Developed economies will see slower growth in the years ahead, but rapid expansion in emerging markets will drive a higher average pace of growth for the global economy, a new report from TD Economics predicts.

The economic report by senior economist Richard Kelly says emerging markets will account for the lion’s share of the global economy in 20 years’ time. The portion of global output contributed by advanced nations will fall to just one-third from its current level of 50%.

“The growing pains of emerging markets over the last twenty years have sown the seeds for a seismic shift in power, influence and dynamism that will mark the next twenty years of economic history,” the report says.

It calls for the global economy to grow at an average pace of 4.5% over the next two decades, driven by the rapid expansion of emerging markets. This compares with an average growth rate of 3.2% in the past 20 years.

TD Economics expects average GDP growth of 2% in Canada in the next two decades, and growth of 2.25% in the United States. Western Europe and Japan will experience even more sluggish growth of 1.2% and 0.9%, respectively, the report says.

In contrast, BRIC economies are expected to grow at a rate of roughly 7.4% over the next two decades.

The report notes that the rapid growth of emerging markets could support GDP growth in resource- and export-dependent economies such as Canada.