US economic, military and political dominance is likely to decline over the next two decades, according to American intelligence agencies.
US clout will weaken as China and India grow more powerful, the National Intelligence Council (NIC) predicts in its latest report on global trends.
The US dollar will no longer be the world's major currency and food and water scarcities will fuel conflict.
The NIC report comes as President-elect Barack Obama prepares to take office.
It will make sombre reading for Mr Obama, says the the BBC's Jonathan Beale in Washington, as it paints a bleak picture of the future of US influence and power.
If you think of the U.S. as an evildoer, then that's a good thing. But a multi-polar world could be less stable, suggests the NIC. And we can also welcome these problems:
Global warming will have had a greater impact by 2025, triggering food and water scarcities that could fuel conflict around the globe.
And the use of nuclear weapons will grow increasingly likely, says the report, as rogue states and terrorist groups gain greater access to such weapons.
On the other hand, it's not like American intelligence estimates in the Bush years had a great track record. :)