For example, we know India's population is not going to shrink in the future. In fact, trend analysis indicates that India's population is likely to double in the next half century. Obviously such a population boom will have a tremendous affect on every aspect of India's future. The other trends I cover in the book, besides population which comes under the heading of demographics, are economic and technological trends, environmental, security and social and political trends. It is important to note that trends are not destiny.
People do have the ability to change the future.
But trends can place constraints on the future. Going back to the issue of population growth, that's a problem that will likely take a couple of generations to slow, depending on economic and social conditions. Pollution is more than likely going to rise, especially as rapidly industrializing economies increase production. So, by analyzing these trends, we can suggest the most likely course of a country's future. It's a technique called critical trend analysis.