The world this week
The world this year 2024
The weekly cartoon
This week’s cover

The World Ahead

Illustration for the world ahead 2025 cover, a circle made up of squares featuring all the themes of the issue
The World Ahead
The World Ahead 2025

Leaders

A surreal collage of political figures, AI, ancient statues, technology, and symbols of chaos and power.
The world
What to make of 2024
A turbulent year has shed fresh light on some important truths
Anti-government demonstrators protest in central Tbilisi, Georgia
Georgia on your mind
Keep the Caucasus safe from Russia
Georgia’s protesters and president need help
The rising Earth is about five degrees above the lunar horizon.
Of clouds and Crutzen
Global warming is speeding up. Another reason to think about geoengineering
Reducing sulphur emissions saves lives. But it could also be hastening planetary warming
This illustration shows a gold medal with a globe design hanging on a gray and white ribbon, set against a black background
When nations excel
The Economist’s country of the year for 2024
The winner toppled a tyrant and seems headed for something better
A dove holds money while baby birds in nests wait to be fed.
Doing good
How to give money to good causes
Let a balance of morals, liberty and efficiency be your guide
Letters

On gambling, Stack Overflow, museums, Africa, Britain, ancient Rome, book titles, Britishisms, lift humour
Letters to the editor
Asia

A hawker Centre in Singapore
Food fetish
Singapore’s government is determined to keep hawker centres alive
Systemic failure
South Korea’s president is impeached
Grandmaster flash
Dommaraju Gukesh’s win will accelerate India’s chess ambitions
China

A lone office worker walks in the Central Business District, Beijing
The difficult path ahead
China’s economy is in for another rough year
Charitable cooking
How to get a free meal in China
United States

A pill of fentanyl melting like a candle.
Through the eye of the needle
Is the opioid epidemic finally burning out?
Gas without light
The Biden administration pursued a mistaken policy on LNG exports
Progressive MAGA
Donald Trump’s DEI assessment
Lexington
How the Democrats wandered away from America’s workers
The Americas


Attitudes to democracy
Latin Americans are worryingly relaxed about authoritarianism
Canadian politics
A crushing blow for the Justin Trudeau show

Middle East & Africa

Ahmed al-Sharaa
Meet the boss
Everyone wants to meet Syria’s new rulers
Prospects of a ceasefire in Gaza
Israel and Hamas look close to some kind of deal
A deal in the Horn?
Ethiopia and Somalia claim to have settled a dangerous feud
When the oil stops
South Sudan’s economic crisis threatens its fragile peace
Europe

Bundestag - Vote of confidence
Fiery talk, low ambition
German politicians are talking tough, but offering little
Ink and blood
Ukrainian troops celebrate a grim Christmas in Kursk
French politics
France’s new prime minister faces a looming mess
How to beat protesters
Police brutality is not stopping Georgia’s protests
Charlemagne
We need to talk about Europe’s Kevins
Britain

F-35B re-fuel prior to launch. RFA Tidespring in the background during sunset.
Here we go again
Britain prepares for its third defence review in four years
Huel tide
Why meal-replacement drinks are shaking up the British lunch
Marley’s ghost
How to get money from Ebenezer Scrooge
Point of slow return
Britain’s Labour government is keen on deporting illegal migrants
Bagehot
The eternal Bossman
Christmas Specials

Paul Salopek taking a break in Japan
Around the world in 50m paces
A journalist retraces humanity’s journey out of Africa—on foot
Mammon and merriment
How much happiness does money buy?
The tadpole that conquered the world
How the axolotl rose from obscurity to global stardom
Annals of American populism
A Bible-bashing, gun-toting governor holds lessons for today
Batswomen v bigots
The incredible story of Afghanistan's exiled women’s cricket team
Life, the universe and everything
A chart that shows everything that has ever existed
Boy scouts with attitude
Inside the RSS, the world’s most powerful volunteer group
Carnal knowledge
How better data could lead to better sex
The titans of tuna
A day in the life of Toyosu, the world’s greatest fish market
How good are good Samaritans?
When doing the right thing goes wrong
The afterlife of aeroplanes
How retired aircraft find a second act
The megapreacher Putin hates
How a Nigerian built one of Europe’s largest churches in…Ukraine
The first age of renewables
How premodern energy shaped Britain
The Ivy League rat race
Finance, consulting and tech are gobbling up top students
The titanic Triassic
Of all the geological periods, the Triassic was the most fabulous
Really cool jobs
The harsh economics of the Arctic
Chinese calligraphy
What a fourth-century drinking game tells you about contemporary China
The Japanese art of child-rearing
Why do small children in Japan ride the subway alone?
Bakersfield blues
The beginning of the end for oil in California
Tales of Odessa
Cancel culture in Ukraine
Consider the monster
What a 70-year-old firebreathing lizard reveals about humanity
Home for the holidays
A network of volunteers is rescuing dogs and cats by bringing them north
International


Air cower
Is the age of American air superiority coming to an end?
The Telegram
Why warriors should welcome laws of war
Business

Illustration of a woman being blown away with an umbrella while all her luxury shopping flies away, the handle of the umbrella is the line of a graph
Luxed out
Why Louis Vuitton is struggling but Hermès is not
Labour under false pretences
Workers love Donald Trump. Unions should fear him
Toying with new ideas
Can Lego remain the world’s coolest toymaker?
Honda’s accord
A tie-up between Honda and Nissan will not fix their problems
Bartleby
The business of nicknames
Schumpeter
Meet the most ruthless CEO in the trillion-dollar tech club
Finance & economics


Staying power
Ukraine is winning the economic war against Russia
The other war’s winners and losers
Conflict is remaking the Middle East’s economic order
GiveSmart
The search for the world’s most efficient charities
Nuts in Brazil
Why Brazil’s currency is plunging
Free exchange
Don’t count on monetary policy to make housing affordable
Science & technology

Sun glint on the Caspian Sea.
2023, WTF?
Earth is warming faster. Scientists are closing in on why
Hot air
Academic writing is getting harder to read—the humanities most of all
Clear and present danger
Giving children the wrong (or not enough) toys may doom a society
Culture

The image shows a gift wrapped in silver ribbon with a blue star of David bow in the center. A blank gift tag is attached to the bow.
Festival of lights, stars and stripes
There is more to Hanukkah gifts than meets the eye
The snowball effect
Christmas films are cheesy, mindless and widely loved. Why?
Back Story
“Babygirl” and the trouble with equality
Economic & financial indicators

Indicators
Economic data, commodities and markets
Obituary

Brother Harold Palmer
The work of prayer
Brother Harold Palmer lived alone in the wilds by choice