In the early
21st century, people were making numerous estimates about what the world would be like in the year
2100. Perhaps this writeup will serve as a
time capsule of sorts and we can check back in 90 years to see which predictions came true...
In the year AD 2100...
- The world's population will be around 9.5 billion, which is a much lower figure than the 12 billion widely expected until recently, due to rapid declines in birth rates worldwide over the past decade (United Nations estimate).
- Fully one third of the Earth will be desert (World Wildlife Fund estimate).
- Penguins will be on the verge of extinction, due to global warming (National Academy of Sciences).
- There will be no more redheaded humans, due to interbreeding, and blonds will be much more rare than they are today (Oxford Hair Foundation and others).
- Due to a multitude of advances in fighting aging, the average life expectancy at birth will be an astonishing 292 years (Journal of Anti-Aging Medicine).
- The population of the United States will be 571 million (US Census Bureau mid-range estimate).
- The population of Japan will fall to a mere 60 million, or less than half of what it is today, as the result of low birth rates (National Institute of Population and Social Security Research).
- 90 percent of the world's 6,000 languages will be extinct (Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics).
- Mean sea level will rise by about 1 meter, placing several coastal cities and towns underwater (various estimates).
- Whites will be a minority in the United Kingdom (UK government estimates).
- Ten percent of all bird species will be extinct and another 15 percent will be on the verge of extinction (Stanford University).
- Rates of skin cancer will roughly double, due to continued ozone layer depletion (numerous estimates concur).
- There will be 88 million fewer Europeans than there are today, and Europe will have only 7 percent of the world's population, down from a peak of 27 percent in 1900 (EU estimate).
- China's population will fall to 1.4 billion from a 2040 peak of 1.6 billion (OECD estimate).
- India will be the world's most populous nation, with a population of 2.4 billion (UN estimate).
2099 - 2100 - 2101
21st century