also home to considerable numbers of wealthy people, many of whom are entrepreneurs running family businesses. Although Asia's overall population growth rate has slowed considerably, in some countries the rate is still high. This has led to a population that is fairly young: more than 50 percent of the region's people are aged between fifteen and forty-nine. Combined with rising incomes and standards of living, this demographic has resulted in increased consumer spending and stronger domestic demand, and this demand is an important driver of growth in Asian economies. Asia is also home to the world's largest older population: nearly 640 million, or half of the world's people aged fifty and over.
These figures and trends represent just some of the major challenges that the countries in the region will face during the twenty-first century. C. K. Prahalad and Kenneth Lieberthal, in their 1998 Harvard Business Review article "The End of Corporate Imperialism," predicted that by 2010, 40 percent of the world's corporate leaders would be from China, India, or Brazil. Leadership development in the Asia-Pacific region is going to be a key element in the continued growth and future prosperity of an enormous part of the globe.
I hope you will find our inaugural Asian issue of Leadership in Action to be interesting and thought provoking. The articles reflect the diversity that is the Asia Pacific: they seek to achieve a balance between the theoretical and the practical application of leadership in this part of the world.
CCL has started a journey of discovery to learn more about leadership as it appears in the many and varied cultures of Asia. We look forward to sharing this new knowledge with you over the months and years to come.