How did our predictions stack up in 2024?
It was a year that was full of surprises
By Tom Standage, Editor, The World Ahead 2025
What a year. One American presidential candidate bowed out a few months before the election; another was almost assassinated, twice. Ukraine launched a counter-invasion into Russian territory. Iran’s president died in a helicopter crash. We anticipated none of these extraordinary events. And we expected America’s election to be a coin-toss—and failed to foresee the scale of Donald Trump’s decisive victory.
Explore more
This article appeared in the International section of the print edition of The World Ahead 2025 under the headline “How we did in 2024”
Discover more
The World Ahead 2025
Ten business trends for 2025, and forecasts for 15 industries
A global round-up from The Economist Intelligence Unit
Superforecasters in 2025
What the “superforecasters” predict for major events in 2025
The experts at Good Judgment weigh in on the coming year
Obituary in 2025
The rings of Saturn will disappear in 2025
First observed by Galileo, this occurs twice every 29 years
By Invitation: Science & technology in 2025
Casey Handmer says solar power is changing the economics of energy
Large-scale production of synthetic fuel is now feasible, argues the founder of Terraform Industries
Science & technology in 2025
Space missions to watch in 2025
Humans may fly around the Moon, and robots will explore new frontiers