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    6 Trends That Will Make You Think Twice About The Future Of The World

    In a new report from Brookings, authors Bruce Jones, Thomas Wright, Jeremy Shapiro and Robert Keane analyze a huge amount of economic, political and military data and find that the major trends affecting the world order may not be that simple. To learn more, check out an expanded interactive version of the charts below, or read the full report,The State of the International Order.

    Brookings
    by Brookings

    Community Brand Publisher

    1. Other Nations are Catching Up, but the U.S. and its Allies will Lead the World Economy for Some Time

    Via Source: World Bank's World Data Bank (Allies included in calculations are EU member states, Japan, and South Korea)

    The data shows that BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) combined will soon pass the U.S. in GDP, but will remain below the U.S. and its allies for many more years.

    2. China is Surpassing the U.S. in Both Fuel Imports and CO2 Emissions

    Via Source: History: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) / International Energy Statistics database (as off ovember 2012) / www. eia.gov History: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

    Two decades of rapid economic growth and lax environmental policy have made China one of the world’s leading contributors to climate change, even as its dependence on foreign fuels grows.

    3. Asia is Increasingly Linked by Trade, but that Hasn’t Made the Region More Pacifist

    Via Source: IMF Direction of Trade Statistics database, Information from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), sipri.org

    Inter-Asian trade has risen 800% in the last two decades, but rising nationalism, increased territorial disputes, and heightened tensions between China and the United States and its allies have seen Asian military spending rocket to its highest level since before the collapse of the U.S.S.R.

    4. Wars Have Become Less Common…Except for in the Middle East and Central Asia

    Via Source: UCDP/PRIO Armed Conflict Dataset, Version 4.0

    While many regions of the world are enjoying periods of relative peace and economic growth, the Middle East and Central Asia remain security hotspots.

    5. Global Poverty is Dropping Quickly, But Population Growth May Slow the Trend

    Via Source: World Bank’s PovcalNet, Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2012 Revolution

    Strong economic growth, particularly in BRIC nations, has fueled an encouraging decline in global poverty. But will population booms in Africa and South Asia drive growth or hold it back?

    6. The Explosion in Access to Information Hasn’t Correlated with a Rise in Democracy

    Via Source: PolityIV, World Bank’s World Development Indicators

    Over the past decade, the number of democracies in the world has effectively plateaued. Will a continued rise in cell phone and internet access fuel democratic mobilization or help authoritarian regimes keep tabs on their people?

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