Which 2020 predictions came true?

The year 2020 has served as a benchmark for many predictions, from business markets to technological advances to climate change. In 2015, Factor magazine published a list of ten predictions for 2020, most of which have come true.

1. Same-day cancer treatment: YES

2. Self-driving cars on the road: YES

3. Cannabis market legalized and booming: YES

4. 4 billion internet users: YES (almost 4.5 billion)

5. Virtual reality market worth US$15.89 billion: YES (over US$18 billion; current predictions suggest it will reach US$120.5 billion by 2026)

6. Mars 2020 rover mission: YES

7. Wearable sensors to monitor soldiers' health: PROBABLY (the technology is available, but it's hard to find a definitive answer as to whether it's being used yet)

We're still working on the other three, but hopefully we'll reach them soon!

1. China free of poverty: NO (but the poverty rate has been significantly reduced)

2. Electric cars go 746 miles on a single charge: NO (even Elon Musk of Tesla, who boasted he'd achieve that distance, hasn't made it more than 370 miles—half as far)

3. 26% renewables in the energy market: NO (the percentage varies widely depending on location, industry, and individual companies, but globally we haven't yet reached that number)

So, Factor has a 60–70% success rate on their predictions. Today's futurists have gotten really good at telling the future! There are lots of other predictions out there, too—4.5 billion of you can do an internet search to find them and see if they've come true.