Predictions for 2050 | Future timeline

Read 390 predictions for 2050, 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.

Quantumrun Foresight prepared this list; A futurist consulting firm that uses strategic foresight to help companies thrive from future trends.

Fast forecasts for 2050

Most of the fish stocks that existed in 2015 are now extinct. 1
6 million people now die per year from complications with air pollution. 1
Nearly 2 billion people now live in countries with absolute water scarcity, mostly in the Middle East and North African regions. 1
5 billion of the world's projected 9.7 billion people now live in water-stressed areas. 1
Neurotechnologies enable users to interact with their environment and other people by thought alone. 1
6.3 billion people will live in cities. 1
Half of the world's population will be short-sighted 1
Toyota stops selling gasoline cars 1
Coffee becomes a luxury due to climate change and the loss of suitable farming land 1
Skyscrapers (an arcology) that function as cities are built to address growing populations 1
Athabasca Glacier disappears by losing 5 metres per year since 2015 1
China's "South-to-North Water Transfer Project" is fully built 1
World population forecasted to reach 9,725,147,000 1
Share of global car sales taken by autonomous vehicles equals 90 per cent 1
World sales of electric vehicles reaches 26,366,667 1
(Moore's Law) Calculations per second, per $1,000, equals 10^23 (equal to all human brain power globally) 1
Average number of connected devices, per person, is 25 1
Global number of Internet connected devices reaches 237,500,000,000 1
Worst case forecasted rise in global temperatures, above pre-industrial levels, is 2.5 degrees Celsius 1
Forecasted rise in global temperatures, above pre-industrial levels, is 2 degrees Celsius 1
Optimistic forecasted rise in global temperatures, above pre-industrial levels, is 1.89 degrees Celsius 1
Largest age cohort for the Brazilian population is 45-49 1
Largest age cohort for the Mexican population is 50-54 1
Largest age cohort for the Middle East population is 35-44 1
Largest age cohort for the African population is 0-4 1
Largest age cohort for the European population is 60-64 1
Largest age cohort for the Indian population is 35-39 1
Largest age cohort for the Chinese population is 60-64 1
Largest age cohort for the United States population is 20-34 1