At a glance
The Nobel Prizes were created by the will of Swedish chemist and inventor Alfred Nobel (inventor of dynamite) and first awarded in 1901. Five prizes come from his will: Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and Peace. A sixth, for Economic Sciences, was set up by Sweden's central bank in 1968. Winners are announced in early October and receive their prizes on 10 December, the anniversary of Nobel's death.
Key facts
- Founder: Alfred Nobel (1833–1896); prizes administered by the Nobel Foundation (1900), Stockholm
- First awarded: 1901 (2026 marks 125 years)
- Prize money 2026: 12 million Swedish kronor per full prize (raised from 11 million)
- Award ceremony: 10 December; Peace in Oslo, all others in Stockholm
- Maximum laureates per prize: three; only the Peace Prize can go to organisations
- Posthumous awards: not allowed since 1974 (unless the laureate dies after the announcement)
- Economics prize: Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel; instituted 1968, first awarded 1969
- 2025 Peace Prize: María Corina Machado (Venezuela)
How it works
Who chooses each prize.
| Prize | Awarding body | Venue of ceremony |
|---|---|---|
| Physics | Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences | Stockholm |
| Chemistry | Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences | Stockholm |
| Physiology or Medicine | Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet | Stockholm |
| Literature | Swedish Academy | Stockholm |
| Peace | Norwegian Nobel Committee (appointed by Norway's Parliament) | Oslo |
| Economic Sciences | Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences | Stockholm |
Order of announcement: Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, Literature, Peace, Economics.
2026 laureates.
| Prize | Laureate(s) | For |
|---|---|---|
| Physiology or Medicine | Karl Deisseroth (US), Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel (Germany) | Light-gated ion channels and optogenetics |
| Physics | Francis Halzen (Belgium/US) | IceCube Neutrino Observatory; high-energy astrophysical neutrinos |
| Chemistry | Henri B. Kagan (France), Kenso Soai (Japan) | Non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis |
| Literature | Anne Carson (Canada) | Inventive work in dialogue with the classical tradition |
| Peace | Navi Pillay (South Africa) | Promoting peace and international law |
| Economic Sciences | Robert E. Hall, Michael Woodford (US) | Microeconomic foundations of macroeconomic stabilisation |
Indian laureates (citizens at the time). Rabindranath Tagore (Literature, 1913), C.V. Raman (Physics, 1930), Mother Teresa (Peace, 1979), Amartya Sen (Economics, 1998), Kailash Satyarthi (Peace, 2014).
Indian-origin laureates. Har Gobind Khorana (Medicine, 1968), Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (Physics, 1983), Venkatraman Ramakrishnan (Chemistry, 2009), Abhijit Banerjee (Economics, 2019).
Recent developments
- 25 Oct 2026: 2025 Peace laureate María Corina Machado returned to Venezuela after about ten months abroad.
- 5–12 Oct 2026: 2026 laureates announced (see table above); Navi Pillay, born in Durban to a family of Indian Tamil origin, won the Peace Prize.
- 18 Sep 2026: Nobel Foundation raised the prize to 12 million Swedish kronor for the 125th anniversary.
Exam traps
- The Peace Prize is decided and presented in Oslo, Norway; all other prizes in Stockholm, Sweden.
- Physics, Chemistry and Economics are all chosen by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences; Literature by the Swedish Academy (a different body).
- The Economics prize was not in Nobel's will; it was set up by the Sveriges Riksbank in 1968 and first given in 1969.
- C.V. Raman (1930) was the first Asian to win a science Nobel; Tagore (1913) was the first Asian Nobel laureate overall.
- Navi Pillay is South African (of Indian origin), not an Indian citizen.
Quick check
- Q: Who won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics? A: Francis Halzen, for IceCube.
- Q: Which Nobel is awarded in Oslo? A: The Peace Prize.
- Q: Which bank instituted the Economics prize? A: Sveriges Riksbank (1968).
Further reading
Sources
- https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2026/summary/
- https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/facts/the-nobel-prize-money/
- https://www.nobelprize.org/press-release/the-nobel-prize-is-increased-by-sek-1-million/
- https://www.khaleejtimes.com/henri-kagan-kenso-soai-win-2026-nobel-chemistry-prize
- https://www.newtimes.co.rw/article/39778/news/international/who-are-the-nobel-prize-winners-of-2026/amp
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Nobel_Prizes
In the news
Every time this topic has appeared in our current affairs, newest first:
- 26 October 2026María Corina Machado returns to Venezuela after 10 months in exile
- Week of 8–14 October 2026Nobel Prize in Literature 2026: Anne Carson
- Week of 8–14 October 2026Nobel Peace Prize 2026: Navi Pillay
- Week of 8–14 October 2026Economics Nobel 2026: Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford
- Week of 1–7 October 2026Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2026: optogenetics
- Week of 1–7 October 2026Nobel Prize in Physics 2026: Francis Halzen for IceCube
- Week of 1–7 October 2026Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2026: Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai