2045 cover page
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This document contains excerpts and notations from the fifth edition of the Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre's Strategic Trends Programme report on Global Strategic Trends out to 2045. It provides policy-makers with long-term projections across environmental, demographic, technological, and military spheres to aid in strategic planning. Key subjects include climate change impacts, resource scarcity, mass urbanization, and the integration of automated technologies.
Key points
- By 2045, population growth and climate change will severely strain resources, leaving up to 3.9 billion people facing water shortages and increasing the risk of food shortfalls.
- Unmanned systems and lifelike robots are projected to become as ubiquitous as computers, taking over roles in combat, caregiving, and general labor, which could cause mass unemployment and social unrest.
- Around 70% of the global population is expected to live in cities by 2045, leading to roughly 280 megacities and exposing coastal urban areas to climate hazards and infrastructure strain.
- Global demographics will shift toward an older population with higher welfare costs, while country-specific factors like sex-selective abortions could result in significant male-to-female imbalances in parts of Asia.
- Emerging technological and energy developments include human cybernetic augmentation, novel materials like graphene paper, expanding civil nuclear power, and increased US energy independence through fracking.