Predictions for 2026 | Future timeline
Read 41 predictions for 2026, a year that will see the world transform in big and small ways; this includes disruptions throughout our culture, technology, science, health and business sectors. It’s your future, discover what you’re in for.
Fast forecasts for 2026
Fast Forecast
- The European Union's experimental, International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is activated for the first time 1
- China's economy will overtake the U.S. for the first time 1
- First 3D Fast Bus, the Land Airbus, is tested on Chinese roads 1
- Google contributes to speeding up the Internet, to make it 1000 times faster 1
- Near-infrared goggles help surgeons view cancer cells and see tumors as small as 1mm 1
- Cost of solar panels, per watt, equals 0.75 US dollars 1
- World population forecasted to reach 8,215,348,000 1
- World sales of electric vehicles reaches 10,526,667 1
- Predicted global mobile web traffic equals 126 exabytes 1
- Global Internet traffic grows to 452 exabytes 1
Country forecasts for 2026
Read forecasts about 2026 specific to a range of countries, including:
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Technology forecasts for 2026
Technology related predictions due to make an impact in 2026 include:
- The big business future behind self-driving cars: Future of Transportation P2
- Rise of the big data-powered virtual assistants: Future of the Internet P3
- Your future inside the Internet of Things: Future of the Internet P4
- Your addictive, magical, augmented life: Future of the Internet P6
- Housing prices crash as 3D printing and maglevs revolutionize construction: Future of Cities P3
Culture forecasts for 2026
Culture related predictions due to make an impact in 2026 include:
- The last job creating industries: Future of Work P4
- Jobs that will survive automation: Future of Work P3
- Death of the full-time job: Future of Work P2
- AI police crush the cyber underworld: Future of policing P3
- Reengineering sentencing, incarceration, and rehabilitation: Future of law P4
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Science forecasts for 2026
Science related predictions due to make an impact in 2026 include:
- The rise of the transportation internet: Future of Transportation P4
- GMOs vs superfoods | Future of Food P3
- Peak cheap oil triggers renewable era: Future of Energy P2
- Renewables vs. the thorium and fusion energy wildcards: Future of Energy P5
- China, rise of a new global hegemon: Geopolitics of Climate Change
Health forecasts for 2026
Health related predictions due to make an impact in 2026 include:
- Future of beauty: Future of Human Evolution P1
- Tomorrow’s pandemics and the super drugs engineered to fight them: Future of Health P2
