For centuries, people have been interested in the ability to predict the future. To some extent, this has become possible in modern times. Specialists-futurists and scientists of other specialties are trying to create at least an approximate picture of the world in the future.
The sphere of human life, changes in which, perhaps, the most difficult to predict is politics. However, experts are making certain forecasts here as well. Some political scientists are confident that the current unipolar world with the economic and military domination of the United States may become a thing of the past due to the entry into the political arena of a new superpower. China is named as the main candidate, but a number of experts also take into account the prospects of the European Union. In this case, the balance of power in the world will change up to the risk of a new cold war between the powers.
In economics, you can also trace trends that will have an impact in the future. In 30-50 years, energy problems can be expected. In the current economy, oil and natural gas play the main role, but these are non-renewable resources. Deposits are depleted over time, and new ones can be found in hard-to-reach places, for example, in the North Pole region, where the cost of production will increase significantly. Therefore, one can only hope for scientists who can create a safe and renewable analogue of gasoline.
The food crisis is becoming a separate economic risk. Population is growing and soils, especially in developing countries, are depleting. All this has already led to malnutrition for part of the population of Africa and Southeast Asia, which may subsequently worsen.
Demography can be considered a separate issue for the future. The current population growth is associated with inertial processes caused by the improvement of medical services and the belated transition of a number of countries to a modern small family. However, despite population growth, fertility is declining globally, even in Equatorial Africa. Not only in most European countries, but also in China, and even in Iran, it dropped below two births per woman, that is, to the level of simple reproduction. As a result, population growth rates have been falling since the early nineties. According to the forecasts of a number of demographers, by 2100 the number of people in the world should stabilize and not exceed 10-12 billion. Subsequently, even some reduction in the number of inhabitants of the Earth is possible. Moreover, in the second half of the 21st century, the main decline in the birth rate and population should be in developing countries, while Europe will reach the level of simple reproduction.
