The World in 2014, the latest in The Economist's annual collection of predictions, identifies and explores the issues that will shape the year ahead. Journalists from The Economist join luminaries from the worlds of politics, business, science and the arts in offering forecasts for 2014. The app provides free access to a small selection of articles; within the app you can also pay to access the full content of the print edition.
The coming year will be one of sporting shows, political shocks and economic shifts. The big sporting events include the winter Olympics in Russia and the football World Cup in Brazil. The political shocks will come at elections, of which there will be many: countries with around 40% of the world's population will go to the polls. Better news from the rich world will be among the big economic shifts. You can also find out why Matt Damon believes that smart philanthropy can help solve the problem of water scarcity, and about Richard Branson's plan to be on the inaugural flight of his commercial "spaceline".