2028
Overview
The year 2028 is AD 2028, the 28th year of the 21st century and the ninth year of the 2020s. It is a leap year, containing February 29 and totaling 366 days, and begins on Saturday, January 1. Los Angeles, United States, will host the Summer Olympics, and major political events such as South Korea's National Assembly election and the United States presidential election overlap, so internationally it is often referred to as a "super election year" and a "year of sports."
Calendar and time system
2028 is a leap year under the Gregorian calendar. It includes February 29, making it the second leap year after 2024. Because January 1 is Saturday and December 31 is Sunday, weekends fall at both the beginning and the end of the year. In Unix time, January 1, 2028, 00:00 UTC is the point at which the timestamp enters approximately 1.83 billion seconds, and it is also used as a verification year for timestamp handling in various software systems.
International sporting events
The most representative event is the 2028 Summer Olympics. It will be held from July 14 to July 30, 2028, in Los Angeles, California, United States, and this is Los Angeles's third time hosting the Summer Olympics, following 1932 and 1984. At these Games, flag football and squash were adopted as new official events, and baseball/softball, cricket, and lacrosse were added, making it expected to have the most diverse event lineup in history. Then, in August, the Summer Paralympics will be held in the same city.
It is also an important year for football fans. UEFA Euro 2028 is scheduled to be co-hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Ireland, and professional leagues and international competition schedules are likely to be adjusted in connection with the Olympics. Various world championships and World Cup qualifiers are also concentrated in this year.
Political and election schedule
2028 is a year in which large-scale elections are scheduled in many countries. In South Korea, the National Assembly election is scheduled to be held around April 2028, and it is evaluated as a turning point that will directly affect the current government's direction of state affairs and the future presidential election structure. In the United States, the presidential election will be held in November 2028, and with the incumbent president's term ending, the primary races of both parties are expected to begin in earnest from 2027. In addition, general and presidential elections are scheduled in many European countries and emerging economies, raising the possibility that the international political landscape will be reshaped.
Science and technology
2028 is expected to be the point at which artificial intelligence technology becomes fully established across industries. Large language model-based services will spread into administration, healthcare, and education, and autonomous driving commercialization and robotic automation are predicted to become standardized in manufacturing and logistics. In communications, standardization discussions for 6G commercialization will enter their final stages, and in quantum computing, practical verification of error correction technology is expected to continue. In the space sector, lunar exploration, Mars sample return, and private space station operations will emerge as major issues.
Economy and society
As population aging and the decline of the working-age population accelerate in Korea, Japan, Europe, and elsewhere, discussions on labor market structure and pension system reform are expected to deepen. Investment in semiconductors, batteries, and AI infrastructure will become a core axis of national industrial policy, while the issues of energy transition and rapidly increasing electricity demand will emerge simultaneously. In the climate field, as the world faces an interim review ahead of the Paris Agreement's 2030 reduction targets, the speed of each country's carbon neutrality implementation is expected to act as a variable in international trade conflicts.
Latest trends
As of 2024–2025, preparations toward 2028 have already begun in several fields. The Olympic organizing committee is announcing stadium infrastructure and public transportation reorganization plans in stages, and the "no-build Olympics" strategy of reusing existing facilities is drawing attention. In political circles, discussions on reforming the election system and readjusting population criteria are underway, and in the technology industry, there is a growing view that 2028 will be a turning point at which AI agents replace routine work. International organizations are conducting interim assessments of climate adaptation budgets and food and water security response plans through 2028, and governments are establishing mid- to long-term fiscal plans based on 2028. In summary, 2028 is a year in which sports, politics, and technology simultaneously reach a turning point, and policy and investment decisions over the next few years are moving toward this year.
Related topics
- [[2028 Summer Olympics]]
- [[2028 South Korean legislative election]]
- [[2028 United States presidential election]]
- [[Artificial intelligence]]
- [[Climate change]]
- [[2024]]