How the future looks as of September 25, 2012
Brian Gongol
What's new since the last update
| Year | Years from now | Event | Source | Source date |
| 2013 | 1 | Second phase of Kyoto Protocol takes effect | Economic Times | 2009.12.28 |
| 2013 | 1 | Banana crops worldwide critically threatened by fungal disease | The Guardian | 2003.01.16 |
| 2013 | 1 | End of Hubble Space Telescope's useful life | Discovery Channel | 2007.12.21 |
| 2013 | 1 | US segment of NEPTUNE undersea monitoring network completed | National Geographic | 2007.08.27 |
| 2013 | 1 | ADS-B (advanced air traffic and weather detection for aircraft) ground infrastructure operating across US | Washington Technology | 2007.09.17 |
| 2013 | 1 | NASA launches James Webb Space Telescope | NASA | 2007.08.23 |
| 2013 | 1 | Medicare becomes insolvent | Social Security and Medicare Board of Trustees | 2008.03.25 |
| 2013 | 1 | All new cars in US required to have side-impact protection (air bags) to prevent head injuries | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | 2007.08.30 |
| 2013 | 1 | Best Buy reaches $80 billion in annual sales | Minneapolis Star-Tribune | 2008.06.25 |
| 2014 | 2 | Sochi Winter Olympics | International Olympic Committee | 2007.08.09 |
| 2014 | 2 | Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and Hyundai produce 5.6 million vehicles annually in US | Ward's AutoWorld | 2007.08.01 |
| 2014 | 2 | No Child Left Behind requires all students to test in reading and math at grade level | Washington Post | 2007.03.14 |
| 2014 | 2 | Ontario closes all coal-fired power plants | Toronto Star | 2007.07.13 |
| 2014 | 2 | Worldwide temperatures average 0.5°F above 2004 temperatures | BBC News | 2007.08.09 |
| 2014 | 2 | Earliest date for Turkey to join the EU | Forbes | 2007.07.23 |
| 2014 | 2 | 25th anniversary of Tiananmen Square uprising | Frontline | 2006.04.11 |
| 2014 | 2 | All US residents have electronic medical records | Ars Technica | 2006.07.19 |
| 2014 | 2 | Panama Canal widening project complete | The Independent | 2007.09.03 |
| 2015 | 3 | Kenya obtains first malaria vaccine | AllAfrica | 2010.04.26 |
| 2015 | 3 | Two million people die per year of preventable tuberculosis | UN News Centre | 2011.03.24 |
| 2015 | 3 | Microsoft introduces successor to Xbox gaming console | HTLounge.net | 2011.03.24 |
| 2015 | 3 | Genomes of stomach, breast, liver, mouth, brain, ovarian, and pancreatic cancers fully recorded | BBC News | 2009.12.16 |
| 2015 | 3 | GE offers net-zero-energy homes to consumers | CNet | 2009.07.14 |
| 2015 | 3 | Deaths outnumber births in EU | International Herald Tribune | 2008.08.26 |
| 2015 | 3 | Common currency in place for several Persian Gulf nations | Gulf News | 2007.10.02 |
| 2015 | 3 | 55% of the area around Chernobyl allowed to return to use | International Atomic Energy Agency | 2006 |
| 2015 | 3 | Canadian industrial air pollution cut by 50% over 2007 levels | Environment Canada | 2007.04.26 |
| 2015 | 3 | Mass production of self-driving cars | PC Magazine | 2007.06.20 |
| 2015 | 3 | One-third of US combat vehicles are unmanned | The Guardian | 2007.08.18 |
| 2015 | 3 | Honda recycles 95% of used vehicle components in Japan | Honda | 2005 |
| 2015 | 3 | Corn yields average 200 bushels per acre in US | National Corn Growers Association | 2007.03.01 |
| 2015 | 3 | Earliest projections for peak oil production | National Petroleum Council | 2007.07.18 |
| 2015 | 3 | Medical spending on credit cards reaches $150 billion annually | Fort Wayne Journal Gazette | 2008.09.07 |
| 2015 | 3 | Iran has its first nuclear weapon | Washington Post | 2005.08.02 |
| 2015 | 3 | Minnesota utilities required by law to get 15% of energy from renewable sources | Austin Daily Herald | 2007.09.13 |
| 2015 | 3 | Prototype vertical farm completed in Dongtan, China | Electric New paper | 2008.11.25 |
| 2015 | 3 | Thin-film photovoltaics market reaches $7.2 billion (7 times larger than in 2007) | Nanomarkets | 2007.08.06 |
| 2015 | 3 | 22 cities around the world have more than 10 million inhabitants | Daily Telegraph | 2007.09.03 |
| 2015 | 3 | India becomes world's third-largest emitter of carbon dioxide | International Energy Agency | 2007.11.07 |
| 2015 | 3 | China and Chile reach $60 billion in bilateral trade (double the 2011 amount) | Reuters | 2012.06.26 |
| 2015 | 3 | Permanent sarcophagus over Chernobyl power plant completed | Battelle | 2012.05.24 |
| 2015 | 3 | Production glut in solar panels levels out to match demand | Reuters | 2012.06.26 |
| 2015 | 3 | Federal Reserve considers raising interest rates above near-zero | Marketwatch | 2012.09.25 |
| 2016 | 4 | Auto sales in India reach 3,000,000 vehicles per year | Bloomberg | 2007.05.03 |
| 2016 | 4 | Ultra-HDTV debuts | PC Magazine | 2007.06.20 |
| 2016 | 4 | UK landfills full | The Guardian | 2007.04.27 |
| 2016 | 4 | US Air Force uses 50% synthetic (non-petroleum) fuels for aircraft | Air Force Times | 2007.07.23 |
| 2016 | 4 | Seniors (over 65) outnumber children (under 15) in South Korea | Korea Times | 2007.10.01 |
| 2016 | 4 | Energy production in British Columbia is carbon-neutral | CBC | 2007.10.01 |
| 2017 | 5 | China allows Hong Kong to democratically elect its chief executive | South China Morning Post | 2007.12.21 |
| 2017 | 5 | Domestic robots express emotions and provide companionship | Daily Telegraph | 2007.02.18 |
| 2017 | 5 | Second Life exceeds size of the Internet | The Register | 2007.08.01 |
| 2017 | 5 | All Canadian border guards armed with guns | The Economist | 2007.09.15 |
| 2017 | 5 | US produces 35 billion gallons of ethanol per year | National Research Council | 2007.10.10 |
| 2017 | 5 | First "vertical farm" (skyscraper for hydroponic production) constructed | Popular Science | 2007.07 |
| 2017 | 5 | US general aviation fleet exceeds 250,000 aircraft | FAA | 2005 |
| 2017 | 5 | US commercial airlines fly 1.256 trillion passenger miles | FAA | 2005 |
| 2017 | 5 | 5000 microjets in service in US airspace | FAA | 2005 |
| 2017 | 5 | GPS units become accurate to a matter of centimeters throughout the US | National Geodetic Survey | 2007.02.12 |
| 2018 | 6 | Stem cells routinely banked from extracted wisdom teeth | The Telegraph | 2008.08.22 |
| 2018 | 6 | China's GDP exceeds US GDP | The Independent | 2009.10.07 |
| 2018 | 6 | Completion of modernization program at O'Hare airport | FAA | 2005.10.30 |
| 2018 | 6 | US Air Force adds new long-range bomber | Government Executive | 2007.06.13 |
| 2018 | 6 | US power plants reduce sulfur dioxide emisions by 73% over 2002 levels | White House | 2002.02.14 |
| 2019 | 7 | Medicare trust fund exhausted | Social Security and Medicare Board of Trustees | 2007.04.23 |
| 2019 | 7 | Demonstration of commercial-scale nuclear hydrogen production | Department of Energy | 2005 |
| 2019 | 7 | Flexible OLED screens reach mass market | PC Magazine | 2007.06.20 |
| 2019 | 7 | Cumulative shortfall in US drinking-water infrastructure investment reaches $100 billion | Environmental Protection Agency | 2006.09.29 |
| 2019 | 7 | Cumulative shortfall in US wastewater infrastructure investment reaches $120 billion | Environmental Protection Agency | 2006.09.29 |
| 2020 | 8 | 500,000 regular vehicles converted with hybrid-power retrofit kits | Automotive World | 2011.10.13 |
| 2020 | 8 | China launches orbiting space station | The Guardian | 2010.09.20 |
| 2020 | 8 | World "middle class" includes 3.2 billion people | Brookings Institution | 2010.03.15 |
| 2020 | 8 | China has more than 200 million automobiles | People's Daily | 2010.09.06 |
| 2020 | 8 | Qatar hosts World Cup | CBS News | 2011.03.24 |
| 2020 | 8 | US has world's largest number of college graduates annually | Deseret News | 2011.03.22 |
| 2020 | 8 | Four 1400-megawatt nuclear power plants completed for UAE | New York Times | 2009.12.27 |
| 2020 | 8 | 20% of all plastics in Japan come from renewable sources | Plastics Today | 2009.10.04 |
| 2020 | 8 | 75 million Africans suffer water shortages due to climate change | Nature Reports | 2007.07 |
| 2020 | 8 | Solar energy industry employs 2 million Americans | Newsweek | 2007.10.08 |
| 2020 | 8 | 20% of US teenagers are Latinos | National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy | 2003.04 |
| 2020 | 8 | Turkey becomes largest country in Europe | The Economist | 2007.03.15 |
| 2020 | 8 | All US aircraft equipped with ADS-B advanced air traffic and weather detection system | FAA | 2007.06.29 |
| 2020 | 8 | Self-piloted vehicles reach mainstream | Channel 4 | 2005.08.03 |
| 2020 | 8 | Texas has high-speed rail system linking Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio | Daily Texan | 2009.02.02 |
| 2020 | 8 | Russia launches independent space station | Daily Tech | 2009.02.03 |
| 2020 | 8 | Maritime sector becomes largest source of major air pollutants in Europe | EU Commission | 2005.09.21 |
| 2020 | 8 | Scotland's population enters long-term decline | General Register Office for Scotland | 2005.10.20 |
| 2020 | 8 | UK builds 3 million additional homes over 2007 levels | London Evening Standard | 2007.09.14 |
| 2020 | 8 | China places a robotic rover on the moon | BBC News | 2005.08.12 |
| 2020 | 8 | Substantially all US urban wastewater infrastructure built under Clean Water Act reaches end of useful life | Environmental Protection Agency | 2006.09.29 |
| 2020 | 8 | NASA's Orion spacecraft carries out first manned trip to Moon | NASA | 2007.08.08 |
| 2020 | 8 | Ireland gets 500 megawatts of electricity from wave power | The Guardian | 2007.09.20 |
| 2020 | 8 | Australia begins withdrawing money from sovereign development fund | ANZ Investment Bank | 2007.06.27 |
| 2020 | 8 | Commercialization of vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells | US Department of Energy | 2005.12 |
| 2020 | 8 | All new homes in France are built to be energy self-sufficient | Agence France-Presse | 2007.09.27 |
| 2020 | 8 | Launch date for asteroid interceptor with nuclear warheads | Flight International | 2007.08.03 |
| 2020 | 8 | Connecticut law requires 20% of all energy in state to come from renewable sources | Mass High Tech | 2009.02.03 |
| 2020 | 8 | China employs 7.7 million people in auto industry | China Economic Net | 2007.09.14 |
| 2020 | 8 | Germany gets 25% of its energy from renewable sources | Washington Post | 2007.05.05 |
| 2020 | 8 | 120 million passengers pass through Heathrow Airport every year | Times of London | 2007.11.22 |
| 2020 | 8 | F-16 fighters reach end of useful life in USAF | The Hill | 2009.02.03 |
| 2020 | 8 | Britain has 195,000 residential wind turbines generating electricity | Daily Telegraph | 2008.11.24 |
| 2020 | 8 | Coca-Cola invests $5 billion in product development and distribution in India (2012-2020) | Bloomberg Businessweek | 2012.06.26 |
| 2020 | 8 | Peak US domestic oil output | Reuters | 2012.06.25 |
| 2020 | 8 | North Dakota's population reaches 800,000 to accommodate oil boom | Jamestown (ND) Sun | 2012.09.25 |
| 2020 | 8 | China spends 2.5% of GDP on research and development | Marketwatch | 2012.09.23 |
| 2021 | 9 | China has 23 million single males | Texas A&M University | 2005.09 |
| 2021 | 9 | Iran sends its first astronaut to space | The National (Abu Dhabi) | 2009.02.04 |
| 2022 | 10 | India has 150 million skilled workers | Times of India | 2010.09.20 |
| 2022 | 10 | Annual increase in life expectancy exceeds 365 days | Reason Magazine | 2007.07.27 |
| 2022 | 10 | Geni project creates alternative to conventional Internet | The Guardian | 2007.08.01 |
| 2022 | 10 | Federal law mandates production of 36 billion gallons of biofuels per year | FarmWeek | 2007.12.20 |
| 2022 | 10 | Ken Burns's contract with PBS goes up for renewal | PBS | 2007.01.13 |
| 2023 | 11 | Australia raises pension-eligibility age to 67 | Herald Sun | 2009.12.28 |
| 2023 | 11 | US domestic oil reserves exhausted | National Petroleum Council | 2007.07.18 |
| 2023 | 11 | Computers with equivalent to human brain capacity sell for $1,000 | The Guardian | 2003.09.23 |
| 2023 | 11 | Dutch company attempts to settle colonists on Mars for reality show | Space.com | 2012.06.26 |
| 2024 | 12 | Universal access to basic sewage treatment in Brazil | International Water and Sanitation Centre | 2006.02.07 |
| 2024 | 12 | US establishes permanent manned base on Moon | CNN | 2006.12.05 |
| 2025 | 13 | US automotive fleets to meet mandatory average fuel economy of 54.5 miles per gallon | San Antonio Express-News | 2011.10.12 |
| 2025 | 13 | China puts an astronaut on the Moon | The Guardian | 2010.09.20 |
| 2025 | 13 | Kinshasa, Zaire, has world's largest single-city population of children under age 15 | Financial Times | 2011.03.24 |
| 2025 | 13 | Bridgeport, Connecticut, has highest US GDP per capita | San Francisco Chronicle | 2011.03.24 |
| 2025 | 13 | Britain opens 250-mph rail line between London and West Midlands | BBC News | 2009.12.27 |
| 2025 | 13 | 75% of obese people worldwide live in developing nations | The East African | 2009.12.28 |
| 2025 | 13 | Mag-lev trains connect major cities in Japan | Engadget | 2008.01.01 |
| 2025 | 13 | 75% of Americans live in coastal counties | NOAA | 2000 |
| 2025 | 13 | Health care takes up 25% of US GDP | Wall Street Journal | 2008.11.24 |
| 2025 | 13 | India's population exceeds China's | United Nations Population Division | 2006 |
| 2025 | 13 | Minnesota utilities required by law to get 30% of energy from renewable sources | Austin Daily Herald | 2007.09.13 |
| 2025 | 13 | 25% of electricity in Minnesota comes from renewable sources | Winona Daily News | 2008.09.07 |
| 2025 | 13 | US faces shortage of 500,000 registered nurses | Muskogee (OK) Daily Phoenix | 2008.09.06 |
| 2025 | 13 | India becomes world's third-largest net importer of oil | MeriNews | 2007.11.10 |
| 2025 | 13 | ESA conducts human mission to the Moon | European Space Agency | 2002.10.11 |
| 2025 | 13 | Two-thirds of world population faces water shortages | The Futurist | 2007.07 |
| 2025 | 13 | One-third of people on Earth suffer water shortages | Albany Times-Union | 2008.09.07 |
| 2025 | 13 | Hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles and sites found nationwide in the US | US Department of Energy | 2005.12 |
| 2025 | 13 | 0.6% of adults in US infected with HIV/AIDS | United Nations Population Division | 2006 |
| 2025 | 13 | End of first phase of four-team college football playoff | ESPN | 2012.06.27 |
| 2025 | 13 | World's tallest building reaches one mile high | Houston Chronicle | 2012.09.25 |
| 2026 | 14 | Maximum expected life of original Chernobyl containment structure | International Atomic Energy Agency | 2006 |
| 2026 | 14 | High-resolution recording of an individual's entire life experience | Daily Telegraph | 2006.12.13 |
| 2026 | 14 | Las Vegas metro population reaches 3.3 million | Nevada State Demographer's Office | 2006.07 |
| 2027 | 15 | Oil prices reach $150 per barrel | The Independent | 2007.09.17 |
| 2027 | 15 | China's GDP exceeds US GDP | The Economist | 2007.06.28 |
| 2028 | 16 | Medicare and Medicaid consume 10% of US GDP | Congressional Budget Office | 2007.07.25 |
| 2028 | 16 | Medicare expenditures exceed Social Security expenditures | Social Security and Medicare Board of Trustees | 2008.03.25 |
| 2029 | 17 | Dementia affects 1.4 million people in Britain | Times of London | 2009.02.04 |
| 2029 | 17 | Youngest Baby Boomers reach age 65 | US Census Bureau | 2006.01.03 |
| 2029 | 17 | Computers reach equivalency with human brain power | BBC News | 2008.02.16 |
| 2030 | 18 | World "middle class" includes 4.9 billion people | Brookings Institution | 2010.03.15 |
| 2030 | 18 | Chinese global trade exceeds US global trade | BBC News | 2011.03.24 |
| 2030 | 18 | Brazil, Russia, India, and China account for half of world GDP | Xinhua | 2011.03.24 |
| 2030 | 18 | Coal accounts for 29% of world energy supply | The Telegraph | 2009.12.27 |
| 2030 | 18 | Ratio of non-working pensioners to working taxpayers reaches 2:1 in Canada | Calgary Herald | 2009.12.27 |
| 2030 | 18 | Number of nuclear power plants worldwide reaches 860 (double the number in 2009) | JoongAng Daily | 2009.12.28 |
| 2030 | 18 | World's urban population reaches one billion | Daily Telegraph | 2009.12.28 |
| 2030 | 18 | 350 million people worldwide have diabetes | Indian Express | 2009.10.07 |
| 2030 | 18 | Wind provides 20% of US electricity | Montana State University | 2008.10.14 |
| 2030 | 18 | 80% of world's population lives in developing countries | UN Population Fund | 2007 |
| 2030 | 18 | Mormons make up less than 50% of Utah's population | Salt Lake Tribune | 2007.11.19 |
| 2030 | 18 | 5 billion people live in cities worldwide | International Herald Tribune | 2007.09.28 |
| 2030 | 18 | 5 million Americans live in nursing homes | Chicago Tribune | 2007.11.18 |
| 2030 | 18 | Japan inaugurates manned moon base | Discover Magazine | 2006.11.28 |
| 2030 | 18 | Thames Barrier effectiveness falls to half of design capacity | UK Environment Agency | 2007 |
| 2030 | 18 | EU gets 50% of its natural gas from Russia | The Economist | 2007.09.13 |
| 2030 | 18 | Photovoltaic solar energy is price-competitive with any other low-emissions generation technology | PhysOrg | 2005.11.16 |
| 2030 | 18 | Inter-city train service in UAE starts service in bid to discourage construction of skyscrapers | Gulf News | 2007.09.13 |
| 2030 | 18 | Florida's population reaches 28.6 million | Orlando Business Journal | 2007.11.19 |
| 2030 | 18 | Road traffic in Japan is 2.6% lower than in 2005 due to falling birthrates and rising ages | Japan Times | 2008.11.27 |
| 2030 | 18 | 65% of European energy comes from imports | International Herald Tribune | 2007.09.19 |
| 2030 | 18 | US corn production averages 300 bushels per acre | Ethanol Producer | 2007.10 |
| 2030 | 18 | Ozone levels in low atmosphere cause widespread respiratory problems | Institute of Physics | 2005.06.08 |
| 2030 | 18 | World oil demand exceeds 2008 levels by 35% | Marketwatch | 2008.06.10 |
| 2030 | 18 | China has 270 million vehicles on the road | Wired | 2007.11.07 |
| 2030 | 18 | California has high-speed rail system connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles | California High-Speed Rail Authority | 2008.11 |
| 2030 | 18 | ESA conducts first human mission to Mars | European Space Agency | 2006.01.09 |
| 2030 | 18 | Global electricity demand is double that of 2009 | Gulf News | 2009.02.03 |
| 2030 | 18 | US inflation rate reaches 4% per year | Newsweek | 2007.09.24 |
| 2030 | 18 | Ratio of workers to retirees is 2:1 in Europe | European Parliament | 2008.11.25 |
| 2030 | 18 | US electricity consumption 45% above 2005 levels | Energy Information Administration | 2007.02 |
| 2030 | 18 | Russia has 40 more nuclear reactors than in 2007 | Radio Free Europe | 2007.09.29 |
| 2030 | 18 | China's per-capita emissions of carbon dioxide exceed those of western Europe | International Energy Agency | 2007.11.07 |
| 2030 | 18 | Jamaica achieves 'developed nation' status | Government of Jamaica | 2007.01 |
| 2030 | 18 | Fossil fuels provide 75% of world energy | National Petroleum Council | 2007.07.18 |
| 2030 | 18 | Biofuels supply 4% of world road fuel | International Energy Agency | 2006 |
| 2030 | 18 | One-third of world relies on primary biofuels (like wood and charcoal) for most energy | International Energy Agency | 2006 |
| 2030 | 18 | Internet access regularly reaches 50% of world population | The Hindu | 2009.02.04 |
| 2030 | 18 | World oil demand reaches plateau | Statoil | 2012.06.21 |
| 2030 | 18 | Death rates from cancer fall by almost 20% from 2010 levels | The Independent | 2012.09.25 |
| 2030 | 18 | Cities occupy three times their land area in 2012 | Discovery News | 2012.09.24 |
| 2030 | 18 | More than half of the people in 39 states will be obese | Fox News | 2012.09.18 |
| 2031 | 19 | 100% of population growth in Canada comes from immigration | Vancouver 24 | 2007.10.26 |
| 2031 | 19 | UK population rises to 71 million | Office of National Statistics | 2007.10.23 |
| 2031 | 19 | 34 million people live in Mumbai metro area | Economic Times | 2007.09.28 |
| 2031 | 19 | Married adults a minority in England | The Guardian | 2005.09.30 |
| 2032 | 20 | Shortages force per-capita water consumption in Sydney to fall by half of 2007 levels | Daily Telegraph | 2007.08.30 |
| 2032 | 20 | 50th anniversary of EPCOT Center | 2719 Hyperion | 2007.07.24 |
| 2032 | 20 | Half of new cars in the US will be fully electric | Reuters | 2012.06.23 |
| 2033 | 21 | China's population reaches 1.5 billion | The Guardian | 2008.02.28 |
| 2035 | 23 | India has 373 million vehicles on the road | Economic Times | 2009.12.28 |
| 2035 | 23 | EU population peaks at 521 million | International Herald Tribune | 2008.08.26 |
| 2035 | 23 | China reaches "large-scale utilization" of solar energy | Meridian Institute | 2009.02.03 |
| 2036 | 24 | Average Australian baby weighs 10 pounds at birth | News.com.au | 2008.06.11 |
| 2036 | 24 | US telephone numbers exhausted | North American Numbering Plan Administration | 2006.10 |
| 2036 | 24 | Near-Earth passage of asteroid Apophis | NASA JPL | 2006.10.19 |
| 2036 | 24 | Bacteriophages widely used to prevent food-borne infections | ABC News | 2006.11.02 |
| 2040 | 28 | US population reaches 400 million | USA Today | 2007.09.12 |
| 2040 | 28 | Russia runs out of oil profits | RIA Novosti | 2008.06.03 |
| 2040 | 28 | Computer processors reach parity with human brain capacity | Metro Halifax | 2009.02.03 |
| 2040 | 28 | Neurodegenerative conditions overtake cancer as world's leading cause of death | Science Daily | 2008.06.10 |
| 2040 | 28 | Middle class in southern and eastern Asia totals 2 billion people | Motley Fool | 2007.10.25 |
| 2040 | 28 | HCFCs eliminated worldwide under Montreal Protocol | United Nations | 2007.09.13 |
| 2040 | 28 | California's population reaches 60 million | Brentwood Press | 2007.09.29 |
| 2040 | 28 | Global warming eliminates most Arctic sea ice | National Geographic | 2006.12.12 |
| 2040 | 28 | World oil production peaks | Times of London | 2009.02.03 |
| 2040 | 28 | Texas state population reaches 50 million | Daily Texan | 2009.02.02 |
| 2040 | 28 | Natural gas demand increases by 60% over 2012 levels | Statoil | 2012.06.21 |
| 2040 | 28 | Fossil fuels provide 73% of world energy | Statoil | 2012.06.21 |
| 2040 | 28 | 75% of cars will be self-piloted | Forbes | 2012.09.25 |
| 2040 | 28 | Dallas and Austin recycle more than 80% of metropolitan solid waste | Texas Tribune | 2012.09.21 |
| 2041 | 29 | Social Security trust fund exhausted | Social Security and Medicare Board of Trustees | 2008.03.25 |
| 2042 | 30 | United States has no racial majority | NPR | 2009.10.06 |
| 2045 | 33 | US Postal Service has $1 trillion in unfunded liabilities for health care | Miami Herald | 2008.06.06 |
| 2045 | 33 | Global life expectancy reaches 75 years | United Nations Population Division | 2006 |
| 2046 | 34 | Oldest Baby Boomers reach age 100 | US Census Bureau | 2006.01.03 |
| 2047 | 35 | 25% of Australian population is over age 65 | Herald Sun | 2009.12.28 |
| 2047 | 35 | Hong Kong's status as special administrative region of China expires | Heritage Foundation | 2007 |
| 2048 | 36 | Ozone layer returns to pre-1980 levels over most of planet | Daily Mail | 2010.09.20 |
| 2048 | 36 | India overtakes China as world's largest economy (with United States 3rd) | Plastics and Rubber Weekly | 2012.09.17 |
| 2049 | 37 | China's national goal to become a world technological power | Chinese Radio International | 2012.09.23 |
| 2050 | 38 | China and India represent 50% of world's "middle-class" consumption | Brookings Institution | 2010.03.15 |
| 2050 | 38 | Robots beat the best human soccer players in the world | The Register | 2010.09.14 |
| 2050 | 38 | India's economy reaches third-largest in world | Times of India | 2010.09.17 |
| 2050 | 38 | South Korea is fifth-largest producer of "green" energy products | JoongAng Daily | 2009.12.28 |
| 2050 | 38 | Half of people in developed nations are over age 40 | Daily Telegraph | 2008.11.27 |
| 2050 | 38 | 100 million people worldwide have Alzheimer's | Hartford Courant | 2008.09.07 |
| 2050 | 38 | India has 51 million people over age 80 | Times of India | 2007.09.30 |
| 2050 | 38 | 50% of agricultural lands in Latin America lost to desertification and salinization | Nature Reports | 2007.07 |
| 2050 | 38 | Biofuels account for 13% of liquid fuels in the US | MIT Technology Review | 2007.09.13 |
| 2050 | 38 | Netherlands surrenders 222,000 acres of land to new river floodplains | National Geographic | 2001.09.04 |
| 2050 | 38 | Russia's population falls below 100 million | Radio Free Europe | 2006.05.19 |
| 2050 | 38 | Minnesota utilities required by law to get 80% of energy from renewable sources | Austin Daily Herald | 2007.09.13 |
| 2050 | 38 | Average age in European Union is 49 | European Parliament | 2008.11.25 |
| 2050 | 38 | One-third of EU residents are over age 65 | BBC News | 2007.09.13 |
| 2050 | 38 | 20% of Americans are over age 65 | Washington Post | 2008.11.22 |
| 2050 | 38 | World population reaches 9.2 billion | United Nations Population Division | 2006 |
| 2050 | 38 | 48.3 million Americans have diabetes | WISN-TV | 2008.10.14 |
| 2050 | 38 | Earliest expected date for the B-52 to be retired from the US Air Force | Air Force Link | 2007.10 |
| 2050 | 38 | China plans to gain 'electronic dominance' over rival nations, including the US | Times of London | 2007.09.08 |
| 2050 | 38 | Medicare and Medicaid consume 20% of US GDP | Congressional Budget Office | 2007.07.25 |
| 2050 | 38 | Japan's population falls below 100 million | New York Times | 2005.12.17 |
| 2050 | 38 | Two-thirds of all existing US structures less than 40 years old | Los Angeles Times | 2007.09.21 |
| 2050 | 38 | Antarctic ozone hole repaired | BBC News | 2000.12.03 |
| 2050 | 38 | India's GDP exceeds US GDP | The Economist | 2007.06.28 |
| 2050 | 38 | Pensions absorb 25% of GDP in Greece | Kathimerini | 2007.11.10 |
| 2050 | 38 | 25% of US population is of Hispanic origin | USDA | 2007.09.19 |
| 2050 | 38 | 17% of world population will be over age 65 | US Census Bureau | 2012.06.27 |
| 2050 | 38 | Micro-manufacturing and artisan brands eclipse mainstream brand names | Marketing Magazine | 2012.09.20 |
| 2052 | 40 | Computers will express consciousness, feelings, and personalities | CNet | 2012.09.21 |
| 2060 | 48 | Ocean acidification reduces Maine's shellfish harvest by 25% over early-2000s levels | MaineBiz | 2009.10.05 |
| 2060 | 48 | Irish population exceeds pre-famine levels | Irish Herald | 2008.08.27 |
| 2060 | 48 | First fighter aircraft designed and built in India reaches production | India Defence | 2007.10.25 |
| 2060 | 48 | Irish women reach average life expectancy of 91 years | Irish Independent | 2007.10.18 |
| 2060 | 48 | UK has the largest population of any country in Europe | Press Association | 2008.08.27 |
| 2060 | 48 | Temperatures in Los Angeles area rise by 4 to 5 degrees over 2012 levels | Los Angeles Times | 2012.06.21 |
| 2061 | 49 | African middle class reaches one billion people | Wall Street Journal | 2011.10.13 |
| 2061 | 49 | 27% of population of New Zealand is over age 65 | New Zealand Herald | 2009.12.28 |
| 2066 | 54 | Half a million people in the UK are over age 100 | The Guardian | 2010.12.30 |
| 2070 | 58 | Himalayan glaciers 40% smaller than in early 2000s | The Guardian | 2009.10.04 |
| 2070 | 58 | Vietnam completely cleared of mines from civil war | VietNamNet | 2008.08.17 |
| 2070 | 58 | Autonomous police cars patrol streets | Silicon.com | 2008.08.13 |
| 2073 | 61 | Ozone layer returns to pre-1980 levels over entire planet, including poles | Daily Mail | 2010.09.20 |
| 2075 | 63 | Health-care spending reaches 46.2% of US GDP | Congressional Budget Office | 2007.11 |
| 2080 | 68 | 20% decline in world food production potential over 2007 levels due to global warming | Voice of America | 2007.09.13 |
| 2080 | 68 | British women reach an average life expectancy of 100 years | The Telegraph | 2007.01.10 |
| 2082 | 70 | Health care takes up 49% of US GDP | Wall Street Journal | 2008.11.24 |
| 2082 | 70 | Robotic police officers with human-like features | TechRadar.com | 2008.08.12 |
| 2090 | 78 | Aspen trees extinct in Rocky Mountains due to "sudden aspen decline" | Treehugger | 2009.09.26 |
| 2090 | 78 | Worldwide temperatures average 7°F above 1990s | Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change | 2007.02.05 |
| 2100 | 88 | Sea levels rise by 43 inches over levels in 2000 | BBC News | 2007.03.01 |
| 2100 | 88 | Quebec's pure Francophone population falls to 4 million | Montreal Gazette | 2007.09.27 |
| 2100 | 88 | Japan gets 53% of electricity from nuclear power plants | Japan Times | 2008.11.27 |
| 2105 | 93 | Arctic Ocean becomes seasonally ice-free | University of Arizona | 2005.08.22 |
Additions since the last update:
- 2015 - China and Chile reach $60 billion in bilateral trade (double the 2011 amount)
- 2015 - Permanent sarcophagus over Chernobyl power plant completed
- 2015 - Production glut in solar panels levels out to match demand
- 2015 - Federal Reserve considers raising interest rates above near-zero
- 2020 - Coca-Cola invests $5 billion in product development and distribution in India (2012-2020)
- 2020 - Peak US domestic oil output
- 2020 - North Dakota's population reaches 800,000 to accommodate oil boom
- 2020 - China spends 2.5% of GDP on research and development
- 2023 - Dutch company attempts to settle colonists on Mars for reality show
- 2025 - End of first phase of four-team college football playoff
- 2025 - World's tallest building reaches one mile high
- 2029 - Computers reach equivalency with human brain power
- 2030 - World oil demand reaches plateau
- 2030 - Death rates from cancer fall by almost 20% from 2010 levels
- 2030 - Cities occupy three times their land area in 2012
- 2030 - More than half of the people in 39 states will be obese
- 2032 - Half of new cars in the US will be fully electric
- 2040 - Natural gas demand increases by 60% over 2012 levels
- 2040 - Fossil fuels provide 73% of world energy
- 2040 - 75% of cars will be self-piloted
- 2040 - Dallas and Austin recycle more than 80% of metropolitan solid waste
- 2048 - India overtakes China as world's largest economy (with United States 3rd)
- 2049 - China's national goal to become a world technological power
- 2050 - 17% of world population will be over age 65
- 2050 - Micro-manufacturing and artisan brands eclipse mainstream brand names
- 2052 - Computers will express consciousness, feelings, and personalities
- 2060 - Temperatures in Los Angeles area rise by 4 to 5 degrees over 2012 levels