From a new 70-country forecast report (with all figures in US dollars), GroupM has predicted that worldwide expenditure levels will decrease by 1.4%, to $411 billion, next year. Adam Smith, the company's futures director, has announced that, if the company's forecasts are right, ad investment in 2010 will struggle to match 2004 in real terms.

Latin America will be among the best-performing regions in the next two years, seeing annual growth of 6.9% and then 10.7% over this period, taking the regional market to a value of $10.7 billion by 2010.

In the Asia Pacific region, total measured media spending will fall by 2.8% in 2009, to $114 billion, before growing by 3.2%, to $117 billion, over the following 12 months. Within this, however, the Chinese ad market will improve by 3.2% this year and by 8.9% in 2010, while North Asia will also see advertising spending levels rise by 1.4% and 8.3% respectively on the same time periods.

The 10 countries in what is known as the ASEAN region – including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand are expected to see ad revenues rise by 4.3% in '09 and 10.7% in 2010.

While spending levels in Western Europe are expected to decrease by 11.1% in 2009 and 3.5% in 2010 (when ad spending will be at $91 billion), emerging European countries will seeaneven greate greater decrease this year of 16.3% and the an improvement of 2.7% in 2010 (when the regional ad spending will reach $15.4 billion.

The Middle East & Africa will also see a 1.5% decline this year, then an upswing of 7.5% in 2010, to $13 billion.

North American advertising spending will fall 4.2% in 2009v and by 6.1% in 2010, to a total of $150 billion, with the US down by 4.3% in the first year and 6.5% in 2010.

GroupM also forecasts ad spending in Russia will see a 19% sdecrease in 2009, bouncing back 9.1% in 2010.

The data was based on information collected from WPP agencies operating in the 70 countries surveyed.