America at 250: Thriving to 2076 if it masters its challenges
Source: economist.com
- America's 250th birthday in 2026 prompts a major interactive project by The Economist forecasting the nation's path to its tercentennial in 2076.
- Projections show the US population growing to 390 million, with states like Texas and Florida surging while Rust Belt areas decline.
- The project highlights risks like political division but sees America thriving as the world's richest country if it tackles key challenges.
This interactive feature from The Economist marks America at 250, projecting the country's future to its 300th birthday in 2076 through data-driven scenarios across economics, demographics, politics, and culture. It involves contributions from 25 experts, including historians, economists, and demographers, who model possible outcomes based on current trends. The core finding is that America can remain the world's most powerful and prosperous nation, but only by addressing polarisation, inequalit