A potential superpower is a sovereign state or other polity that is speculated to be or have the potential to become a superpower; a sovereign state or supranational union that holds a dominant position characterized by the ability to exert influence and project power on a global scale through economic, military, technological, political, and/or cultural means.[1][2][3]
The United States is currently considered the world's foremost superpower.[4] It is by some accounts the only superpower,[5][6][7] and the only one for which its status finds broad consensus.[8] China, the European Union, India, and Russia have been discussed as potential superpowers of the 21st century; Japan was a former candidate in the 1980s.[citation needed]
The United States is the sole world's superpower.