The global demand for learning

Demand for education will be driven by a growing middle class across emerging markets

“This decade, the global middle class will almost double in size to more than three billion people. Nearly all of that growth will be in the developing world.

As consumers join the middle class and earn higher incomes, they tend to invest more in education.”

John Fallon, chief executive
Household income spent on education %, US 2.1%, India 11.1%, China 13.1%. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Office of National Statistics, Credit Suisse

Structural change in the world of education

“We continue to see significant structural change, including a shift from print to digital content and from classroom instruction to online learning. This shift to digital is profoundly changing the business model for content: it means one-off sales will diminish while subscription sales, most bundled with services, will grow.”

John Fallon, chief executive

Number of US college students taking
at least one online course

Graph, 2002: 1.6m, 2011: 6.7m. Source: Babson annual online learning survey
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