Archive · 2 Oct 2026
Nobel Prizes: 2026 Awards Begin With Medicine, End With Economics
The Nobel Prizes honor people who have helped humanity through important work.
The awards cover medicine, physics, chemistry, literature, peace, and economics.
Alfred Nobel, who invented dynamite, created the original prizes in his will.
The 2026 winners will be announced beginning with medicine and ending with economics on October 12.
Each winner receives a medal, a diploma, fame, and 12 million Swedish crowns.
Different organizations in Sweden and Norway choose the winners.
The awards are presented every year on December 10, the day Alfred Nobel died.
Some Nobel choices have been praised, while others have been criticized later.
The celebrations include a large dinner in Stockholm.
The 2026 Nobel announcements are scheduled to begin with physiology or medicine on Monday and end with economics on October 12.
Alfred Nobel created the original prizes in physics, chemistry, literature, peace, and physiology or medicine through his will.
Each prize now carries 12 million Swedish crowns, or about $1.21 million.
Different Swedish and Norwegian institutions select the winners, while the economics prize was established by Sweden’s central bank in 1968.
Laureates receive their awards on December 10, with ceremonies in Stockholm and Oslo followed by a formal banquet.
- Who
- Nobel committees and institutions in Sweden and Norway will announce the laureates.
- What
- The 2026 Nobel Prize winners will be announced across six prize areas, including the economics prize.
- When
- Announcements start on Monday and conclude with economics on October 12; the awards are presented on December 10.
- Where
- The peace prize is presented in Oslo, while the other prizes are presented in Stockholm.
- Why
- Alfred Nobel directed that his estate fund prizes for people who had conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.
Nobel Recognition
Nobel Criticism
Value of the awards
Nobel Recognition
The prizes recognize outstanding achievements and can bring recipients significant international recognition and financial support.
Nobel Criticism
Some awards have later been criticized, including the 1949 medicine prize for lobotomy and several controversial peace prizes.
Historical omissions
Nobel Recognition
The prizes have honored widely known figures such as Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, Nelson Mandela, and Mother Teresa.
Nobel Criticism
Critics regard the failure to award Mahatma Gandhi before his death as a major omission.
- Prize amount
- 12 million Swedish crowns, approximately $1.21 million, per prize
- Announcement period
- From the physiology or medicine announcement on Monday through the economics announcement on October 12
- Original prize categories
- Physics, chemistry, literature, peace, and physiology or medicine
- Economics prize
- Established by Sweden’s central bank in 1968 and awarded under the same principles as the other prizes
- First awards
- The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901, five years after Alfred Nobel’s death
- Award ceremony date
- December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death
- Banquet
- About 1,300 guests attend the formal dinner in Stockholm City Hall