Amid today’s uncertainty, the dominant narrative is one of pessimism. But widen the lens and a more hopeful story emerges. Over the past 100 years, global income per person rose sixfold, extreme poverty fell sharply, and life expectancy nearly doubled. In A Century of Plenty: A Story of Progress for Generations to Come, McKinsey Global Institute researchers examine what powered that “progress machine,” while acknowledging its gains were unevenly shared. What would it take for everyone to reach the living standards of today’s most prosperous countries by 2100? The scale is immense: the global economy would need to grow more than eightfold. Is that realistic? Will there be enough energy, food, metals, and minerals? Can we innovate quickly enough and deliver that growth while protecting the planet? Drawing on the book’s research, this flash talk will offer a fact-based case for optimism and explore what it would take to turn the possibility of universal prosperity by 2100 into reality.
McKinsey Global Institute is a programming partner for the 2026 Annual Summit.
