Even amid the roughest of backdrops, progress continues. This year brought the world not only several high-profile setbacks—from democratic backsliding in the United States to war in the Middle East—but also medical breakthroughs, conservation wins, and landmark events. Here are 10 of the best things that happened in 2025 that moved the world forward.
1. Unprecedented murder drop
Although we’re waiting on final statistics, so far, 2025 is one of the most nonviolent years in recent memory and, in some cases, on record in the United States. In particular, the murder rate, as crime analyst Jeff Asher has covered extensively, may be the lowest ever recorded since reliable data began to be collected in 1960. The rate fell so fast that it may also end up holding the record for the largest one-year drop.
2. Marine conservation victories
Marine conservationists notched at least two significant wins this year.
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After decades sitting on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s list of endangered species and coming uncomfortably close to extinction, the green sea turtle was reclassified as a “species of least concern.” (Concern level was downgraded for 20 other animal species this year, as well.) A series of international efforts, such as hunting bans and measures to protect the turtles’ nests, resulted in a 30% rise in their population numbers since the 1970s. Crush and Squirt fans, rejoice.
The world also ratified its first treaty to protect the high seas, which will become legally binding in January 2026. The agreement provides an international framework to protect biodiversity, among other provisions.
3. A new cancer vaccine era
Few cancer vaccines exist, but more might in the future. This year, trials began for the first preventative vaccine for lung cancer, and a Phase 1 trial of an mRNA vaccine designed to prevent pancreatic cancer from recurring had promising results, with most of the patients mounting a robust immune response. Scientists even noticed that mRNA vaccines meant for another purpose may help harness the immune system to fight against cancer; in one study, cancer patients who were administered the COVID-19 vaccine had nearly double the survival rate of those who were not.
One cancer vaccine that already exists is the one against HPV, which provides nearly perfect protection against cervical cancer if given to young teens. Targets to vaccinate 86 million girls against cervical cancer in the countries where incidence is highest were reached early this year, preventing an estimated 1.4 million deaths.
4. Gene therapy miracles
In late 2024, a bright blue-eyed baby named KJ Muldoon was born with a rare and life-threatening liver condition. Just a few months later, doctors successfully stabilized it by using the gene editing tool CRISPR to alter a small section of his DNA. It was the first time a CRISPR-based therapy had been custom-built for just one patient.
KJ was released from the hospital—where, until then, he had spent his entire life—over the summer. Now that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has tweaked its rules to fast-track gene editing treatments like KJ’s, other rare disease patients might one day receive their own.
In another first, doctors managed to decelerate Huntington’s disease—a degenerative disease in which nerve cells in the brain decay over time—through a type of gene therapy performed during brain surgery. In a small trial, disease progression slowed by 75%, giving patients decades more of good-quality life.
5. Renewables are king
For the first time ever, coal was knocked off its longtime throne this year when renewable energy became the world’s leading source of electricity in the first half of 2025. Solar power, the fastest-growing source of electricity the world has ever seen, is taking off even in places where expansion thus far has been minimal: Multiple countries in Africa are importing solar panels at record levels.
This year, the world’s biggest carbon emitter pledged, for the first time, to cut its greenhouse gas emissions. China’s target is a 7% to 10% reduction by 2035, much less than what is needed to keep the Paris Agreement alive. Some experts, however, are hopeful that China will follow a historical pattern of underpromising but overdelivering.
6. Europe revisits its rape laws
France, Poland, and Norway adopted a consent-based definition of rape this year. These countries are only the latest in Europe to revisit what are known as coercion-based rape laws, which usually require violence or threat to upgrade an assault to a rape charge. Consent-based laws instead use consent as a barometer.
The specifics vary by country but generally fall under two models: yes means yes, and no means no. Under yes means yes, a rape has occurred if consent was not expressed—through words, behavior, or another form of “voluntariness”—and if circumstances have not affected a person’s free will. In the no-means-no model, rape has occurred if the act goes against the victim’s known intention.
Since 2017, there has been a quiet sea change on the continent around these laws. Then, only seven countries had consent-based laws. Today, more than 20 do, including the ones above. Similar legislation stalled out in Italy’s Senate earlier this year but may be picked up in 2026.
7. HIV prevention shot breaks records
Lenacapavir, an injectable that provides nearly perfect protection against HIV, was approved by the FDA in June. Five months later, Eswatini and Zambia had already received their first doses, the first time a new treatment has reached Africa in the same year that it was approved in the U.S.
Philanthropies also successfully struck a deal with lenacapavir’s producer to make it available in low- and middle-income countries for $40 per patient—the same cost as for the daily oral pills currently on the market. This move is essential for lenacapavir to reach its full potential to one day stamp out AIDS.
8. Moving toward democratic stability
South Koreans protest against the 2024 effort to impose martial law.
© Hashflu / Wikipedia Commons
The world saw plenty of conflict and democratic backsliding in 2025, but there were some countries that bucked the trend.
South Koreans impeached their former president after he declared martial law on flimsy pretenses, successfully avoiding a would-be power grab and ensuring the stability of democracy there. Brazilians, too, threw some points on the global democracy scoreboard when former president Jair Bolsonaro was convicted of plotting a coup attempt. He began his 27-year prison sentence in November.
In December, Syrians celebrated the one-year anniversary of the ouster of former dictator Bashar al-Assad. While Syria’s path since forming a new government has been far from smooth and it can’t yet be described as a democracy, things generally are stabilizing.
9. Prediction progress
Artificial intelligence weather forecasts are here. In October, AI-assisted hurricane forecasts, used this year for the first time, accurately predicted Hurricane Melissa’s northeast turn, giving people across Jamaica, Cuba, and the eastern Bahamas extra time to evacuate. In the spring, AI weather models trialled in India predicted an unusual monsoon season that traditional models missed; the information enabled farmers to adjust their planting. AI forecasting portends a future where more people can benefit from accurate, cheap weather forecasts.
Japan became the first country with an earthquake detection system that covers entire subduction zones on the ocean floor. This direct, real-time monitoring has added 20 seconds of extra warning for earthquakes and 20 minutes for tsunamis.
Last, Africa opened its first continental space agency, which will coordinate national space programs and boost weather data collection.
10. No cell phones in schools
Countries as far afield as South Korea and Sweden banned the use of cell phones in school this year; the share of the world’s education systems that ban or restrict their use in schools now tops 40%.
The U.S. was no exception to the trend. Thirty-five states have set some restrictions over the use of cell phones in schools, the majority of them passing legislation this year. More will follow in 2026.
