View source for History:2000s

{{short description|Decade of the Gregorian calendar (2000–2009)}}
<imagemap>File:2000s decade montage3.png|From top left, clockwise: The World Trade Center on fire and the Statue of Liberty during the '''[[Religion:September 11 attacks|terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001]]'''; the '''[[Finance:Euro|euro]]''' enters into European currency in 2002; a statue of Saddam Hussein being toppled during the '''Iraq War''' in 2003, and in 2006, Hussein would be executed for crimes against humanity; U.S. troops heading toward an army helicopter in Afghanistan during the '''war on terror'''; '''[[Social:Social media|social media]]''' through the Internet spreads across the world; a Chinese soldier gazes at the '''2008 Summer Olympics''' commencing in [[Place:Beijing|Beijing]]; the largest '''[[Finance:Financial crisis of 2007–2008|economic crisis]]''' since the [[Finance:Great Depression|Great Depression]] hits the world in 2008; '''a tsunami from the Indian Ocean earthquake''' kills over 230,000 in 2004, and becomes the strongest earthquake since the 1964 Alaska earthquake|335px|thumb
rect 1 1 234 178 [[Religion:September 11 attacks|September 11 attacks]]
rect 236 1 371 178 [[Finance:Euro|Euro]]
rect 374 1 495 90 91 181 Iraq War
rect 244 181 366 326 369 181 495 War on Terror
rect 327 330 494 486 [[Social:Social media|Social media]]
rect 165 330 324 487 2008 Beijing Olympics
rect 1 331 163 487 [[Finance:Financial crisis of 2007–2008|The Great Recession]]
rect 3 181 241 327 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
desc bottom-left
</imagemap>

The '''2000s''' (pronounced "two-thousands"; shortened to the '''{{`}}00s''' and known as the '''aughts''' or '''noughties''') was a [[Physics:Decade|decade]] that began on January 1, 2000, and ended on December 31, 2009. <!-- PLEASE NOTE: Although the "2000s" may also refer to the century (2000-2099) or the millennium (2000-2999), this article is about the decade that started on January 1, 2000, and ended on December 31, 2009. -->

<!-- Economy -->
The early part of the decade saw the long predicted breakthrough of economic giants in Asia, like India and China, which had double-digit growth during nearly the whole decade. It is also benefited from an economic boom, which saw the two most populous countries becoming an increasingly dominant economic force. The rapid catching-up of emerging economies with developed countries sparked some protectionist tensions during the period and was partly responsible for an increase in energy and [[Finance:Food prices|food prices]] at the end of the decade. The economic developments in the latter third of the decade were dominated by a worldwide economic downturn, which started with the [[Finance:Subprime mortgage crisis|crisis in housing and credit]] in the United States in late 2007 and led to the bankruptcy of major banks and other financial institutions. The outbreak of this [[Finance:2007–2008 financial crisis|global financial crisis]] sparked a global recession, beginning in the United States and affecting most of the industrialized world.

<!-- Internet -->
<!-- Only mention individual websites if they were among the top 10 most popular. See "Popular websites" section for cite. -->
The decade saw the rise of [[Internet|the Internet]], which grew from covering 6.7% to 25.7% of the world population. This contributed to [[Social:Globalization|globalization]] during the decade, which allowed faster communication among people around the world;<ref>Ludden D (1998). [http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~dludden/global2.htm ''The newness of globalization: A schematic view of the historical zones of territoriality''] [[Organization:University of Pennsylvania|University of Pennsylvania]]. Unfinished draft. Retrieved December 30, 2009. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331100833/http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~dludden/global2.htm|date=March 31, 2012 }}</ref><ref>Gordon PH; Meunier S (2001). ''The French challenge: Adapting to globalization.'' Washington, D.C.: Brookings.</ref><ref>Heizo T; Ryokichi C (1998). [http://www.jcie.org/researchpdfs/DomAdjst/takenaka-chida.pdf "Japan"]. ''Domestic Adjustments to Globalization'' (CE Morrison & H Soesastro, Eds.). Tokyo: [[Organization:Japan Center for International Exchange|Japan Center for International Exchange]], pp. 76–102. Retrieved December 30, 2009.</ref><ref>Fry EH (2003). [http://www.nlc.org/ASSETS/41DD6934C7C441F79C2281B9B61E696F/ipadaptingfrykit.pdf ''Local governments adapting to globalization'']. National League of Cities. Retrieved December 30, 2009. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110105162126/http://www.nlc.org/ASSETS/41DD6934C7C441F79C2281B9B61E696F/ipadaptingfrykit.pdf|date=January 5, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Haarstad |first1=Håvard |last2=Fløysand |first2=Arnt |title=Globalization and the power of rescaled narratives: A case of opposition to mining in Tambogrande, Peru |journal=Political Geography |date=March 2007 |volume=26 |issue=3 |pages=289–308 |doi=10.1016/j.polgeo.2006.10.014 }}</ref> [[Social:Social networking service|social networking sites]] arose as a new way for people to stay in touch from distant locations, as long as they had an internet connection. [[Company:Myspace|Myspace]] was the most popular social networking website until June 2009, when Facebook overtook it in number of American users. [[Email]] continued to be popular throughout the decade and began to replace "snail mail" as the primary way of sending letters and other messages to people in distant locations. [[Company:Google|Google]], [[Company:YouTube|YouTube]], [[Software:Ask.com|Ask.com]] and [[Wikipedia]] emerged to become among the top 10 most popular websites. [[Company:Amazon|Amazon]] overtook [[Company:EBay|eBay]] as the most-visited e-commerce site in 2008. AOL significantly declined in popularity throughout the decade, falling from being the most popular website to no longer being within the top 10. [[Company:Excite (web portal)|Excite]] and [[Software:Lycos|Lycos]] fell outside the top 10, and [[Software:MSN|MSN]] fell from the second to sixth most popular site, though it quadrupled its monthly visits. Yahoo maintained relatively stable popularity, remaining the most popular website for most of the decade.

<!-- Politics and conflicts -->
The war on terror and War in Afghanistan began after the [[Religion:September 11 attacks|September 11 attacks]] in 2001. The International Criminal Court was formed in 2002. In 2003, a United States-led coalition invaded Iraq, and the Iraq War led to the end of Saddam Hussein's rule as Iraqi President and the Ba'ath Party in Iraq. [[Religion:Al-Qaeda|Al-Qaeda]] and affiliated [[Religion:Islamism|Islamist]] militant groups performed terrorist acts throughout the decade. The Second Congo War, the deadliest conflict since World War II, ended in July 2003. Further wars that ended included the Algerian Civil War, the Angolan Civil War, the Sierra Leone Civil War, the Second Liberian Civil War, the Nepalese Civil War, and the Sri Lankan Civil War. Wars that began included the [[Social:Conflict in the Niger Delta|conflict in the Niger Delta]], the Houthi insurgency in Yemen, and the Mexican drug war.

<!-- Climate change -->
[[Earth:Climate change|Climate change]] and [[Earth:Climate change|global warming]] became common concerns in the 2000s. Prediction tools made significant progress during the decade, {{wipe|United Nations}}-sponsored organizations such as the [[Organization:Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|IPCC]] gained influence, and studies such as the [[Earth:Stern Review|Stern report]] influenced public support for paying the political and economic costs of countering climate change. The global temperature kept climbing during the decade. In December 2009, the [[Organization:World Meteorological Organization|World Meteorological Organization]] (WMO) announced that the 2000s may have been the warmest decade since records began in 1850, with four of the five warmest years since 1850 having occurred in this decade. The WMO's findings were later echoed by the [[Organization:National Aeronautics and Space Administration|NASA]] and the [[Organization:National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|NOAA]]. Major natural disasters included Cyclone Nargis in 2008 and earthquakes in Pakistan and China in 2005 and 2008, respectively. The deadliest natural disaster{{efn|Pandemics, such as the COVID-19 pandemic are typically classified in their own category whilst natural disasters include earthquakes, storms, volcanic eruptions, floods, etc.}} and most powerful earthquake of the 21st century occurred in 2004 when a 9.1–9.3 {{M|w|link=y}} earthquake and its subsequent tsunami struck multiple nations in the Indian Ocean, killing 230,000 people.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqinthenews/2004/us2004slav/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120817004055/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqinthenews/2004/us2004slav/ | archive-date=August 17, 2012 | title=Magnitude 9.1 - OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA }}</ref>

<!-- Entertainment industry -->
Usage of [[Computer-generated imagery|computer-generated imagery]] became more widespread in films produced during the 2000s, especially with the success of 2001's ''[[Social:Shrek|Shrek]]''. Anime films gained more exposure outside Japan with the release of ''Spirited Away''. December 2009's ''Avatar'' became the highest-grossing film. Documentary and mockumentary films, such as ''March of the Penguins'', ''Super Size Me'', ''Borat'' and ''Surf's Up'', were popular in the 2000s. 2004's ''Fahrenheit 9/11'' by [[Biography:Michael Moore|Michael Moore]] was the highest grossing documentary of all time. Online films became popular, and conversion to [[Engineering:Digital cinema|digital cinema]] started. Video game consoles released in this decade included the [[Engineering:PlayStation 2|PlayStation 2]], the [[Engineering:Xbox (console)|Xbox]], the [[Engineering:GameCube|GameCube]], the [[Engineering:Wii|Wii]], the [[Engineering:PlayStation 3|PlayStation 3]] and the [[Engineering:Xbox 360|Xbox 360]]; while portable video game consoles included Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS and [[Engineering:PlayStation Portable|PlayStation Portable]]. ''[[Software:Wii Sports|Wii Sports]]'' was the decade's best-selling console video game, while ''[[Software:New Super Mario Bros.|New Super Mario Bros.]]'' was the decade's best-selling portable video game. J. K. Rowling was the best-selling author in the decade overall thanks to the ''Harry Potter'' book series, although she did not pen the best-selling individual book, being second to ''[[Unsolved:The Da Vinci Code|The Da Vinci Code]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last= Savage|first= Mark|date= 31 December 2009|title= The noughties in literature|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8424600.stm |work= BBC News |location= |access-date= 10 January 2021}}</ref> Eminem was named the music artist of the decade by ''Billboard''.

During this decade, the world population grew from 6.1 to 6.9 billion people. Approximately 1.35 billion people were born, and 550 million people died.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/WLD/world/population-growth-rate | title=World Population Growth Rate 1950-2022 }}</ref>


=={{Anchor|name}}Name for the decade==
Orthographically, the decade can be written as the "2000s" or the {{" '}}00s". In the English-speaking world, a name for the decade wasn't immediately accepted as it had been for other decades such as the 1980s and [[History:1990s|1990s]] ('80s, '90s),<ref name="news.yahoo.com">{{cite web|url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews_deca/ynews_deca_ts1010|first=Leah|last=Hitchings|title=Even with 10 years to decide, still no name for the decade|publisher=News.yahoo.com|date=December 8, 2000|access-date=February 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100117172425/https://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews_deca/ynews_deca_ts1010|archive-date=January 17, 2010}}</ref><ref name="Week-name">{{cite web|url=https://www.theweek.com/article/index/103534/Why_cant_we_name_this_decade|title=Why can't we name this decade?|publisher=Theweek.com|date=November 30, 2009|access-date=February 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215042846/http://theweek.com/article/index/103534/Why_cant_we_name_this_decade|archive-date=December 15, 2013}}</ref><ref name="BBC-name">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8436194.stm|work=BBC News| title=Decade dilemma|date=December 31, 2009|access-date=April 21, 2010| first=Finlo| last=Rohrer|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214202127/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8436194.stm|archive-date=December 14, 2013}}</ref> but usage eventually settled on "aughts" (US) or "noughties" (UK). Other spoken-word possibilities included "two-thousands", "twenty hundreds", "ohs", "oh ohs", "double ohs", "zeros", and "double zeros".<ref name="Week-name"/><ref>Washington Examiner, December 1, 2009; modified March 16, 2012. [http://washingtonexaminer.com/say-goodbye-to-the-aughts-zeros-2000s-whatever/article/18865 Say, goodbye to the aughts, zeros, 2000s, whatever]. retrieved March 1, 2013. {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130412033333/http://washingtonexaminer.com/say-goodbye-to-the-aughts-zeros-2000s-whatever/article/18865|date=April 12, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2009/12/the_uhohs.html|title=What should we call the last decade?|website=slate.com|date=December 18, 2009|access-date=August 18, 2018}}</ref> The years of the decade can be referred to as '01, '02, etc., pronounced oh-one, oh-two, etc.{{Citation needed|date=November 2021}}

== Demographics ==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right;font-size:small;"
!Year
!United States Census Bureau
(2017)<ref name="census.gov">Data from [https://www.census.gov/population/international/data/worldpop/table_population.php U.S. Census Bureau, International Data Base] Retrieved on 28 Oct, 2017</ref>
!Population Reference Bureau
(1973–2016)<ref name="Population Reference Bureau">Data from [http://www.prb.org/Home.aspx Population Reference Bureau] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080520091122/http://www.prb.org/Home.aspx |date=May 20, 2008 }}.

2016 estimate: (a) [http://www.prb.org/pdf16/prb-wpds2016-web-2016.pdf "2016 World Population Data Sheet"]

2015 estimate: (b) Toshiko Kaneda, 2015, [http://www.prb.org/pdf15/2015-world-population-data-sheet_eng.pdf "2015 World Population Data Sheet"].

2014 estimate: (c) Carl Haub, 2014, [http://www.prb.org/pdf14/2014-world-population-data-sheet_eng.pdf "2014 World Population Data Sheet"].

2013 estimate: (d) Carl Haub, 2013, [http://www.prb.org/pdf13/2013-population-data-sheet_eng.pdf "2013 World Population Data Sheet"].

2012 estimate: (e) Carl Haub, 2012, [http://www.prb.org/pdf12/2012-population-data-sheet_eng.pdf "2012 World Population Data Sheet"].

2011 estimate: (f) Carl Haub, 2011, [http://www.prb.org/pdf11/2011population-data-sheet_eng.pdf "2011 World Population Data Sheet"].

2010 estimate: (g) Carl Haub, 2010, [http://www.prb.org/pdf10/10wpds_eng.pdf "2010 World Population Data Sheet"].

2009 estimate: (h) Carl Haub, 2009, [http://www.prb.org/pdf09/09wpds_eng.pdf "2009 World Population Data Sheet"].

2008 estimate: (i) Carl Haub, 2008, [http://www.prb.org/pdf08/08WPDS_Eng.pdf "2008 World Population Data Sheet"].

2007 estimate: (j) Carl Haub, 2007, [http://www.prb.org/Publications/Datasheets/2007/2007WorldPopulationDataSheet.aspx "2007 World Population Data Sheet"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110224205549/http://www.prb.org/Publications/Datasheets/2007/2007WorldPopulationDataSheet.aspx |date=February 24, 2011 }}.

2006 estimate: (k) Carl Haub, 2006, [http://www.prb.org/Publications/Datasheets/2006/2006WorldPopulationDataSheet.aspx "2006 World Population Data Sheet"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101222075621/http://prb.org/Publications/Datasheets/2006/2006WorldPopulationDataSheet.aspx |date=December 22, 2010 }}.

2005 estimate: (l) Carl Haub, 2005, [http://www.prb.org/Publications/Datasheets/2005/2005WorldPopulationDataSheet.aspx "2005 World Population Data Sheet"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110414150237/http://www.prb.org/Publications/Datasheets/2005/2005WorldPopulationDataSheet.aspx |date=April 14, 2011 }}.

2004 estimate: (m) Carl Haub, 2004, [http://www.prb.org/pdf04/04WorldDataSheet_ENG.pdf "2004 World Population Data Sheet"].

2003 estimate: (n) Carl Haub, 2003, [http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~psc/WorldPopulationDS03_Eng.pdf "2003 World Population Data Sheet"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190819182509/http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~psc/WorldPopulationDS03_Eng.pdf |date=August 19, 2019 }}.

2002 estimate: (o) Carl Haub, 2002, [http://www.prb.org/pdf/worldpopulationds02_eng.pdf "2002 World Population Data Sheet"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171209093516/http://www.prb.org/pdf/WorldPopulationDS02_Eng.pdf |date=December 9, 2017 }}.

2001 estimate: (p) Carl Haub, 2001, [http://www.ined.fr/fichier/s_rubrique/18790/publi_pdf2_pop_and_soc_english_370.en.pdf "2001 World Population Data Sheet"].

2000 estimate: (q) 2000, [http://www.prb.org/Publications/Articles/2000/9BillionWorldPopulationby2050.aspx "9 Billion World Population by 2050"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180201050626/http://www.prb.org/Publications/Articles/2000/9BillionWorldPopulationby2050.aspx |date=February 1, 2018 }}.

1997 estimate: (r) 1997, [http://www.epidemiolog.net/evolving/DemographyBasics.pdf "Studying Populations"].

Estimates for 1995 and prior: (s) Carl Haub, 1995, [https://www.un.org/popin/popis/journals/poptoday/today0295.html "How Many People Have Ever Lived on Earth?"] ''Population Today'', Vol. 23 (no. 2), pp. 5–6.</ref>
!United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
(2015)<ref name="The World at Six Billion, 1999">Data from [http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/unpp/panel_population.htm United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division.]

1950–2100 estimates (only medium variants shown): (a) [http://esa.un.org/unpp/ World Population Prospects: The 2008 Revision.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511162049/http://esa.un.org/unpp/ |date=May 11, 2011 }}

Estimates prior to 1950: (b) [https://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/sixbillion/sixbillion.htm "The World at Six Billion", 1999.]

Estimates from 1950 to 2100: (c) [http://www.geohive.com/earth/his_history3.aspx "Population of the entire world, yearly, 1950 - 2100", 2013.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161119132504/http://www.geohive.com/earth/his_history3.aspx |date=November 19, 2016 }}

2014: (d) [http://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/Highlights/WUP2014-Highlights.pdf "2014 World Urbanization Prospects", 2014.]

2015: (e) [http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Publications/Files/Key_Findings_WPP_2015.pdf "2015 World Urbanization Prospects", 2015.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140320035709/http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/unpp/panel_population.htm |date=March 20, 2014 }}</ref>
!Maddison
(2008)<ref name="www.ggdc.net/maddison/Historical_Statistics">[http://www.theworldeconomy.org/publications/worldeconomy/ Angus Maddison, 2003, ''The World Economy: Historical Statistics'', Vol. 2, OECD, Paris] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513232041/http://www.theworldeconomy.org/publications/worldeconomy/|date=May 13, 2008}} {{ISBN|92-64-10412-7}}.

[http://www.ggdc.net/maddison/Historical_Statistics/horizontal-file_02-2010.xls "Statistical Appendix"] (2008, ggdc.net) "The historical data were originally developed in three books: Monitoring the World Economy 1820-1992, OECD, Paris 1995; The World Economy: A Millennial Perspective, OECD Development Centre, Paris 2001; The World Economy: Historical Statistics, OECD Development Centre, Paris 2003. All these contain detailed source notes. Figures for 1820 onwards are annual, wherever possible. For earlier years, benchmark figures are shown for 1 AD, 1000 AD, 1500, 1600 and 1700." "OECD countries GDP revised and updated 1991-2003 from National Accounts for OECD Countries, vol. I, 2006. Norway 1820-1990 GDP from Ola Grytten (2004), "The Gross Domestic Product for Norway, 1830-2003" in Eitrheim, Klovland and Qvigstad (eds), Historical Monetary Statistics for Norway, 1819-2003, Norges Bank, Oslo. Latin American GDP 2000-2003 revised and updated from ECLAC, Statistical Yearbook 2004 and preliminary version of the 2005 Yearbook supplied by Andre Hofman. For Chile, GDP 1820-2003 from Rolf Lűders (1998), "The Comparative Economic Performance of Chile 1810-1995", Estudios de Economia, vol. 25, no. 2, with revised population estimates from Diaz, J., R. Lűders, and G. Wagner (2005) Chili 1810-2000: la Republica en Cifras, mimeo, Instituto de Economia, Universidad Católica de Chile. For Peru, GDP 1896-1990 and population 1896-1949 from Bruno Seminario and Arlette Beltran, Crecimiento Economico en el Peru 1896-1995, Universidad del Pacifico, 1998. " "For Asia there are amendments to the GDP estimates for South and North Korea, 1911-74, to correct an error in Maddison (2003). Estimates for the Philippines, 1902-1940 were amended in line with Richard Hooley (2005), 'American Economic Policy in the Philippines, 1902-1940', Journal of Asian Economics, 16. 1820 estimates were amended for Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand." "Asian countries GDP revised and updated 1998-2003 from AsianOutlook, April 2005. Population estimates for all countries except China and Indonesia revised and updated 1950-2008 and 2030 from International Data Base, International Programs Center, Population Division, US Bureau of the Census, April 2005 version. China's population 1990-2003 from China Statistical Yearbook 2005, China Statistics Press, Beijing. Indonesian population 1950-2003 kindly supplied by Pierre van der Eng. The figures now include three countries previously omitted: Cook Islands, Nauru and Tuvalu."</ref>
!HYDE
(2007)<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Klein Goldewijk |first1=Kees |last2=Beusen |first2=Arthur |last3=Janssen |first3=Peter |title=Long-term dynamic modeling of global population and built-up area in a spatially explicit way: HYDE 3.1 |journal=The Holocene |date=June 2010 |volume=20 |issue=4 |pages=565–573 |doi=10.1177/0959683609356587 |bibcode=2010Holoc..20..565K |s2cid=128905931 }}</ref>
|-
|2000
|6,088,571,383
|6,067,000,000
|6,127,700,428
|6,076,558,000
|6,145,000,000
|-
|2001
|6,165,219,247
|6,137,000,000
|6,204,147,026
|6,154,791,000
|
|-
|2002
|6,242,016,348
|6,215,000,000
|6,280,853,817
|6,231,704,000
|
|-
|2003
|6,318,590,956
|6,314,000,000
|6,357,991,749
|6,308,364,000
|
|-
|2004
|6,395,699,509
|6,396,000,000
|6,435,705,595
|6,374,056,000
|
|-
|2005
|6,473,044,732
|6,477,000,000
|6,514,094,605
|6,462,987,000
|
|-
|2006
|6,551,263,534
|6,555,000,000
|6,593,227,977
|6,540,214,000
|
|-
|2007
|6,629,913,759
|6,625,000,000
|6,673,105,937
|6,616,689,000
|
|-
|2008
|6,709,049,780
|6,705,000,000
|6,753,649,228
|6,694,832,000
|
|-
|2009
|6,788,214,394
|6,809,972,000
|6,834,721,933
|6,764,086,000
(projected)
|
|}

==Politics and wars==
{{See also|List of sovereign states in the 2000s}}The war on terror and War in Afghanistan began after the [[Religion:September 11 attacks|September 11 attacks]] in 2001.<ref name="SecCounc">{{cite web|title=Security Council Condemns, 'In Strongest Terms', Terrorist Attacks on the United States|publisher=United Nations|date=September 12, 2001 <!-- was started under President George Jebidiah Bush Jr-->|url=https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2001/SC7143.doc.htm|access-date=September 11, 2006|quote=The Security Council today, following what it called yesterday's "horrifying terrorist attacks" in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania, unequivocally condemned those acts, and expressed its deepest sympathy and condolences to the victims and their families and to the people and Government of the United States.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060909162055/http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2001/SC7143.doc.htm|archive-date=September 9, 2006|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="cbc-2004">{{cite news|title=Bin Laden claims responsibility for 9/11|publisher=CBC News|date=October 29, 2004|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/bin-laden-claims-responsibility-for-9-11-1.513654|access-date=January 11, 2009|quote=al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden appeared in a new message aired on an Arabic TV station Friday night, for the first time claiming direct responsibility for the 2001 attacks against the United States.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090124061749/https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/bin-laden-claims-responsibility-for-9-11-1.513654| archive-date=January 24, 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> The International Criminal Court was formed in 2002. In 2003 a United States-led coalition invaded Iraq, and the Iraq War led to the end of Saddam Hussein's rule as Iraqi President and the Ba'ath Party in Iraq. [[Religion:Al-Qaeda|Al-Qaeda]] and affiliated [[Religion:Islamism|Islamist]] militant groups performed terrorist acts throughout the decade. These acts included the 2004 Madrid train bombings, 7/7 London bombings in 2005, and the Mumbai attacks related to al-Qaeda in 2008. The [[Social:European Union|European Union]] expanded its sanctions amid [[Religion:Iran|Iran]]'s failure to comply with its transparency obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and {{wipe|United Nations}} resolutions.

The war on terror generated extreme controversy around the world, with questions regarding the justification for certain U.S. actions leading to a loss of support for the American government, both in and outside the United States.<ref name="NPR">{{cite news|title=U.S. Losing War on Terror|publisher=NPR|date=August 21, 2007|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=13818670|access-date=June 1, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508202323/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=13818670|archive-date=May 8, 2014}}</ref> The additional armed conflict occurred in the [[Place:Middle East|Middle East]], including between [[Place:Israel|Israel]] and Hezbollah, then with Israel and Hamas. The most significant loss of life due to natural disasters came from the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, which caused a [[Tsunami|tsunami]] that killed around one quarter-million people and displaced well over a million others.

===Terrorist attacks===
[[File:North face south tower after plane strike 9-11.jpg|thumb|upright|The World Trade Center in {{wipe|New York City}}, as seen on September 11, 2001. Flight 175 has just flown into the South Tower.]]
The most prominent terrorist attacks committed against the civilian population during the decade include:
* [[Religion:September 11 attacks|September 11 attacks]] in {{wipe|New York City}}; [[Place:Washington, D.C.|Washington, D.C.]]; and Shanksville, Pennsylvania {{small|(2,977 killed)}}
* 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States {{small|(5 killed, 17 infected)}}
* 2002 Moscow theater hostage crisis in Moscow, Russia {{small|(171 killed)}}
* 2002 Bali bombings in Bali, Indonesia {{small|(202 killed)}}
* 2003 Casablanca bombings in [[Place:Casablanca|Casablanca]], Morocco {{small|(45 killed)}} 
* 2003 Istanbul bombings in Istanbul, Turkey {{small|(57 killed)}}
* 2004 Madrid train bombings {{small|(192 killed)}}
* 2004 Beslan school hostage crisis {{small|(334 killed)}}
* 2005 London bombings {{small|(56 killed)}}
* 2007 Yazidi communities bombings {{small|(796 killed)}}
* 2008 Mumbai attacks {{small|(175 killed)}}
* 2009 Boko Haram uprising {{small|(1000+ killed)}}

===Wars===

The most prominent armed conflicts of the decade include:

====International wars====
[[File:War on Terror montage1.png|thumb|The war on terror]]
[[File:Iraq header 2.jpg|thumb|The Iraq War]]
[[File:Gazamontage.png|right|thumb|2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict]]
* War on terror (2001–present) – refers to several [[Philosophy:Ideology|ideological]], military, and diplomatic campaigns aimed at putting an end to international terrorism by preventing groups defined by the U.S. and its allies as terrorist (mostly [[Religion:Islamism|Islamist]] groups such as [[Religion:Al-Qaeda|al-Qaeda]], Hezbollah, and Hamas) from posing a threat to the U.S. and its allies, and by putting an end to state sponsorship of terrorism. The campaigns were launched by the United States, with support from NATO and other allies, following the [[Religion:September 11 attacks|September 11 attacks]] that were carried out by al-Qaeda. Today the term has become mostly associated with Bush administration-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
** War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) – In 2001, the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Canada, and Australia invaded Afghanistan seeking to oust the [[Religion:Taliban|Taliban]] and find al-Qaeda mastermind [[Biography:Osama bin Laden|Osama bin Laden]]. In 2011, the US government claimed Navy Seals had killed Bin Laden and buried his body at sea. Fatalities of coalition troops: 1,553 (2001 to 2009).<ref>{{cite web|title=U.S. troops' death toll in Afghanistan doubles in 2009|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/28/content_12718088.htm|publisher=Xinhua News Agency|url-status=dead|access-date=February 11, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131115060015/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/28/content_12718088.htm|archive-date=November 15, 2013}}</ref>
** Iraq War (2003–2011) – In 2003, the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, Australia, and Poland invaded and occupied Iraq. Claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction at its disposal were later found to be unproven.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/03/13/alqaeda.saddam/| work=CNN| title=Hussein's Iraq and al Qaeda not linked, Pentagon says|access-date=April 21, 2010|date=March 13, 2008| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100429034736/http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/03/13/alqaeda.saddam/| archive-date=April 29, 2010| url-status=live}}</ref> The war, which ended the rule of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party, also led to violence against the coalition forces and between many Sunni and [[Religion:Shia Islam|Shia]] Iraqi groups and al-Qaeda operations in Iraq. Casualties of the Iraq War: Approximately 110,600 between March 2003 to April 2009. Hussein was eventually sentenced to death and hanged on December 30, 2006.
* Arab–Israeli conflict (1948 – present)
** 2006 Lebanon War (summer 2006) – took place in southern [[Place:Lebanon|Lebanon]] and northern [[Place:Israel|Israel]]. The principal parties were Hezbollah paramilitary forces and the Israeli military. The war that began as a military operation in response to the abduction of two Israeli reserve soldiers by the Hezbollah gradually strengthened and became a wider confrontation.
** [[Religion:Israeli–Palestinian conflict|Israeli–Palestinian conflict]] (Early 20th century – present)
*** Second Intifada (2000–2005) – After the signing of the Oslo Accords failed to bring about a Palestinian state, in September 2000, the Second Intifada (uprising) broke out, a period of intensified Palestinian-Israeli violence, which has been taking place until the present day. As a result of the significant increase of suicide bombing attacks within Israeli population centers during the first years of the Al-Aqsa Intifada,<ref name="ISF">{{cite web|url=http://www.securityfence.mod.gov.il/Pages/ENG/questions.htm|title=Questions and Answers|access-date=April 17, 2007|date=February 22, 2004|work=Israel's Security Fence|publisher=The State of Israel|quote=The Security Fence is being built with the sole purpose of saving the lives of the Israeli citizens who continue to be targeted by the terrorist campaign that began in 2000. The fact that over 800 men, women and children have been killed in horrific suicide bombings and other terror attacks clearly justifies the attempt to place a physical barrier in the path of terrorists.... terrorism has been defined throughout the international community as a crime against humanity. As such, the State of Israel not only has the right but also the obligation to do everything in its power to lessen the impact and scope of terrorism on the citizens of Israel.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003072906/http://www.securityfence.mod.gov.il/Pages/ENG/questions.htm|archive-date=October 3, 2013}}</ref> in June 2002 Israel began the construction of the West Bank Fence along the Green Line border arguing that the barrier is necessary to protect Israeli civilians from Palestinian terrorism. The significantly reduced number of incidents of suicide bombings from 2002 to 2005 has been partly attributed to the barrier.<ref name="McClatchy">{{cite web
|url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/staff/dion_nissenbaum/story/15469.html
| title = Death toll of Israeli civilians killed by Palestinians hit a low in 2006
| access-date=April 16, 2007
| last = Nissenbaum
| first = Dion
| date=January 10, 2007
| work = Washington Bureau
| publisher = McClatchy Newspapers
| quote = Fewer Israeli civilians died in Palestinian attacks in 2006 than in any year since the Palestinian uprising began in 2000. Palestinian militants killed 23 Israelis and foreign visitors in 2006, down from a high of 289 in 2002 during the height of the uprising. Most significant, successful suicide bombings in Israel nearly came to a halt. Last year, only two Palestinian suicide bombers managed to sneak into Israel for attacks that killed 11 people and wounded 30 others. Israel has gone nearly nine months without a suicide bombing inside its borders, the longest period without such an attack since 2000[...] An Israeli military spokeswoman said one major factor in that success had been Israel's controversial separation barrier, a still-growing {{Convert|250|mi|km|adj=on}} network of concrete walls, high-tech fencing and other obstacles that cuts through parts of the West Bank. ‘The security fence was put up to stop terror, and that's what it's doing,' said Capt. Noa Meir, a spokeswoman for the Israel Defense Forces. [...] Opponents of the wall grudgingly acknowledge that it has been effective in stopping bombers, though they complain that its route should have followed the border between Israel and the Palestinian territories known as the Green Line. [...] IDF spokeswoman Meir said Israeli military operations that disrupted militants planning attacks from the West Bank also deserved credit for the drop in Israeli fatalities.
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081120203241/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/staff/dion_nissenbaum/story/15469.html
| archive-date=November 20, 2008}}</ref> The barrier's construction, which has been highly controversial, became a significant issue of contention between the two sides. The Second Intifada has caused thousands of victims on both sides, both among combatants and among civilians – The death toll, including both military and civilian, is estimated to be 5,500 Palestinians and over 1,000 Israelis, as well as 64 foreign citizens.<ref>[http://www.btselem.org/English/Statistics/Casualties.asp ''B'Tselem – Statistics – Fatalities''], B'Tselem. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202225031/http://www.btselem.org/English/Statistics/Casualties.asp|date=December 2, 2010 }}</ref> Many Palestinians consider the Second Intifada to be a legitimate war of national liberation against foreign occupation, whereas many Israelis consider it to be a terrorist campaign.<ref>[http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2003/11/Israel-+the+Conflict+and+Peace-+Answers+to+Frequen+-+2003.htm#cause "Israel, the Conflict and Peace: Answers to FAQ."] ''Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs''. November 3, 2003. April 20, 2009. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006064017/http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2003/11/Israel-+the+Conflict+and+Peace-+Answers+to+Frequen+-+2003.htm#cause|date=October 6, 2013 }}</ref>
*** 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict – the frequent Hamas [[Engineering:Qassam rocket|Qassam rocket]] and mortar fire launched from within civilian population centers in Gaza towards the Israeli southern civilian communities led to an Israeli military operation in Gaza, which had the stated aim of reducing the Hamas rocket attacks and stopping the arms smuggling into the Gaza Strip. Throughout the conflict, Hamas further intensified its rocket and mortar attacks against Israel, hitting civilian targets and reaching major Israeli cities Beersheba and Ashdod, for the first time. The intense urban warfare in densely populated Gaza combined with the use of massive firepower by the Israeli side<ref name="BBC 2010-01-29">{{cite news|title=Goldstone report: Israel and Palestinians respond to UN|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8487301.stm|access-date=January 27, 2011|work=BBC|date=January 29, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215014012/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8487301.stm|archive-date=December 15, 2013}}</ref> and the intensified Hamas rocket attacks towards populated Israeli civilian targets led to a high toll on the Palestinian side and among civilians.<ref name="PCHRCASFIG">{{cite press release
|title = Confirmed figures reveal the true extent of the destruction inflicted upon the Gaza Strip; Israel's offensive resulted in 1,417 dead, including 926 civilians, 255 police officers, and 236 fighters.
|publisher = Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
|date=March 19, 2009
|url=http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/PressR/English/2008/36-2009.html
|access-date=March 19, 2009
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100201173858/http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/PressR/English/2008/36-2009.html
|archive-date=February 1, 2010
}}</ref>
* The Second Congo War (1998–2003) – took place mainly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The widest interstate war in modern African history, it directly involved nine African nations, as well as about twenty armed groups. It earned the epithet of "Africa's World War" and the "Great War of Africa." An estimated 3.8 million people died, mostly from starvation and disease brought about by the deadliest conflict since World War II. Millions more were displaced from their homes or sought asylum in neighboring countries.
* 2008 South Ossetia war – Russia invaded [[Place:Georgia (country)|Georgia]] in response to Georgian aggression towards civilians and attack on South Ossetia. Both Russia and Georgia were condemned internationally for their actions.
* The Second Chechen War (1999–2000) – the war was launched by the {{wipe|Russia}} on August 26, 1999, in response to the invasion of Dagestan and the Russian apartment bombings, which were blamed on the [[Place:Chechen Republic of Ichkeria|Chechens]]. During the war, Russian forces largely recaptured the separatist region of Chechnya.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} The campaign largely reversed the outcome of the First Chechen War, in which the region gained ''de facto'' independence as the [[Place:Chechen Republic of Ichkeria|Chechen Republic of Ichkeria]].
* The Eritrean–Ethiopian War came to a close in 2000.
* Kivu conflict (2004–2009) – armed conflict between the military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) and the [[Social:Hutu Power|Hutu Power]] group Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).
* 2009 Nigerian sectarian violence – an armed conflict between [[Religion:Boko Haram|Boko Haram]], a militant Islamist group, and Nigerian security forces.

====Civil wars and guerrilla wars====
[[File:Darfur Jeep.jpg|right|thumb|Irregular combatants in North Darfur. The Arabic text on the bumper reads "The Sudan Liberation Army" (SLA).]]
[[File:Darfur refugee camp in Chad.jpg|thumb|Darfur refugee camp in Chad]]
* War in Darfur (2003–2009) – an armed conflict in the Darfur region of western Sudan. The conflict began when the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) in Darfur took up arms, accusing the government of oppressing black Africans in favor of Arabs. One side was composed mainly of the Sudanese military and the Sudanese militia group Janjaweed, recruited mostly from the Afro-Arab Abbala tribes of the northern Rizeigat region in Sudan. The other side was made up of rebel groups, notably the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and the Justice and Equality Movement, recruited primarily from the non-Arab Muslim Fur, Zaghawa, and Masalit ethnic groups. Millions of people were displaced from their homes during the conflict.<ref>{{cite news|title=African Union Force Ineffective, Complain Refugees in Darfur|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/15/AR2006101500655.html|date=October 16, 2006|newspaper={{wipe|The Washington Post}}| first=Alfred| last=de Montesquiou| access-date=November 30, 2011}}</ref> There are various estimates on the number of human casualties – Sudanese authorities claim a death toll of roughly 19,500 civilians<ref>{{cite web|url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/822/re72.htm|first=Gamal|last=Nkrumah|title=Old dogs, new tricks|publisher=Weekly.ahram.org.eg|date=December 6, 2006|access-date=February 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061206194306/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/822/re72.htm|archive-date=December 6, 2006 }}</ref> while certain non-governmental organizations, such as the Coalition for International Justice, claim that over 400,000 people have been killed during the conflict.<ref>{{cite news|last=Lacey|first=Marc|title=Tallying Darfur Terror: Guesswork with a Cause|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/05/10/news/journal.php|work=International Herald Tribune|date=May 11, 2005|access-date=April 7, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080501105055/http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/05/10/news/journal.php|archive-date=May 1, 2008| url-status=live}}</ref> Former U.S. President George W. Bush called the events in Darfur a genocide during his presidency.<ref>[https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2004/09/20040909-10.html President's Statement on Violence in Darfur, Sudan] (statement released by The White House) September 9, 2004 {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130504202602/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2004/09/20040909-10.html|date=May 4, 2013|title=President Meets with Darfur Advocates }}</ref><ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/01/AR2005060101725.html In Break With U.N., Bush Calls Sudan Killings Genocide]. Jim VandeHei. {{wipe|The Washington Post}}. June 2, 2005.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/04/20060428-5.html|title=President Meets with Darfur Advocates|date=April 28, 2006|publisher=The White House|access-date=January 19, 2017}}</ref> The United States Congress unanimously passed House Concurrent Resolution 467, which declared the situation in Darfur a state-sponsored genocide by the Janjaweed.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3921451.stm Excerpts: US Congress resolution on Darfur], BBC July 23, 2004 {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508121816/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3921451.stm|date=May 8, 2014 }}</ref> In 2008, the International Criminal Court charged Omar al-Bashir with genocide for his role in the War in Darfur.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/From-the-news-wires/2010/0712/Omar-al-Bashir-charged-by-Hague-for-orchestrating-Darfur-genocide|title=Omar al-Bashir charged by Hague for orchestrating Darfur genocide|journal=Christian Science Monitor|date=July 12, 2010|publisher=CSMonitor.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508115214/http://www.csmonitor.com/From-the-news-wires/2010/0712/Omar-al-Bashir-charged-by-Hague-for-orchestrating-Darfur-genocide|archive-date=May 8, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL1417202620080714|title=ICC prosecutor seeks arrest of Sudan's Bashir|access-date=July 15, 2008|work=Reuters|date=July 14, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090216000630/https://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL1417202620080714|archive-date=February 16, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Peter|last=Walker|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jul/14/sudan.warcrimes1?gusrc=rss&feed=worldnews|title=Darfur genocide charges for Sudanese president|access-date=July 15, 2008|work={{wipe|The Guardian}}|date=July 14, 2008|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090826071757/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/14/sudan.warcrimes1?gusrc=rss&feed=worldnews|archive-date=August 26, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Sudanese president charged with genocide|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/sudanese-president-charged-with-genocide-1.718585|work=CBC News|date=July 14, 2008|access-date=July 15, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090702185538/https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/sudanese-president-charged-with-genocide-1.718585|archive-date=July 2, 2009}}</ref>
* Mexican Drug War (2006–present) – an armed conflict fought between rival drug cartels and government forces in Mexico. Although Mexican drug cartels, or drug trafficking organizations, have existed for quite some time, they have become more powerful since the demise of Colombia's Cali and Medellín cartels in the 1990s. Mexican drug cartels now dominate the wholesale illicit drug market in the United States.<ref name="Cook7">{{cite book| title=CRS Report for Congress: Mexico's Drug Cartels| editor-first=Colleen W.| editor-last=Cook| publisher=Congressional Research Service| page=7| date=October 16, 2007| url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL34215.pdf}}</ref> Arrests of key cartel leaders, particularly in the Tijuana and Gulf cartels, have led to increasing drug violence as cartels fight for control of the trafficking routes into the United States.<ref>{{cite news| first=Traci| last=Carl| title=Progress in Mexico drug war is drenched in blood| date=March 10, 2009| agency=Associated Press|url=http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2009/mar/10/lt-mexico-struggling-cartels-031009/| access-date=November 26, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| title=High U.S. cocaine cost shows drug war working: Mexico| date=September 14, 2007| work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN1422771920070914| access-date=April 1, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204232646/https://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN1422771920070914|archive-date=December 4, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| title=CRS Report for Congress: Mexico and the 112th Congress| chapter=Mexico – U.S. Relations: Issues for Congress| editor-first=Mark P.| editor-last=Sullivan| publisher=Congressional Research Service| pages=2, 13, 14| date=December 18, 2008| chapter-url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL32724.pdf}}</ref> Roughly more than 16,851 people in total were killed between December 2006 until November 2009.<ref>The attorney general's office says that 9 of 10 victims are members of organized-crime groups. {{cite news|first=Sara|last=Miller Llana|title=Briefing: How Mexico is waging war on drug cartels.|date=August 16, 2009|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0819/p10s01-woam.html|work=The Christian Science Monitor|access-date=November 26, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090822130354/http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0819/p10s01-woam.html|archive-date=August 22, 2009}}</ref>
* [[File:The Red Corridor ver 1.PNG|thumb|Map showing the districts where the Naxalite movement is active (2007)]] In India, Naxalite–Maoist insurgency (1967–present) has grown alarmingly with attacks such as April 2010 Maoist attack in Dantewada, Jnaneswari Express train derailment, and Rafiganj train disaster. Naxalites are a group of far-left radical communists, supportive of Maoist political sentiment and ideology. It is presently the longest continuously active conflict worldwide. In 2006 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called the Naxalites "The single biggest internal security challenge ever faced by our country."<ref name="autogenerated2" /> In 2009, he said the country was "losing the battle against Maoist rebels".<ref name="news.bbc.co.uk">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8256692.stm|work=BBC News| title=India is 'losing Maoist battle'| date=September 15, 2009| access-date=May 20, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140319025753/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8256692.stm|archive-date=March 19, 2014}}</ref> According to standard definitions the Naxalite–Maoist insurgency is an ongoing conflict<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=7799247|title=India's Naxalites: A spectre haunting India|newspaper=The Economist|date=April 12, 2006|access-date=July 13, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100523074605/http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=7799247|archive-date=May 23, 2010}}</ref> between Maoist groups, known as Naxalites or Naxals, and the Indian government.<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite web|url=http://www.ploughshares.ca/libraries/ACRText/ACR-IndiaAP.html|title=Armed Conflicts Report – India-Andhra Pradesh|publisher=Ploughshares.ca|access-date=July 13, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090603175725/http://www.ploughshares.ca/libraries/ACRText/ACR-IndiaAP.html|archive-date=June 3, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> On April 6, 2010, Maoist rebels killed 75 security forces in a jungle ambush in central India in the worst-ever massacre of security forces by the insurgents. On the same day, Gopal, a top Maoist leader, said the attack was a "direct consequence" of the government's Operation Green Hunt offensive. This raised some voices of use of Indian Air Force against Naxalites, which were, however, declined, citing "We can't use oppressive force against our own people".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/newdelhi/Chhatisgarh-attack-consequence-of-Green-Hunt-Maoist-leader/Article1-528028.aspx|title=Chhatisgarh attack 'consequence' of Green Hunt: Maoist leader|work=Hindustan Times|location=India|date=April 6, 2010|access-date=February 13, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228155830/http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Chhatisgarh-attack-consequence-of-Green-Hunt-Maoist-leader/Article1-528028.aspx|archive-date=December 28, 2013}}</ref>
* The Colombian Armed Conflict continues causing deaths and terror in Colombia. Beginning in 1964, the FARC and ELN narcoterrorist groups were taking control of rural areas of the country by the beginning of the decade, while terrorist paramilitaries grew in other places as businesspeople and politicians thought the State would lose the war against guerrillas. However, after the failure of the peace process and the activation of [[Medicine:Plan Colombia|Plan Colombia]], Álvaro Uribe Vélez was elected president in 2002, starting a massive attack on terrorist groups, with cooperation from civil population, foreign aid and legal armed forces. The AUC paramilitary organization disbanded in 2006, while ELN guerrillas have been weakened. The Popular Liberation Army demobilized while the country's biggest terrorist group, FARC has been weakened and most of their top commanders have been killed or died during the decade. During the second half of the decade, a new criminal band has been formed by former members of AUC who did not demobilize, calling themselves Aguilas Negras. Although the Colombian State has taken back control over most of the country, narcoterrorism still causes pain in the country. Since 2008, the Internet has become a new field of battle. Facebook has gained nationwide popularity and has become the birthplace of many civil movements against narcoterrorism such as "Colombia Soy Yo" (I am Colombia) or "Fundación Un Millón de Voces" (One Million Voices Foundation), responsible for the international protests against illegal groups during the last years.
* The Sierra Leone Civil War (1991–2002) came to an end when the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) finally laid down their arms. More than two million people were displaced from their homes because of the conflict (well over one-third of the population) many of whom became refugees in neighboring countries. Tens of thousands were killed during the conflict.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat4.htm|first=Matthew|last=White|title=Mid-Range Wars and Atrocities of the Twentieth Century|publisher=Users.erols.com|date=October 2010|access-date=February 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130809170057/http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat4.htm|archive-date=August 9, 2013}}</ref>
* The Sri Lankan Civil War (1983–2009) came to an end after the government defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Over 80,000 people were killed during the course of the conflict.<ref>[http://in.reuters.com/article/southAsiaNews/idINIndia-32243020080301 Sri Lanka military, rebels trade death toll claims] Reuters India – March 1, 2008. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506190311/http://in.reuters.com/article/southAsiaNews/idINIndia-32243020080301|date=May 6, 2009 }}</ref>
* [[Social:War in North-West Pakistan|War in North-West Pakistan]] (2004–present) – an armed conflict between the Pakistani Armed Forces and Islamic militants made up of local tribesmen, the [[Religion:Taliban|Taliban]], and foreign [[Religion:Mujahideen|Mujahideen]] (Holy Warriors). It began in 2004 when tensions rooted in the Pakistani Army's search for [[Religion:Al-Qaeda|al-Qaeda]] members in Pakistan's mountainous Waziristan area (in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas) escalated into armed resistance by local tribesmen. The violence has displaced 3.44 million civilians<ref>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/05/31/pakistan.red.cross/index.html|title=Red Cross 'gravely concerned' about conditions in Swat Valley|work=CNN|date=May 31, 2009|access-date=February 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029211024/http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/05/31/pakistan.red.cross/index.html|archive-date=October 29, 2013}}</ref> and led to more than 7,000 civilians being killed.<ref name="satp.org">{{cite web|url=http://satp.org/satporgtp/countries/pakistan/index.htm|title=Pakistan Assessment 2011|publisher=SATP.org|access-date=February 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140215142834/http://satp.org/satporgtp/countries/pakistan/index.htm|archive-date=February 15, 2014}}</ref>
* The Angolan Civil War (1975–2002), once a major proxy conflict of the [[History:Cold War|Cold War]], the conflict ended after the anti-Communist organization UNITA disbanded to become a political party. By the time the 27-year conflict was formally brought to an end, an estimated 500,000 people had been killed.<ref name="angolagate">{{cite web|author=Madsen, Wayne|date=May 17, 2002|url=http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=2576|title=Report Alleges U.S. Role in Angola Arms-for-Oil Scandal|publisher=CorpWatch|access-date=February 10, 2008| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080105182138/http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=2576| archive-date=January 5, 2008}}</ref>
* Shia insurgency in Yemen (2004–present) – a civil war in the Sada'a Governorate of Yemen. It began after the [[Religion:Shia Islam|Shia]] Zaidiyyah sect launched an uprising against the Yemeni government. The Yemeni government has accused [[Religion:Iran|Iran]] of directing and financing the insurgency.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/uploads/tf_004_002.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081029200028/http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/uploads/tf_004_002.pdf|url-status=dead|title=Yemen Accuses Iran of Meddling in its Internal Affairs|archive-date=October 29, 2008}}</ref> Thousands of rebels and civilians have been killed during the conflict.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ploughshares.ca/libraries/ACRText/ACR-Yemen.htm#Status|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512100638/http://www.ploughshares.ca/libraries/ACRText/ACR-Yemen.htm#Status|url-status=dead|title=Ploughshares.com|archive-date=May 12, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/Yemeni-military-battles-Shiite-rebels/2007/03/20/1174153010354.html|location=Australia|work=The Age|title=Yemeni military battles Shi'ite rebels|date=March 20, 2007|access-date=November 30, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325151349/http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/Yemeni-military-battles-Shiite-rebels/2007/03/20/1174153010354.html|archive-date=March 25, 2014}}</ref>
* Somali Civil War (1991–present)
** Somalia War (2006–2009) – involved largely Ethiopian and Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces who fought against the Somali Islamist [[Organization:Umbrella organization|umbrella group]], the Islamic Court Union (ICU), and other affiliated militias for control of the country. The war spawned pirates who hijacked hundreds of ships off the coast of Somalia, holding ships and crew for ransom often for months (see also Piracy in Somalia). 1.9 million people were displaced from their homes during the conflict<ref name="autogenerated4">{{cite web|url=http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/AMMF-7JJCSY?OpenDocument|first=Abdi|last=Sheikh|title=Nearly 9,500 Somalis die in insurgency-group|publisher=Reliefweb.int|date=September 16, 2008|access-date=February 13, 2012}}</ref> and the number of civilian casualties during the conflict is estimated at 16,724.<ref>{{cite news|last=Wallis|first=Daniel|editor-first=Louise|editor-last=Ireland|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE4B943G20081211?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews|title=Sharif back in Mogadishu as death toll hits 16,210|work=Reuters|date=December 11, 2008|access-date=February 13, 2012}}</ref>
** Somali Civil War (2009–present) – involved largely the forces of the Somali Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) assisted by African Union peacekeeping troops, whom fought against various militant Islamist factions for control of the country. The violence has displaced thousands of people residing in [[Place:Mogadishu|Mogadishu]], the nation's capital. 1,739 people in total were killed between January 1, 2009, and January 1, 2010.<ref name="casualties">allafrica [http://allafrica.com/stories/201001010001.html More Than 1,700 Killed in Clashes in 2009], January 1, 2010 {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012233227/http://allafrica.com/stories/201001010001.html|date=October 12, 2012 }}</ref>
* [[Social:Conflict in the Niger Delta|Conflict in the Niger Delta]] (2004–present) – an ongoing conflict in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The conflict was caused due to the tensions between the [[Finance:Multinational corporation|foreign]] oil corporations and a number of the Niger Delta's minority ethnic groups who felt they were being exploited, particularly the Ogoni and the Ijaw. The competition for oil wealth has led to an endless violence cycle between innumerable ethnic groups, causing the [[Social:Militarization|militarization]] of nearly the entire region that was occupied by militia groups as well as Nigerian military and the forces of the Nigerian Police.
* Algerian Civil War (1991–2002) – the conflict effectively ended with a government victory, following the surrender of the Islamic Salvation Army and the 2002 defeat of the Armed Islamic Group. It is estimated that more than 100,000 people were killed during the course of the conflict.
* Civil war in Chad (1998–present)
** Chadian Civil War (1998–2002) – involved the Movement for Justice and Democracy in Chad (MDJT) rebels that skirmished periodically with government troops in the Tibesti region, resulting in hundreds of civilian, government, and rebel casualties.
** Chadian Civil War (2005–2010) – involved Chadian government forces and several Chadian rebel groups. The Government of Chad estimated in January 2006 that 614 Chadian citizens had been killed in cross-border raids.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=Al Jazeera|title=Chad wants Sudan to disarm rebels|date=January 12, 2006|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/English/archive/archive?ArchiveId=17880| access-date=November 30, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604212223/http://english.aljazeera.net/English/archive/archive?ArchiveId=17880|archive-date=June 4, 2011}}</ref> The fighting still continues despite several attempts to reach agreements.
* Nepalese Civil War (1996–2006) – the conflict ended with a peace agreement was reached between the government and the Maoist party in which it was set that the Maoists would take part in the new government in return for surrendering their weapons to the UN. It is estimated that more than 12,700 people were killed during the course of the conflict.<ref name="Douglas">Ed Douglas. "Inside Nepal's Revolution..... (just to check..!!!)". ''National Geographic Magazine'', p. 54, November 2005. Douglas lists the following figures: "Nepalis killed by Maoists from 1996 to 2005: 4,500. Nepalis killed by government in same period: 8,200."</ref>
* Second Liberian Civil War (1999–2003) – The conflict began in 1999 when a rebel group Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), with support from the Government of Guinea, took over northern Liberia through a coup. In early 2003, a different rebel group, the Movement for Democracy in Liberia, emerged in the south. As a result, by June–July 2003, president Charles Taylor's government controlled only a third of the country. The capital [[Place:Monrovia|Monrovia]] was besieged by LURD, and that group's shelling of the city resulted in the deaths of many civilians. Thousands of people were displaced from their homes as a result of the conflict.
* Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present) – Algeria has been the subject of an Islamic insurgency since 2002 waged by the Sunni Islamic [[Religion:Jihad|Jihad]]ist militant group Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC). GSPC allied itself with the Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb against the Algerian government. The conflict has since spread to other neighboring countries.
* Ituri conflict (1999–2007) – a conflict fought between the Lendu and Hema ethnic groups in the Ituri region of northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). While there have been many phases to the conflict, the most recent armed clashes ran from 1999 to 2003, with a low-level conflict continuing until 2007. More than 50,000 people have been killed in the conflict and hundreds of thousands forced from their homes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6158331.stm|first=Karen|last=Allen|title=Eastern DR Congo rebels to disarm|work=BBC|date=November 30, 2006|access-date=February 13, 2012|archive-date=February 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202062805/http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6158331.stm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* Central African Republic Bush War (2004–2007) – began with the rebellion by the Union of Democratic Forces for Unity (UFDR) rebels, after the current president of the Central African Republic, François Bozizé, seized power in a 2003 coup. The violence has displaced around 10,000 civilians and has led to hundreds of civilians being killed.
* Civil war in Afghanistan (1996–2001) – an armed conflict that continued after the capture of [[Place:Kabul|Kabul]] by the [[Religion:Taliban|Taliban]], in which the formation of the Afghan Northern Alliance attempted to oust the Taliban. It proved largely unsuccessful, as the Taliban continued to make gains and eliminated much of the Alliance's leadership.

===Coups===
[[File:Coup-d'etat-2-web-cnni.jpg|thumb|2006 Thai coup d'état]] The most prominent coups d'état of the decade include:
* 2000 overthrow of Slobodan Milošević in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia – after Slobodan Milošević was accused by opposition figures of winning the 2000 election through electoral fraud, mass protests led by the opposition movement Otpor! pressure Slobodan Milošević to resign. Milošević was later arrested in 2001 and sent to the Hague to face war crimes charges for his alleged involvement in war crimes of the Yugoslav Wars.
* 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt – a failed military coup d'état on April 11, 2002, which aimed to overthrow the president of Venezuela Hugo Chávez. During the coup Hugo Chávez was arrested and Pedro Carmona became the interim President for 47&nbsp;hours. The coup led to a pro-Chávez uprising that the Metropolitan Police attempted to suppress. The pro-Chávez Presidential Guard eventually retook the Miraflores presidential palace without firing a shot, leading to the collapse of the Carmona government.
* 2004 Haitian coup d'état – a conflict fought for several weeks in Haiti during February 2004 that resulted in the premature end of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's second term, and the installment of an interim government led by Gérard Latortue.
* 2006 Thai coup d'état – on September 19, 2006, while the elected Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was in New York for a meeting of the UN, Army Commander-in-Chief Lieutenant General Sonthi Boonyaratglin launched a bloodless coup d'état.
* Fatah–Hamas conflict (2006–2009) – an armed conflict fought between the two main Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas with each vying to assume political control of the [[Place:Palestinian territories|Palestinian territories]]. In June 2007, Hamas took control of the entire Gaza Strip, and established a separate government while Fatah remained in control of the West Bank. This in practice divided the Palestinian Authority into two. Various forces affiliated with Fatah engaged in combat with Hamas, in numerous gun battles. Most Fatah leaders eventually escaped to Egypt and the West Bank, while some were captured and killed.
* 2009 Honduras coup d'état – The armed forces of the country entered the president's residence and overthrew president Manuel Zelaya. (see 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis).

===Nuclear threats===
[[File:Natanz nuclear.jpg|right|thumb|Anti-aircraft guns guarding Natanz Nuclear Facility in Iran]]
* Since 2005, Iran's nuclear program has become the subject of contention with the Western world due to suspicions that Iran could divert the civilian nuclear technology to a weapons program. This has led the UN Security Council to impose sanctions against Iran on select companies linked to this program, thus furthering its economic isolation on the international scene. The U.S. Director of National Intelligence said in February 2009 that Iran would not realistically be able to a get a nuclear weapon until 2013, if it chose to develop one.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN25158068| title=RPT-EXCLUSIVE-Iran would need 18 months for atom bomb-diplomats| first=Louis| last=Charbonneau| date=October 26, 2009| work=Reuters| access-date=November 30, 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100828042601/https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN25158068| archive-date=August 28, 2010}}</ref>
* In 2003, the United States invaded Iraq over allegations that its leader Saddam Hussein was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction including chemical and biological weapons or was in the process of creating them. None were found, spawning multiple theories.
* North Korea successfully performed two nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009.
* Operation Orchard – during the operation, Israel bombed what was believed to be a Syrian nuclear reactor on September 6, 2007, which was thought to be built with the aid of North Korea.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/23/AR2008042302906_pf.html| newspaper=The Washington Post| title=N. Koreans Taped At Syrian Reactor| first=Robin| last=Wright| access-date=April 21, 2010}}</ref> The White House and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) later declared that American intelligence indicated the site was a nuclear facility with a military purpose, though Syria denies this.<ref>[http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jWIBgbzyBkHnJzQeMi80gXfjX0-Q NKorea-Syria nuclear work had military aims: White House] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520132008/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jWIBgbzyBkHnJzQeMi80gXfjX0-Q|date=May 20, 2011 }}, Associated French Press, April 24, 2008. Retrieved April 24, 2008.</ref>
* The [[Unsolved:Doomsday Clock|Doomsday Clock]], the symbolic representation of the threat of nuclear annihilation, moved four minutes closer to midnight: two minutes in 2002 and two minutes in 2007 to 5&nbsp;minutes to midnight.

===Decolonization and independence===
* East Timor regains independence from Indonesia in 2002. Portugal granted independence to East Timor in 1975, but it was soon after invaded by Indonesia, which only recognized East Timorese independence in 2002.
* Montenegro gains independence from Serbia in 2006, ending the 88-year-old [[Place:Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]]. 
* Kosovo declares independence from Serbia in 2008, though its independence still remains unrecognized by many countries.
* On August 23, 2005, Israel's unilateral disengagement from 25 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and West Bank ends.
* On August 26, 2008, Russia formally recognises the disputed [[Place:Georgia (country)|Georgian]] regions of [[Place:Abkhazia|Abkhazia]] and [[Place:South Ossetia|South Ossetia]] as independent states.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kremlin.ru/eng/speeches/2008/08/26/1543_type82912_205752.shtml|title=Statement by President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev|publisher=Russia's President web site|date=August 26, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080902001442/http://www.kremlin.ru/eng/speeches/2008/08/26/1543_type82912_205752.shtml|archive-date=September 2, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> The vast majority of United Nations member states maintain that the areas belong to Georgia.

===Political trends===

==== American party system ====
During the 2000s, the expectations and unspoken rules for acceptable conduct among American politicians affiliated with the Republican or Democratic Parties changed due to the decline of [[Social:Political boss|political boss]]es in the previous 4 decades and the momentous events in America that happened during the decade.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Davis |first=Kenneth C. |title=Don't Know Much About History: Everything You Need to Know About American History but Never Learned |publisher=HarperCollins |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-06-008381-6 |edition=1st |location=New York |pages=623 |}}</ref>

Generally, American presidential candidates abided by and respected the established procedures of both major parties' presidential nomination process.<ref name=":02" />

====Peaceful transfers of power====
During this decade, the [[Social:Peaceful transition of power|peaceful transfer of power]] through elections first occurred in Mexico, Indonesia, Taiwan, Colombia, and several other countries. (See below.)

===Prominent political events===
[[File:President George W. Bush Delivers Inaugural Address.jpg|thumb|George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States, 2001–2009]]
[[File:US President Barack Obama taking his Oath of Office - 2009Jan20.jpg|thumb|Barack Obama, the first African American president of the United States, was inaugurated in 2009]]
The prominent political events of the decade include:

====North America====

=====Canada=====
* Paul Martin replaces Jean Chrétien as Prime Minister of Canada in 2003 by becoming the new leader of the Liberal Party. Stephen Harper was elected prime minister in 2006 following the defeat of Paul Martin's government in a motion of no confidence.

=====Greenland=====
* [[Place:Greenland|Greenland]] was granted further [[Social:Devolution|Self-governance]] (or "self-rule") within the Kingdom of Denmark on June 21, 2009.<ref name=selfrule>{{cite news |title = Self-rule introduced in Greenland |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8111292.stm |work = BBC News |date = June 21, 2009 |access-date = May 4, 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100425041746/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8111292.stm |archive-date = April 25, 2010 |url-status = live}}</ref>

=====Mexico=====
* Vicente Fox was elected President of Mexico in the 2000 presidential election, making him the first president elected from an opposition party in 71 years, defeating the then-dominant Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).

=====United States=====
* George W. Bush was sworn in succeeding Bill Clinton as the 43rd President of the United States on January 20, 2001, following a sharply contested election.
* On October 26, 2001, U.S. President George W. Bush signed the USA PATRIOT Act into law.
* On February 15, 2003, anti-war protests broke out around the world in opposition to the U.S. Invasion of Iraq, in what the Guinness Book of World Records called the largest anti-war rally in human history.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.elmundo.es/quiosco/pdf/febrero2003/16portada.pdf|title=El Mundo contra la Guerra (in Spanish)|date=February 16, 2003|access-date=February 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041224094409/http://www.elmundo.es/quiosco/pdf/febrero2003/16portada.pdf|archive-date=December 24, 2004 }}</ref> In reaction, ''{{wipe|The New York Times}}'' writer Patrick Tyler wrote in a February 17 article that: ''...the huge anti-war demonstrations around the world this weekend are reminders that there may still be two superpowers on the planet: the United States and world public opinion.''<ref>{{cite news|last=Tyler|first=Patrick|title=THREATS AND RESPONSES: NEWS ANALYSIS; A New Power In the Streets|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/17/world/threats-and-responses-news-analysis-a-new-power-in-the-streets.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 24, 2013|date=February 17, 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131225062538/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/17/world/threats-and-responses-news-analysis-a-new-power-in-the-streets.html|archive-date=December 25, 2013}}</ref>
* On June 5, 2004, Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States, died after having suffered from [[Medicine:Alzheimer's disease|Alzheimer's disease]] for nearly a decade. His seven-day state funeral followed, spanning June 5–11. The general public stood in long lines waiting for a turn to view the casket. People passed by the casket at a rate of about 5,000 per hour (83.3 per minute, or 1.4 per second) and the wait time was about three hours. In all, 104,684 passed through when Reagan lay in state.<ref>Lak, Daniel. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3793065.stm "Reagan lies in state at Capitol"]. BBC, June 11, 2004. Retrieved March 9, 2008. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061215143729/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3793065.stm|date=December 15, 2006 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.uscapitolpolice.gov/pressreleases/2004/pr_06-11-04.php "United States Capitol Police Press Releases: Lying In State for former President Reagan"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927071913/http://www.uscapitolpolice.gov/pressreleases/2004/pr_06-11-04.php|date=September 27, 2007 }}. United States Capitol Police. Retrieved March 9, 2008</ref>
* [[Biography:Barack Obama|Barack Obama]] was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States in 2009, becoming the nation's first African American president.

====South America====
* November 19, 2000 – Peruvian dictator/president Alberto Fujimori resigns via fax. Valentín Paniagua is named Temporary President.
* Álvaro Uribe is elected President of Colombia in 2002, the first political independent to do so in more than a century and a half, creating the right-wing political movement known as uribism. Uribe was re-elected in 2006.
* In 2006, Michelle Bachelet is elected as the first female President of Chile.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4613864.stm|title=Chile gets first woman president|work=BBC News|date=January 16, 2006|access-date=February 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112033326/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4613864.stm|archive-date=November 12, 2013}}</ref>
* [[Social:Pink tide|Pink tide]]: Left-wing governments emerge in South American countries. These governments include those of Hugo Chávez in Venezuela since 1999, Fernando Lugo in Paraguay, Rafael Correa in Ecuador, and Evo Morales in Bolivia. With the creation of the ALBA, Fidel Castro—leader of Cuba between 1959 and 2008—and Hugo Chávez reaffirmed their opposition to the aggressive militarism and [[Social:Imperialism|imperialism]] of the United States.
* Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was elected (2002) and reelected (2006) President of Brazil.
* In 2003, Néstor Kirchner was elected as President of Argentina. And in 2007, he was later succeeded by his wife, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who became the first directly elected female President of Argentina.
* May 23, 2008 – The [[Organization:Union of South American Nations|Union of South American Nations]], a [[Social:Supranational union|supranational union]], is made from joining the [[Finance:Andean Community of Nations|Andean Community]] and [[Finance:Mercosur|Mercosur]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.towardsunity.org/usan.phtml|title=The Union of South American Nations|publisher=Towardsunity.org|access-date=February 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120620000451/http://www.towardsunity.org/usan.phtml|archive-date=June 20, 2012 }}</ref>

====Asia====
[[File:Tehran protests (26).jpg|thumb|upright|Protesters in [[Place:Tehran|Tehran]] during the 2009 Iranian election protests]]
* On May 18, 2000, Chen Shui-bian was elected as the president of Taiwan, ending the half-century rule of the KMT on the island, and became the first president of the DPP.
* Israeli withdrawal from the Israeli security zone in southern Lebanon – on May 25, 2000, Israel withdrew IDF forces from the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon in southern [[Place:Lebanon|Lebanon]] after 22 years.
* In July 2000 the Camp David 2000 Summit was held which was aimed at reaching a "final status" agreement between the Palestinians and the Israelis. The summit collapsed after Yasser Arafat would not accept a proposal drafted by American and Israeli negotiators. Barak was prepared to offer the entire Gaza Strip, a Palestinian capital in a part of East Jerusalem, 73% of the West Bank (excluding eastern Jerusalem) raising to 90–94% after 10–25 years, and financial reparations for Palestinian refugees for peace. Arafat turned down the offer without making a counter-offer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mideastweb.org/campdavid2.htm|title=Camp David Proposals for Final Palestine-Israel Peace Settlement|publisher=Mideastweb.org|date=July 2000|access-date=February 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022072323/http://www.mideastweb.org/campdavid2.htm|archive-date=October 22, 2013 }}</ref>
* January 20, 2001 – June 30, 2010 – Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was the 14th president of the Republic of the {{wipe|Philippines}}.
* 2002 – [[Biography:Recep Tayyip Erdoğan|Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] was elected as Prime Minister of Turkey. Abdullah Gül was elected as President of Turkey.
* March 15–16, 2003 – CPC General Secretary, President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, replaced former People's Republic of China leaders Jiang Zemin and Zhu Rongji.
* 2003 – the 12-year self-government in Iraqi [[Place:Kurdistan|Kurdistan]] ends, developed under the protection of the UN "No-fly zone" during the now-ousted Saddam Hussein regime.
* 2003 – Prime minister of Malaysia Mahathir Muhammad resigns in October, he was succeeded by Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi.
* Manmohan Singh was elected (2004) and reelected (2009) Prime Minister in India. He is the only Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after completing a full five-year term. Singh previously carried out economic reforms in India in 1991, during his tenure as the Finance Minister.<ref name="BBC1">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3725357.stm|title=India's architect of reforms|access-date=December 11, 2008|last=Biswas|first=Soutik|date=October 14, 2005|work=BBC News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430013006/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3725357.stm|archive-date=April 30, 2009}}</ref>
* January 9, 2005 – Mahmoud Abbas is elected to succeed [[Biography:Yasser Arafat|Yasser Arafat]] as Palestinian Authority President.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/1933453.stm|title=Profile: Mahmoud Abbas|work=BBC|access-date=October 14, 2009|date=January 10, 2005| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090601012740/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/1933453.stm| archive-date=June 1, 2009}}</ref>
* August 1, 2005 – Fahd, the King of Saudi Arabia from 1982 to 2005, died and is replaced by King Abdullah.
* January 4, 2006 – Powers are transferred from Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to his deputy, Vice Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, after Sharon suffers a massive hemorrhagic stroke.
* December 30, 2006 – Former leader of Iraq Saddam Hussein is executed.
* 2007 – The King of Nepal is suspended from exercising his duties by the newly formed interim legislature on January 15, 2007.
* 2007 political crisis in Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf resigns as Chief of Army Staff after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.
* 2008 – Nepal becomes the youngest democracy of the world by transforming from a [[Social:Constitutional monarchy|constitutional monarchy]] to a socialist republic on May 28, 2008.
* 2008–10 Thai political crisis and 2010 Thai political protests by "red shirts" demonstrations.
* 2009 Iranian election protests – The 2009 Iranian presidential election sparked massive protests in Iran and around the world against alleged electoral fraud and in support of defeated candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi. During the protests the Iranian authorities closed universities in Tehran, blocked web sites, blocked cell phone transmissions and text messaging,<ref name="opposition1">{{cite news|first1=Robert F.|last1=Worth|first2=Nazila|last2=Fathi|title=Protests Flare in Tehran as Opposition Disputes Vote|date=June 13, 2009|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/14/world/middleeast/14iran.html|work={{wipe|The New York Times}}|access-date=June 19, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711155202/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/14/world/middleeast/14iran.html|archive-date=July 11, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> and banned rallies.<ref name="JohnsonMurphy">{{cite news|first=Ben|last=Knight|title=Iranian protester killed after opposition rally|date=June 15, 2009|agency=ABC News. ''abc.net.au''|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-06-16/iran-protester-killed-after-anti-government-rally/1715122|access-date=March 8, 2012}}</ref> Several demonstrators in Iran were killed or imprisoned during the protests. Dozens of human casualties were reported or confirmed.<ref name="Iran official says 36 killed in post-vote unrest">{{cite news|title=Iran official says 36 killed in post-vote unrest|date=September 10, 2009|agency=AFP|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j8GPoWmrf2qerPWQNHb8Z9eGjT3Q| access-date=November 30, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iaWYtGitSBRRBJkDanoZ1gwP4DBA|title=Google.com|date=September 3, 2009|access-date=February 13, 2012}}</ref><ref>Lake, Eli. "[http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/25/opposition-alters-tactics-to-avoid-protest-deaths/ Iran protesters alter tactics to avoid death]". ''Washington Times''. (June 25, 2009) {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023171901/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/25/opposition-alters-tactics-to-avoid-protest-deaths/|date=October 23, 2013 }}</ref>
* Death and funeral of Corazon Aquino – Former President Corazon Aquino of the {{wipe|Philippines}} died of cardiorespiratory arrest on August 1, 2009, at the age of 76 after being in hospital from June 2009, and being diagnosed with [[Medicine:Colorectal cancer|colorectal cancer]] in March 2008.

====Europe====
[[File:Tratado de Lisboa 13 12 2007 (081).jpg|thumb|Treaty of Lisbon]]
[[File:Tarja Halonen in 2000.png|thumb|Tarja Halonen served as {{wipe|Finland}}'s 11th President and the first female head of state from 2000 to 2012.]]
* The Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. The role, created in 2000 after the London devolution referendum, was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom.
* The Netherlands becomes the first country in the world to fully legalize [[Social:Same-sex marriage|same-sex marriage]] on April 1, 2001.
* Silvio Berlusconi becomes Prime Minister of Italy in 2001 and again in 2008, after two years of a government held by Romano Prodi, dominating the political scene for more than a decade and becoming the longest-serving post-war Prime Minister.
* European integration makes progress with the definitive circulation of the euro in twelve countries in 2002 and the widening of [[Social:European Union|European Union]] to 27 countries in 2007. A European Constitution bill is rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005, but a similar text, the Treaty of Lisbon, is drafted in 2007 and finally adopted by the 27 members countries.
* June 1–4, 2002 – The Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II was the international celebration marking the 50th anniversary of the accession of Elizabeth II to the thrones of seven countries.<ref name="Buck50">{{cite web|url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/HMTheQueen/TheQueenandspecialanniversaries/TheQueensGoldenJubilee/50factsaboutTheQueensGoldenJubilee.aspx| last=The Royal Household| title=Her Majesty The Queen > Jubilees and other milestones > Golden Jubilee > 50 facts about The Queen's Golden Jubilee| publisher=Queen's Printer| access-date=November 25, 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054720/http://www.royal.gov.uk/HMTheQueen/TheQueenandspecialanniversaries/TheQueensGoldenJubilee/50factsaboutTheQueensGoldenJubilee.aspx| archive-date=September 21, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Blair|first=Tony|date=November 23, 2000|publication-date=January 13, 2003|contribution=House of Commons Debate|editor-last=House of Commons Library|editor2-last=Pond|editor2-first=Chris|title=Golden Jubilee 2002|page=5|location=Westminster|publisher=Queen's Printer|id=SN/PC/1435|url=http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/briefings/snpc-01435.pdf|access-date=November 25, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605082313/http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/briefings/snpc-01435.pdf|archive-date=June 5, 2011 }}</ref>
* The Rose Revolution in [[Place:Georgia (country)|Georgia]] leads to the ousting of Eduard Shevardnadze and the end of the Soviet era of leadership in the country.
* José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero replaced José María Aznar as President of the Government of Spain in 2004.
* The Orange Revolution in Ukraine occurs in the aftermath of the [[Social:2004 Ukrainian presidential election|2004 Ukrainian presidential election]].
* [[Biography:Pope John Paul II|Pope John Paul II]] dies on April 2, 2005. [[Biography:Pope Benedict XVI|Pope Benedict XVI]] is elected on April 19, 2005.
* [[Biography:Angela Merkel|Angela Merkel]] becomes the first female Chancellor of Germany in 2005.
* The St Andrews Agreement signed in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland to restore the Northern Ireland Assembly and bring in the principle of policing by consent with the Police Service of Northern Ireland with all parties in 2006.
* Nicolas Sarkozy is elected President of France in 2007 succeeding Jacques Chirac, who had held the position for 12 years.
* Gordon Brown succeeds Tony Blair as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 2007.
* Tony Blair was officially confirmed as Middle East envoy for the United Nations, European Union, United States, and Russia in 2007.
* Dmitry Medvedev succeeded Vladimir Putin as the President of Russia in 2008.
* Parties broadly characterised by political scientists as being [[Social:Right-wing populism|right-wing populist]] soar throughout the 2000s, in the wake of increasing anti-Islam and anti-immigration sentiment in most Western European countries.<ref name="spie" /> By 2010, such parties (albeit often significant differences between them) were present in the national parliaments of Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Greece.<ref name="spie" /> In Austria, Italy and Switzerland, the Freedom Party of Austria, Lega Nord and Swiss People's Party, respectively, were at times also part of the national governments, and in Denmark, the Danish People's Party tolerated a right-liberal minority government from 2001 throughout the decade.<ref name="spie">{{cite news|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,719842,00.html|work=Der Spiegel|title=Continent of Fear: The Rise of Europe's Right-Wing Populists|date=September 28, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120311153412/http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0%2C1518%2C719842%2C00.html|archive-date=March 11, 2012|url-status=dead}}, [http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,719842-2,00.html Part 2], [http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,719842-3,00.html Part 3]</ref> While not being present in the national parliaments of France and the United Kingdom, [[Biography:Jean-Marie Le Pen|Jean-Marie Le Pen]] of the National Front came second in the first round of the 2002 French presidential elections, and in the 2009 European Parliament election, the UK Independence Party came second, beating even the Labour Party, while the British National Party managed to win two seats for the first time.

===World leaders===

{{Hlist|2000|2001 |2002 |2003 |2004 |2005 |2006 |2007 |2008 |2009 |2010 }}

==Assassinations and attempts==
Prominent assassinations, targeted killings, and assassination attempts include:
[[File:Birendra Bir Bikram Shah c. 1967 (restoration).jpg|thumb|120px|upright|Birendra of Nepal]]
[[File:Rafiq Hariri 2001.jpeg|thumb|120px|upright|Rafic Hariri]]
[[File:Benazir Bhutto.jpg|thumb|120px|upright|Benazir Bhutto]]
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible sortable"
|-
! style="width:120px;"| Date
! Description
|-
| January 16, 2001
|Laurent-Désiré Kabila, the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was assassinated by a bodyguard. The motive remains unexplained.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/feb/11/theobserver | title=Revealed: How Africa's dictator died at the hands of his boy soldiers | website={{wipe|The Guardian}} | date=February 11, 2001 }}</ref>
|-
| June 1, 2001
|King Birendra of Nepal, along with eight other royals, are [[Unsolved:Nepalese royal massacre|killed]] by Nepal's crown prince Diprendra who then shoots himself. Nepal's laws regarding succession allows the comatose Dipendra to rule for three days before he succumbs to his injuries.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://adst.org/2019/07/death-love-and-conspiracy-the-nepalese-royal-massacre-of-2001/ | title=Death, Love and Conspiracy: The Nepalese Royal Massacre of 2001 (Durbar Hatyakanda) – Association for Diplomatic Studies & Training }}</ref>
|-
|September 9, 2001
|Ahmad Shah Massoud, guerilla commander of the Northern Alliance against the [[Religion:Soviet–Afghan War|Soviet invasion]] and against the [[Place:Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001)|Taliban regime]], was killed in Khwaja Bahauddin, Takhar Province, [[Place:Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001)|Afghanistan]] by [[Religion:Al-Qaeda|Al-Qaeda]] operatives, days before the [[Religion:September 11 attacks|September 11 attacks]]. 
|-
| October 17, 2001 
|[[Place:Israel|Israel]]i Minister of Tourism Rehavam Ze'evi was assassinated by three Palestinian assailants, members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1603862.stm | title=Israeli minister shot dead | date=October 17, 2001 }}</ref>
|-
| May 6, 2002
| [[Biography:Pim Fortuyn|Pim Fortuyn]], Dutch politician, was [[Unsolved:Assassination of Pim Fortuyn|assassinated]] by environmentalist activist Volkert van der Graaf.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/netherlands/1425944/Fortuyn-killed-to-protect-Muslims.html | title=Fortuyn killed 'to protect Muslims' | date=March 28, 2003 }}</ref>
|-
| March 12, 2003 
| Zoran Đinđić, [[Place:Serbia and Montenegro|Serbian and Montenegrin]] Prime Minister, is assassinated by Zvezdan Jovanović, a soldier of Milorad Ulemek, the former commander of the Special Operations Unit of Yugoslavia's secret police.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2007/05/24/feature-01 |title=Archived copy |access-date=October 17, 2022 |archive-date=October 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221017130740/http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2007/05/24/feature-01 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|-
| September 10, 2003
| Anna Lindh, Swedish foreign minister, was assassinated after being stabbed in the chest, stomach, and arms by Serbian and Montenegrin national Mijailo Mijailović while shopping in a [[Place:Stockholm|Stockholm]] department store.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/5642583 | title=Ten years since the death of Anna Lindh | newspaper=Sveriges Radio | date=September 11, 2013 }}</ref>
|-
| March 22, 2004
| Ahmed Yassin, the founder and spiritual leader of the militant [[Religion:Islamism|Islamist]] group Hamas, was assassinated in the Gaza Strip by the {{wipe|Israeli Air Force}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aljazeerah.info/Special%20Reports/Different%20special%20reports/Shaikh%20Ahmed%20Yassin%27s%20Assassination.htm |title=Shaikh Ahmed Yassin's Assassination |website=www.aljazeerah.info |access-date=19 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120709054231/http://www.aljazeerah.info/Special%20Reports/Different%20special%20reports/Shaikh%20Ahmed%20Yassin%27s%20Assassination.htm |archive-date=9 July 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
| November 2, 2004
| [[Biography:Theo van Gogh (film director)|Theo van Gogh]], Dutch filmmaker and critic of Islamic culture, was [[Biography:Theo van Gogh (film director)#Death|assassinated]] in [[Place:Amsterdam|Amsterdam]] by Mohammed Bouyeri.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/nov/07/terrorism.religion | title=The murder that shattered Holland's liberal dream | website=TheGuardian.com | date=November 7, 2004 }}</ref>
|-
| February 14, 2005
| Rafic Hariri, former Prime Minister of Lebanon, was assassinated when explosives equivalent to around 1,000&nbsp;kg of [[Chemistry:TNT|TNT]] were detonated as his motorcade drove past the St. George Hotel in [[Place:Beirut|Beirut]]. The assassination attempt also killed at least 16 other people and injured 120 others.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/cbc-investigation-who-killed-lebanon-s-rafik-hariri-1.874820 |title=CBC Investigation: Who killed Lebanon's Rafik Hariri? |work=CBC News |last=Macdonald |first=Neil |date=21 November 2010 |access-date=4 November 2022}}</ref>
|-
| December 27, 2007
| Benazir Bhutto, former Pakistani prime minister, was assassinated at an election rally in [[Place:Rawalpindi|Rawalpindi]] by a bomb blast. The assassination attempt also killed at least 80 other people.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2007-12/2007-12-27-voa12.cfm |title=Pakistan's Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto Assassinated |access-date=October 17, 2022 |archive-date=March 9, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080309195431/http://voanews.com/english/archive/2007-12/2007-12-27-voa12.cfm |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|-
| March 2, 2009
| João Bernardo Vieira, President of Guinea-Bissau, was assassinated during an armed attack on his residence in [[Place:Bissau|Bissau]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/president-shot-dead-in-palace-as-rebel-troops-take-revenge-1635904.html |title=President shot dead in palace as rebel troops take revenge - Africa, World - the Independent |website=www.independent.co.uk |access-date=19 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304125517/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/president-shot-dead-in-palace-as-rebel-troops-take-revenge-1635904.html |archive-date=4 March 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
| April 30, 2009 
| Seven people are killed when a vehicle rams through a crowd watching the Koninginnedag parade in Apeldoorn in an attempt to target Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and other members of the Dutch royal family. The assailant dies a day later due to injuries sustained in the attack.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8026807.stm | title=Car attack on Dutch royal parade | date=April 30, 2009 }}</ref>
|}

==Disasters==

===Natural disasters===
[[File:2004-tsunami.jpg|thumb|2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. The [[Tsunami|tsunami]] caused by the December 26, 2004, earthquake strikes Ao Nang, Thailand.]]
The 2000s experienced some of the worst and most destructive natural disasters in history.

====Earthquakes (including tsunamis)====
* On January 13, 2001, a 7.6-magnitude earthquake strikes El Salvador, killing 944 people.
* On January 26, 2001, an earthquake hits Gujarat, India, killing more than 12,000.
* On February 28, 2001, the Nisqually earthquake hits the Seattle metro area. It caused major damage to the old highway standing in the urban center of Seattle.
* On February 13, 2001, a 6.6-magnitude earthquake hits El Salvador, killing at least 400.
* On May 21, 2003, an earthquake in the Boumerdès region of northern Algeria kills 2,200.
* On December 26, 2003, the massive 2003 Bam earthquake devastates southeastern [[Religion:Iran|Iran]]; over 40,000 people are reported killed in the city of Bam.
* On December 26, 2004, one of the worst natural disasters in recorded history hits southeast Asia, when the largest earthquake in 40 years hits the entire Indian Ocean region. The massive 9.3 magnitude earthquake, epicentered just off the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, generates enormous [[Tsunami|tsunami]] waves that crash into the coastal areas of a number of nations including Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, the [[History:Maldives|Maldives]], Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Indonesia. The official death toll from the Boxing Day tsunami in the affected countries with over 230,000 people dead.
* On October 8, 2005, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake killed over 80,000 people.
* On May 12, 2008, over 69,000 are killed in central south-west China by the Wenchuan quake, an earthquake measuring 7.9 on the [[Moment magnitude scale|moment magnitude scale]]. The epicenter was {{convert|90|km|mi|sp=us}} west-northwest of the provincial capital Chengdu, Sichuan province.

====Tropical cyclones, other weather, and bushfires====

[[File:KatrinaNewOrleansFlooded edit2.jpg|thumb|upright|2005 flooding in New Orleans, caused by Hurricane Katrina.]]
* July 7–11, 2005 – Hurricane Dennis caused damage in the Caribbean and southeastern United States. Dennis killed a total of 88 people and caused $3.71&nbsp;billion in damages.
* August 28–29, 2005 – Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Mississippi, devastating the city of New Orleans and nearby coastal areas. Katrina was recognized as the costliest natural disaster in the United States at the time, after causing a record $108&nbsp;billion in damages (a record later surpassed by Hurricane Harvey in 2017). Katrina caused over 1,200 deaths.
* November 30, 2006 – Typhoon Durian (known in the Philippines as Typhoon Reming) affected the Philippines' Bicol Region, and together with a concurrent eruption of Mayon Volcano, caused mudflows and killed more than 1,200 people.
* August 30, 2007 – Group of Croatian firefighters who were flown in on the island Kornat as part of the 2007 coast fires firefighting efforts perished. Twelve out of thirteen men who found themselves surrounded by fire were killed in the event which was the biggest loss of lives in the history of Croatian firefighting.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}}
* May 3, 2008 – Cyclone Nargis had an extreme impact in Myanmar, causing nearly 140,000 deaths and $10 billion in damages.
* June 21, 2008 – Typhoon Fengshen passed over Visayas, {{wipe|Philippines}}, sinking the ship MV Princess of the Stars, and killing more than 800 passengers.
* February 7 – March 14, 2009 – The Black Saturday bushfires, the deadliest bushfires in Australian history, took place across the Australian state of Victoria during extreme bushfire-weather conditions, killing 173 people, injuring more than 500, and leaving around 7,500 homeless. The fires came after [[Place:Melbourne|Melbourne]] recorded the highest-ever temperature ({{convert|46.4|°C|°F|abbr=on|disp=or}}) of any capital city in Australia. The majority of the fires were caused by either fallen or clashing power lines, or [[Social:Arson|arson]].
* Winter of 2009–2010 – The winter of 2009–2010 saw abnormally cold temperatures in Europe, Asia, and America. A total of 21 people were reported to have died as a result of the cold in the British Isles. On December 26, 2009, Saint Petersburg, Russia, was covered by 35&nbsp;cm of snow, the largest December snowfall recorded in the city since 1881.
* September 25–26, 2009 – Typhoon Ketsana (known in the Philippines as Tropical Storm Ondoy) caused flooding in the {{wipe|Philippines}}, mostly in the [[Place:Metro Manila|Manila Metropolitan area]], killing nearly 700 people in total. Flooding levels reached a record of 20&nbsp;ft (6.1&nbsp;m) in rural areas.

====Epidemics====

[[Biology:Antimicrobial resistance|Antibiotic resistance]] is a serious and growing phenomenon in contemporary medicine and has emerged as one of the eminent public health concerns of the 21st century, particularly as it pertains to pathogenic organisms (the term is not especially relevant to organisms which don't cause disease in humans).

The outbreak of [[Medicine:Foot-and-mouth disease|foot-and-mouth disease]] in the {{wipe|United Kingdom}} in 2001 caused a crisis in British agriculture and tourism. This [[Biology:Epizootic|epizootic]] saw 2,000 cases of the disease in farms across most of the British countryside. Over 10 million sheep and cattle were killed.

Between November 2002 and July 2003, an [[Medicine:2002–2004 SARS outbreak|outbreak]] of [[Unsolved:Severe acute respiratory syndrome|severe acute respiratory syndrome]] (SARS) occurred in Hong Kong, with 8,273 cases and 775 deaths worldwide (9.6% fatality) according to the [[Organization:World Health Organization|World Health Organization]] (WHO). Within weeks, SARS spread from Hong Kong to infect individuals in 37 countries in early 2003.

[[Biology:Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus|Methicillin-resistant ''Staphylococcus aureus'']]: the Office for National Statistics reported 1,629 [[Biology:Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus|MRSA]]-related deaths in England and Wales during 2005, indicating a MRSA-related mortality rate half the rate of that in the United States for 2005, even though the figures from the British source were explained to be high because of "improved levels of reporting, possibly brought about by the continued high public profile of the disease" during the time of the 2005 United Kingdom General Election. MRSA is thought to have caused 1,652 deaths in 2006 in UK up from 51 in 1993.

[[File:Swine Flu Masked Train Passengers in Mexico City.jpg|thumb|right|People in Mexico City wear masks on a train due to the swine flu outbreak, April 2009]]
The 2009 H1N1 (swine flu) flu pandemic was also considered a natural disaster. On October 25, 2009, U.S. President [[Biography:Barack Obama|Barack Obama]] officially declared H1N1 a national emergency.<ref>{{cite news| title=Obama declares swine flu a national emergency|url=http://heraldextra.com/news/national/article_a4de47bf-1dd4-52ea-9f2d-db535ba581b4.html| newspaper=The Daily Herald| year=2009| access-date=October 26, 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091029080742/http://www.heraldextra.com/news/national/article_a4de47bf-1dd4-52ea-9f2d-db535ba581b4.html| archive-date=October 29, 2009}}</ref> Despite President Obama's concern, a [[Organization:Fairleigh Dickinson University|Fairleigh Dickinson University]] PublicMind poll found in October 2009 that an overwhelming majority of New Jerseyans (74%) were not very worried or not at all worried about contracting the H1N1 flu virus.<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://publicmind.fdu.edu/h1n1/release.pdf|title=New Jersewans not worried about H1N1|publisher=Fairleigh Dickinson University|date=October 8, 2009|access-date=February 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312170728/http://publicmind.fdu.edu/h1n1/release.pdf|archive-date=March 12, 2012 }}</ref>

A study conducted in coordination with the University of Michigan Health Service is scheduled for publication in the December 2009 ''American Journal of Roentgenology'' warning that H1N1 flu can cause [[Medicine:Pulmonary embolism|pulmonary embolism]], surmised as a leading cause of death in this current pandemic. The study authors suggest physician evaluation via contrast enhanced CT scans for the presence of pulmonary emboli when caring for patients diagnosed with respiratory complications from a "severe" case of the H1N1 flu.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mollura |first1=Daniel J. |last2=Asnis |first2=Deborah S. |last3=Crupi |first3=Robert S. |last4=Conetta |first4=Rick |last5=Feigin |first5=David S. |last6=Bray |first6=Mike |last7=Taubenberger |first7=Jeffery K. |last8=Bluemke |first8=David A. |title=Imaging Findings in a Fatal Case of Pandemic Swine-Origin Influenza A (H1N1) |journal=American Journal of Roentgenology |date=December 2009 |volume=193 |issue=6 |pages=1500–1503 |doi=10.2214/AJR.09.3365 |pmid=19933640 |pmc=2788497 }}</ref>

As of May 30, 2010, as stated by the World Health Organization, more than 214 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including over 18,138 deaths.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.who.int/csr/don/2010_06_04/en/index.html|title=Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 – update 103|publisher=Who.int|access-date=October 16, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101119161116/http://www.who.int/csr/don/2010_06_04/en/index.html| archive-date=November 19, 2010}}</ref>

'''Footnote'''

The Walkerton Tragedy is a series of events that accompanied the contamination of the water supply of Walkerton, Ontario, Canada, by ''[[Biology:Escherichia coli|Escherichia coli]]'' bacteria in May 2000.
Starting May 11, 2000, many residents of the community of about 5,000 people began to simultaneously experience bloody [[Medicine:Diarrhea|diarrhea]], gastrointestinal infections and other symptoms of ''E. coli ''infection.
Seven people died directly from drinking the E. coli contaminated water, who might have been saved if the Walkerton Public Utilities Commission had admitted to contaminated water sooner, and about 2,500 became ill.

In 2001 a similar outbreak in North Battleford, Saskatchewan caused by the protozoan [[Biology:Cryptosporidium|Cryptosporidium]] affected at least 5,800 people.

===Non-natural disasters===

====Vehicular wrecks====
* On January 31, 2000, Alaska Airlines Flight 261 crashed into the [[Earth:Pacific Ocean|Pacific Ocean]] off the coast of {{wipe|California}} after the plane's jackscrew failed, killing all 88 on board.
* On July 25, 2000, Air France Flight 4590, a [[Engineering:Concorde|Concorde]] aircraft, crashed into a hotel in Gonesse just after takeoff from Paris, killing all 109 aboard and 4 in the hotel. This was the only Concorde accident in which fatalities occurred. It was the beginning of the end for Concorde as an airliner; the type was retired three years later.
* On August 12, 2000, the ''Russian submarine K-141 Kursk'' sank in the Barents Sea, killing all 118 men on board.
* On November 11, 2000, the Kaprun disaster occurred. 155 people perished in a fire that broke out on a train in the Austrian Alps.
* On October 8, 2001, two aircraft collide on a runway at the Linate Airport in Milan, Italy, killing all 114 people aboard both aircraft and 4 people on the ground.
* On November 12, 2001, American Airlines Flight 587 crashed into a neighborhood in Queens, {{wipe|New York City}}, killing all 260 aboard and 5 people on the ground.
* On May 25, 2002, China Airlines Flight 611 broke up in mid-air and plunged into the Taiwan Strait, killing all 225 people on board.
* On July 1, 2002, a [[Engineering:Tupolev Tu-154|Tupolev Tu-154]] passenger airliner and a [[Engineering:Boeing 757|Boeing 757]] cargo plane collided above the {{wipe|Germany}} town of Überlingen. All 71 people on both aircraft died.
* On July 27, 2002, a [[Engineering:Sukhoi Su-27|Sukhoi Su-27]] fighter jet crashed at an air show in {{wipe|Ukraine}}, killing 77 and injuring 543, making it the worst air show disaster in history.
* On September 26, 2002, the ferry MV ''Le Joola'' sank off the coast of Gambia, killing at least 1,863 people.
* On February 1, 2003, at the conclusion of the ''[[Engineering:STS-107|STS-107]]'' mission, the [[Engineering:Space Shuttle|Space Shuttle]] ''[[Engineering:Space Shuttle Columbia|Columbia]]'' [[Engineering:Space Shuttle Columbia disaster|disintegrated during reentry]] over Texas, killing all seven astronauts on board.
* On February 19, 2003, an [[Engineering:Ilyushin Il-76|Ilyushin Il-76]] military aircraft crashed outside the [[Religion:Iran|Iran]]ian city of Kerman, killing 275.
* On August 14, 2005, Helios Airways Flight 522 crashed into a mountain north of Marathon, Greece, while flying from Larnaca, Cyprus, to Athens, Greece. All 115 passengers and six crew on board the aircraft were killed.
* On August 16, 2005, West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 crashed in a remote region of Venezuela, killing 160.
* On September 29, 2006, Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907 collided with a new [[Engineering:Embraer Legacy 600|Embraer Legacy 600]] business jet over the {{wipe|Brazil}}ian [[Place:Amazon rainforest|Amazon]] and crashed, killing all 154 people on board. The Embraer aircraft made an emergency landing at a nearby military outpost with no harm to its seven occupants.
* On December 30, 2006, the ferry MV ''Senopati Nusantara'' sank in a storm in the Java Sea, killing between 400 and 500 of the 628 people aboard. Three days later, Adam Air Flight 574 crashed in the same storm, killing all 102 people on board.
* On July 17, 2007, TAM Airlines Flight 3054 skidded off the runway at Congonhas-São Paulo Airport and crashed into a nearby warehouse, leaving 199 people dead.
* On February 12, 2009, Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashed on approach in Buffalo, New York, killing 50.
* On June 1, 2009, Air France Flight 447 crashed into the southern [[Earth:Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic Ocean]] after instrument failure disoriented the crew. All 228 people on board perished.
* On June 30, 2009, Yemenia Flight 626 crashed into the [[Earth:Indian Ocean|Indian Ocean]] near the Comoros islands. Of the 153 people on board, only 12-year-old Bahia Bakari survived.

====Stampedes====

The 2005 Baghdad bridge stampede occurred on August 31, 2005, when 953 people died following a stampede on Al-Aaimmah bridge, which crosses the [[Place:Tigris|Tigris]] river in the Iraqi capital of [[Place:Baghdad|Baghdad]].

==Economics==

The most significant evolution of the 2000s in the economic landscape was the long-time predicted breakthrough of economic giant China, whose GDP grew from 1.21 trillion to 5.1 trillion (in 2022 USD).<ref>{{Cite web |title=GDP (current US$) - China {{!}} Data |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?end=2021&locations=CN&start=1960 |access-date=2023-01-15 |website=data.worldbank.org}}</ref> To a lesser extent, India also benefited from an economic boom (growing from 438.39 billion to 1.34 trillion)<ref>{{cite news|title=India Reaps Benefits of Economic Boom|date=November 2, 2006| work=CNN|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/11/01/india.economy/index.html|access-date=November 30, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004221514/http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/11/01/india.economy/index.html|archive-date=October 4, 2013 }}</ref> which saw the two most populous countries becoming an increasingly dominant economic force.<ref>{{cite web|title=A New World Economy|work=Bloomberg Business Week| date=August 22, 2005| access-date=June 1, 2011|url=http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_34/b3948401.htm| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522173400/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_34/b3948401.htm| archive-date=May 22, 2011}}</ref> The rapid catching-up of emerging economies with developed countries sparked some protectionist tensions during the period and was partly responsible for an increase in energy and food prices at the end of the decade. The economic developments in the latter third of the decade were dominated by a worldwide economic downturn, which started with the [[Finance:Subprime mortgage crisis|crisis in housing and credit]] in the United States in late 2007, and led to the bankruptcy of major banks and other financial institutions.<ref>{{cite web|title=Iceland goes bankrupt|work=BusinessWeek|first=Michael|last=Mandel|date=October 10, 2008|url=http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/economicsunbound/archives/2008/10/iceland_goes_ba.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013190640/http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/economicsunbound/archives/2008/10/iceland_goes_ba.html|archive-date=October 13, 2008|url-status=dead|access-date=July 19, 2009 }}</ref> The outbreak of this [[Finance:2007–2008 financial crisis|global financial crisis]] sparked a global recession, beginning in the United States and affecting most of the industrialized world.
* A study by the World Institute for Development Economics Research at United Nations University reports that the richest 1% of adults alone owned 40% of global assets in the year 2000. ''The three'' richest people possess more [[Finance:Finance|financial]] assets than the lowest 48 nations combined.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}
The combined wealth of the "10 million dollar millionaires" grew to nearly $41 trillion in 2008.<ref>"[http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/growth-of-millionaires-in-india-fastest-in-world_10064367.html Growth of millionaires in India fastest in world ]". Thaindian News. June 25, 2008. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130623172139/http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/growth-of-millionaires-in-india-fastest-in-world_10064367.html|date=June 23, 2013 }}</ref>
* The [[Finance:Sale of UK gold reserves, 1999–2002|sale of UK gold reserves, 1999–2002]] was a policy pursued by HM Treasury when [[Chemistry:Gold|gold]] prices were at their lowest in 20 years, following an extended bear market. The period itself has been dubbed by some commentators as the '''Brown Bottom''' or '''Brown's Bottom'''.<ref name="times">{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article1655001.ece|title=Goldfinger Brown's £2 billion blunder in the bullion market|work=The Times|date=15 April 2007|access-date=February 19, 2014|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511163250/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article1655001.ece|archive-date=May 11, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Investing|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/investing/3849910/The-outlook-for-gold.html|title=The outlook for gold|work=The Daily Telegraph|date= December 19, 2008|access-date=February 19, 2014|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326144415/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/investing/3849910/The-outlook-for-gold.html|archive-date=March 26, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Walsoft|url=http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article670.html|title=The Gold Bull Market Remembers How Gordon Brown Sold Half of Britains Reserves at the Lowest Price, The Market Oracle, Clive Maund, 1 April 2007|publisher=Marketoracle.co.uk|date=April 1, 2007|access-date=February 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131027205114/http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article670.html|archive-date=October 27, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1257404820.php|title=The Significance of the IMF-RBI Gold Sales, Tim Iacono, GoldSeek.com, 5 November 2009|publisher=News.goldseek.com|date=November 5, 2009|access-date=February 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140224212701/http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1257404820.php|archive-date=February 24, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.golddealer.com/GoldGlitters2008.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100103221316/http://www.golddealer.com/GoldGlitters2008.pdf|url-status=dead|title=In 2008, Gold Should Glitter, James Turk, ''SFO magazine'', February 2007.|archive-date=January 3, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Warren|last=Bevan|url=http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_08/bevan062309.html|title=China & IMF Gold Sales; The Real Story, Warren Bevan, gold-eagle.com, 23 June 2009|publisher=Gold-eagle.com|date=June 23, 2009|access-date=February 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130312074543/http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_08/bevan062309.html|archive-date=March 12, 2013 }}</ref>

The period takes its name from Gordon Brown, the then UK Chancellor of the Exchequer (who later became Prime Minister), who decided to sell approximately half of the UK's [[Chemistry:Gold reserve|gold reserve]]s in a series of auctions. At the time, the UK's gold reserves were worth about US$6.5 billion, accounting for about half of the UK's US$13 billion [[Finance:Currency|foreign currency]] net reserves.<ref name="hmt">{{cite web|url=http://hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/GoldReserves.PDF|date=October 2002|title=Review of the sale of part of the UK gold reserves|publisher=HM Treasury |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130421115541/http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/goldreserves.pdf|archive-date=April 21, 2013}}</ref>
* The 2001 AOL merger with Time Warner (a deal valued at $350 billion; which was the largest merger in American business history)<ref>{{cite news|last=Arango|first=Tim|title=How the AOL-Time Warner Merger Went So Wrong|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/11/business/media/11merger.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|work=The New York Times Company|access-date=February 26, 2013|date=January 11, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130610070755/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/11/business/media/11merger.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|archive-date=June 10, 2013}}</ref> was 'the biggest mistake in corporate history', believes Time Warner chief Jeff Bewkes<ref>{{cite news|last1=Barnett|first1=Emma|last2=Andrews|first2=Amanda|title=AOL merger was 'the biggest mistake in corporate history', believes Time Warner chief Jeff Bewkes|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/media/8031227/AOL-merger-was-the-biggest-mistake-in-corporate-history-believes-Time-Warner-chief-Jeff-Bewkes.html|access-date=February 26, 2013|location=London|date=September 28, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140122123620/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/media/8031227/AOL-merger-was-the-biggest-mistake-in-corporate-history-believes-Time-Warner-chief-Jeff-Bewkes.html|archive-date=January 22, 2014}}</ref>
* February 7, 2004 – EuroMillions transnational lottery, launched by France's Française des Jeux, Spain's Loterías y Apuestas del Estado, and the United Kingdom's Camelot.
* In 2007, it was reported that in the UK, one pound in every seven spent went to the Tesco grocery and general merchandise retailer.<ref>{{cite news|last=Wallop|first=Harry|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1548742/1-in-every-seven-now-spent-in-Tesco.html|title=£1 in every seven now spent in Tesco|newspaper=Telegraph|date=April 16, 2007|access-date=February 16, 2013|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429192811/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1548742/1-in-every-seven-now-spent-in-Tesco.html|archive-date=April 29, 2014 }}</ref>
* On October 9, 2007, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at the record level of '''14,164.53'''. Two days later on October 11, the Dow would trade at its highest intra-day level ever, at the '''14,198.10''' mark.<ref>[https://www.google.com/finance/historical?cid=983582&startdate=Oct+8%2C+2007&enddate=Oct+12%2C+2007 ''Dow Jones Industrial Average Historical Prices'']. Google Finance. Retrieved March 14, 2010.</ref> In what would normally take many years to accomplish; numerous reasons were cited for the Dow's extremely rapid rise from the 11,000 level in early 2006, to the 14,000 level in late 2007. They included future possible [[Finance:Takeover|takeover]]s and [[Social:Mergers and acquisitions|mergers]], healthy earnings reports particularly in the tech sector, and moderate [[Finance:Inflation|inflation]]ary numbers; fueling speculation the Federal Reserve would not raise [[Finance:Interest rate|interest rate]]s. Roughly [[Finance:Par value|on par]] with the 2000 record when adjusted for inflation, this represented the final high of the cyclical bull. The index closed 2007 at 13,264.82, a level it would not surpass for nearly five years.

===Economic growth in the world===
[[File:Lujiazui Skyline from Bund.jpg|thumb|Shanghai becomes a symbol of the recent [[Finance:Economic expansion|economic boom]] of China.]]

Between 1999 and 2009, according to the [[Organization:World Bank|World Bank]] statistics for GDP:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://siteresources.worldbank.org/DATASTATISTICS/Resources/GDP.pdf|title=The World Bank: World Development Indicators database, 1 July 2009. Gross domestic product (2008).|date=January 7, 2009|publisher=World Bank|access-date=October 7, 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090912122439/http://siteresources.worldbank.org/DATASTATISTICS/Resources/GDP.pdf| archive-date=September 12, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://malchish.org/lib/economics/vvp.pdf|title=The World Bank: World Development Indicators database, 8 February 2000. Gross domestic product (2008).|date=January 7, 2009|publisher=World Bank|access-date=December 27, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612030215/http://malchish.org/lib/economics/vvp.pdf|archive-date=June 12, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* The [[Finance:World economy|world economy]] by nominal GDP almost doubled in size from U.S. $30.21 trillion in 1999 to U.S. $58.23 trillion in 2009. This figure is not adjusted for inflation. By [[Finance:Purchasing power parity|PPP]], world GDP rose 78%, according to the IMF. But inflation adjusted nominal GDP rose only 42%, according to IMF constant price growth rates.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2010/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=58&pr.y=7&sy=1999&ey=2009&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=001,110,163,119,203,123,998,200,904,901,505,511,406,603,205&s=NGDP_RPCH,PPPGDP&grp=1&a=1|title=IMF WEO Database: Report for Selected Country Groups and Subjects, April 2010.|date=April 2010|publisher=International Monetary Fund|access-date=October 2, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018070144/http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2010/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=58&pr.y=7&sy=1999&ey=2009&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=001%2C110%2C163%2C119%2C203%2C123%2C998%2C200%2C904%2C901%2C505%2C511%2C406%2C603%2C205&s=NGDP_RPCH%2CPPPGDP&grp=1&a=1|archive-date=October 18, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> The following figures are not inflation adjusted nominal GDP and should be interpreted with extreme caution:
* The United States (U.S. $14.26 trillion) retained its position of possessing the world's largest economy. However, the size of its contribution to the total global economy dropped from 28.8% to 24.5% by nominal price or a fall from 23.8% to 20.4% adjusted for purchasing power.
* Japan (U.S. $5.07 trillion) retained its position of possessing the second largest economy in the world, but its contribution to the world economy also shrank significantly from 14.5% to 8.7% by nominal price or a fall from 7.8% to 6.0% adjusted for purchasing power.
* China (U.S. $4.98 trillion) went from being the sixth largest to the third largest economy, and in 2009 contributed to 8.6% of the world's economy, up from 3.3% in 1999 by nominal price or a rise from 6.9% to 12.6% adjusted for purchasing power.
* Germany (U.S. $3.35 trillion), France (U.S. $2.65 trillion), United Kingdom (U.S. $2.17 trillion) and Italy (U.S. $2.11 trillion) followed as the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th largest economies, respectively in 2009.
* Brazil (U.S. $1.57 trillion) retained its position as the 8th largest economy, followed by Spain (U.S. $1.46 trillion), which remained at 10th.
* Other major economies included Canada (U.S. $1.34 trillion; 10th, down from 9th), India (U.S. $1.31 trillion; remaining at 11th from 12th), Russia (U.S. $1.23 trillion; from 16th to 12th) Mexico (U.S. $875 billion; 14th, down from 11th), Australia (U.S. $925 billion; from 14th to 13th) and South Korea (U.S. $832 billion; 15th, down from 13th).
* In terms of [[Finance:Purchasing power parity|purchasing power parity]] in 2009, the ten largest economies were the United States (U.S. $14.26 trillion), China (U.S. $9.10 trillion), Japan (U.S. $4.14 trillion), India (U.S. $3.75 trillion), Germany (U.S. $2.98 trillion), Russia (U.S. $2.69 trillion), United Kingdom (U.S. $2.26 trillion), France (U.S. $2.17 trillion), Brazil (U.S. $2.02 trillion), and Italy (U.S. $1.92 trillion).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://siteresources.worldbank.org/DATASTATISTICS/Resources/GDP_PPP.pdf|title=Gross domestic product 2009, PPP|date=June 1, 2011|access-date=February 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209081011/http://siteresources.worldbank.org/DATASTATISTICS/Resources/GDP_PPP.pdf|archive-date=February 9, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2010/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=33&pr.y=7&sy=1999&ey=2009&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=924,158,111&s=PPPSH&grp=0&a=|title=5. Report for Selected Countries and Subjects|publisher=IMF.org|access-date=February 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018121622/http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2010/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=33&pr.y=7&sy=1999&ey=2009&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=924%2C158%2C111&s=PPPSH&grp=0&a=|archive-date=October 18, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* The average house price in the UK, increased by 132% between the fourth quarter of 2000, and 91% during the decade; but the average salary increased only by 40%.<ref>{{cite news|title=House prices almost doubled in a decade|url=https://www.theguardian.com/money/blog/2011/jan/31/house-prices-doubled-decade |access-date=February 26, 2013|location=London|first=Jill|last=Insley|date=January 31, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128165317/http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/blog/2011/jan/31/house-prices-doubled-decade|archive-date=January 28, 2012}}</ref>

===Globalization and its discontents===
[[File:An Indian call center.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Finance:Offshore outsourcing|Offshore outsourcing]] of jobs, such as this [[Call centre|call centre]] in India, significantly increased during the decade as many multinational corporations moved their manufacturing and services from western countries to developing countries.]]
The removal of [[Finance:Trade barrier|trade and investment barriers]], the growth of [[Finance:Domestic market|domestic market]]s, [[Finance:Purchasing power parity|artificially low currencies]], the proliferation of education, the rapid development of high tech and [[Information system|information system]]s industries and the growth of the [[Finance:World economy|world economy]] lead to a significant growth of [[Finance:Offshore outsourcing|offshore outsourcing]] during the decade as many [[Finance:Multinational corporation|multinational corporation]]s significantly increased [[Finance:Subcontractor|subcontracting]] of manufacturing (and increasingly, services) across national boundaries in developing countries and particularly in China and India, due to [[Outsourcing#Reasons|many benefits]] and mainly because the two countries which are the two most populous countries in the world provide huge pools from which to find talent and as because both countries are low cost sourcing countries. As a result of this growth, many of these developing countries accumulated [[Finance:Capital (economics)|capital]] and started investing abroad. Other countries, including the [[Place:United Arab Emirates|United Arab Emirates]], Australia, Brazil and Russia, benefited from increased demand for their mineral and energy resources that global growth generated. The hollowing out of manufacturing was felt in Japan and parts of the United States and Europe which had not been able to develop successful innovative industries. Opponents point out that the practice of offshore outsourcing by countries with higher wages leads to the reduction of their own domestic employment and domestic investment. As a result, many customer service jobs as well as jobs in the information technology sectors ([[Data processing|data processing]], [[Computer programming|computer programming]], and [[Technical support|technical support]]) in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom have been or are potentially affected.

While [[Finance:International trade|global trade]] rose in the decade (partially driven by China's entry into the [[Organization:World Trade Organization|WTO]] in 2001), there was little progress in the multilateral trading system. [[Finance:International trade|International trade]] continued to expand during the decade as emerging economies and developing countries, in particular China and South-Asian countries, benefited low wages costs and most often undervalued currencies. However, global negotiations to reduce tariffs did not make much progress, as member countries of the [[Organization:World Trade Organization|World Trade Organization]] did not succeed in finding agreements to stretch the extent of [[Social:Free trade|free trade]].<ref>EFE [http://www.abc.es/20080729/economia-economia/fracasan-negociaciones-ronda-doha-200807291828.html Fracasan las negociaciones de la Ronda de Doha para liberalizar el comercio] July 28, 2008, ABC (Spain) {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402234924/http://www.abc.es/20080729/economia-economia/fracasan-negociaciones-ronda-doha-200807291828.html|date=April 2, 2012 }}</ref> The Doha Round of negotiations, launched in 2001 by the WTO to promote development, failed to be completed because of growing tensions between regional areas. Nor did the Cancún Conference in 2003 find a consensus on [[Finance:Trade in services|services trade]]<ref name="Cancún">''El Mundo'', [http://www.elmundo.es/papel/2003/09/16/economia/1474737.html "El fracaso de la Cumbre de la OMC muestra la fortaleza negociadora de los países pobres"] September 16, 2003 {{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> and agricultural subsidies.<ref>Food and Agriculture Organization [http://www.fao.org/newsroom/es/news/2006/1000375/index.html "La Ronda de Doha necesita un cambio de orientación"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121213200550/http://www.fao.org/newsroom/es/news/2006/1000375/index.html |date=December 13, 2012 }} August 8, 2006 "El fracaso de la Ronda de Doha de negociaciones para liberalizar el comercio internacional se debe sobre todo a la lucha para obtener ventajas en los mercados agrícolas por parte de las grandes potencias, empresas y lobbies"</ref>

The comparative rise of China, India, and other developing countries also contributed to their growing clout in international forums. In 2009, it was determined that the [[Organization:G20|G20]], originally a forum of finance ministers and central bank governors, would replace the [[Organization:G8|G8]] as the main economic council.

'''[[Finance:2007 Chinese export recalls|2007 Chinese export recalls]]'''– In 2007, a series of product recalls and import bans were imposed by the product safety institutions of the {{wipe|United States}}, {{wipe|Canada}}, the [[Social:European Union|European Union]], {{wipe|Australia}} and [[Earth:New Zealand|New Zealand]] against products manufactured in and exported from the mainland of the {{wipe|China}} (PRC) because of numerous alleged consumer safety issues.

Events in the confidence crisis included recalls on consumer goods such as [[Chemistry:2007 pet food recalls|pet food]], toys, [[Medicine:Toothpaste|toothpaste]], lipstick, and a ban on certain types of seafood. Also included are reports on the poor crash safety of Chinese automobiles, slated to enter the American and European markets in 2008. This created adverse consequences for the confidence in the safety and quality of mainland Chinese manufactured goods in the global economy.

===The age of turbulence===
[[File:Birmingham Northern Rock bank run 2007.jpg|thumb|People queuing outside a [[Company:Northern Rock|Northern Rock]] bank branch in Birmingham, United Kingdom on September 15, 2007, to withdraw their savings because of the Subprime mortgage crisis.]]
The decade was marked by two financial and economic crises. In 2001, the [[Dot-com bubble]] burst, causing turmoil in financial markets and a decline in economic activity in the developed economies, in particular in the United States.<ref>BBC Mundo, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/business/newsid_1666000/1666319.stm Se contrae la economía mundial] November 21, 2001 {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121202175936/http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/business/newsid_1666000/1666319.stm|date=December 2, 2012 }}</ref> However, the impact of the crisis on the activity was limited thanks to the intervention of the central banks, notably the U.S. [[Finance:Federal Reserve|Federal Reserve System]]. Indeed, Alan Greenspan, leader of the Federal Reserve until 2006, cut the interest rates several times to avoid a severe recession,<ref>BBC Mundo, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/business/newsid_1685000/1685410.stm ¿Recesión global?], September 8, 2001 {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121203020449/http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/business/newsid_1685000/1685410.stm|date=December 3, 2012 }}</ref> allowing an economic revival in the U.S.<ref>Agence France Presse [https://archive.today/20121229212959/http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=680131 Greenspan dijo que las tasas se mantienen bajas] , La Nación, February 16, 2005</ref>

As the Federal Reserve maintained low interest rates to favor economic growth, a housing bubble began to appear in the United States. In 2007, the rise in interest rates and the collapse of the housing market caused a wave of [[Finance:Default|loan payment failures]] in the U.S. The subsequent [[Finance:Subprime mortgage crisis|mortgage crisis]] caused a [[Finance:2007–2008 financial crisis|global financial crisis]], because the subprime mortgages had been [[Finance:Securitization|securitize]]d and sold to international banks and investment funds. Despite the extensive intervention of central banks, including partial and total nationalization of major European banks,<ref>"European banking collapse including nationalisation of three banks", ''Credit Writedown'', Ed Harrison, September 29, 2008. Retrieved January 11, 2011, [http://www.creditwritedowns.com/2008/09/european-banking-collapse-including.html Creditwritedowns.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307235238/http://www.creditwritedowns.com/2008/09/european-banking-collapse-including.html|date=March 7, 2012 }}</ref><ref>"Anglo Irish Bank Shares Suspended after Nationalization", The New York Times, January 16, 2009. Retrieved January 11, 2011, [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/16/business/worldbusiness/16iht-15punt.19424614.html NYtimes.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402181013/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/16/business/worldbusiness/16iht-15punt.19424614.html|date=April 2, 2015 }}</ref> the crisis of sovereign debt became particularly acute, first in [[Finance:2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis|Iceland]], though as events of the early 2010s would show, it was not an isolated European example. Economic activity was severely affected around the world in 2008 and 2009,<ref>ABC Noticias, [http://especiales.abc.es/crisis-economica/ The economic crisis] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515213610/http://especiales.abc.es/crisis-economica/|date=May 15, 2013 }}</ref> with [[Finance:2008–2010 automotive industry crisis|disastrous consequences for carmakers]].<ref>{{wipe|Reuters}} [http://www.eluniverso.com/2008/11/15/0001/14/127CB76112CC4112B844BB6966CA769E.html Se extiende crisis de la industria automotriz], November 15, 2008, El Universo {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308111853/http://www.eluniverso.com/2008/11/15/0001/14/127CB76112CC4112B844BB6966CA769E.html|date=March 8, 2012 }}</ref>

In 2007, the UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, delivered his final Mansion House speech as Chancellor before he moved into Number 10. Addressing financiers: "A new world order has been created", Everyone needed to follow the city's "great example", "an era that history will record as the beginning of a new Golden Age".<ref>{{cite news|last=Rawnsley|first=Andrew|title=A golden age, and other things they wish they'd never said|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/oct/19/gordonbrown-davidcameron-economic-policy|access-date=February 14, 2013|newspaper=The Observer|date=October 19, 2008|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207022026/http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/oct/19/gordonbrown-davidcameron-economic-policy|archive-date=February 7, 2009}}</ref>

Reactions of governments in all developed and developing countries against the economic slowdown were largely inspired by [[Finance:Keynesian economics|keynesian economics]]. The end of the decade was characterized by a [[Finance:2008–2009 Keynesian resurgence|Keynesian resurgence]],<ref>ABC Noticias [http://www.abc.es/hemeroteca/historico-22-02-2009/abc/Economia/la-fascinacion-del-keynesianismo-esperemos-que-sin-resaca_913291632123.html La fascinación del keynesianismo, esperemos que sin resaca] February 22, 2009 {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402234911/http://www.abc.es/hemeroteca/historico-22-02-2009/abc/Economia/la-fascinacion-del-keynesianismo-esperemos-que-sin-resaca_913291632123.html|date=April 2, 2012 }}</ref> while the influence and media popularity of left-wing economists<ref>El País, [http://www.elpais.com/articulo/economia/Stiglitz/Krugman/reclaman/globalizacion/gobernada/reducir/desigualdades/elpepieco/20040925elpepieco_12/Tes Stiglitz y Krugman reclaman una globalización 'gobernada' para reducir las desigualdades] September 25, 2004</ref> [[Biography:Joseph Stiglitz|Joseph Stiglitz]] and [[Biography:Paul Krugman|Paul Krugman]] (Nobel Prize recipients in 2001 and 2008, respectively) did not stop growing during the decade.<ref>El Mundo [http://www.elmundo.es/mundodinero/2004/06/23/Noti20040623115744.html Paul Krugman, un polémico economista que marca tendencia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605213014/http://www.elmundo.es/mundodinero/2004/06/23/Noti20040623115744.html|date=June 5, 2013 }}</ref> Several international summits were organized to find solutions against the economic crisis and to impose greater control on the financial markets. The [[Organization:G20|G20]] became in 2008 and 2009 a major organization, as leaders of the member countries held two major summits in [[Finance:2008 G20 Washington summit|Washington in November 2008]] and in London in April 2009 to regulate the banking and financial sectors,<ref>La Vanguardia [http://www.lavanguardia.es/premium/publica/publica?COMPID=53791830695&ID_PAGINA=22088&ID_FORMATO=9 El G-20 acuerda erigirse en el árbitro de la economía internacional] September 25, 2009 {{dead link|date=July 2011}}</ref> and also succeeding in coordinating their economic action and in avoiding protectionist reactions.

===Energy crisis===
[[File:US oil price in dollars from 1999 to 2008-10-17.svg|thumb|Increase in oil prices]]
[[File:May2008gasolineCA.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Finance:Gasoline and diesel usage and pricing|Gas prices]] in late May 2008]]

From the mid-1980s to September 2003, the inflation-adjusted price of a barrel of crude oil on NYMEX was generally under $25/barrel. During 2003, the price rose above $30, reached $60 by August 11, 2005, and peaked at $147.30 in July 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tfc-charts.com/chart/QM/W|title=Weekly Commodity Futures Price Chart: Crude Oil EmiNY|publisher=TFC-charts.com|access-date=February 14, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502013508/http://tfc-charts.com/chart/QM/W|archive-date=May 2, 2014 }}</ref> Commentators attributed these price increases to many factors, including reports from the United States Department of Energy and others showing a decline in petroleum reserves, worries over [[Unsolved:Peak oil|peak oil]], Middle East tension, and oil price speculation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,556519,00.html|first=Moira|last=Herbst|title=Speculation – But Not Manipulation|work=Der Spiegel|date=May 30, 2008|access-date=February 14, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120518065027/http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0%2C1518%2C556519%2C00.html|archive-date=May 18, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

For a time, geopolitical events and natural disasters indirectly related to the global oil market had strong short-term effects on oil prices. These events and disasters included North Korean missile tests, the 2006 conflict between Israel and Lebanon, worries over [[Religion:Iran|Iran]]ian nuclear plants in 2006 and Hurricane Katrina. By 2008, such pressures appeared to have an insignificant impact on oil prices given the onset of the global recession. The recession caused demand for energy to shrink in late 2008 and early 2009 and the price plunged as well. However, it surged back in May 2009, bringing it back to November 2008 levels.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/Oil-prices-jump-to-new-high-apf-15149868.html?.v=10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090509193321/http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Oil-prices-jump-to-new-high-apf-15149868.html?.v=10|url-status=dead|title=Yahoo Finance|archive-date=May 9, 2009}}</ref>

Many fast-growing economies throughout the world, especially in Asia, also were a major factor in the rapidly increasing demand for fossil fuels, which—along with fewer new petroleum finds, greater extraction costs, and political turmoil—forced two other trends: a soar in the [[Finance:Price of oil|price of petroleum]] products and a push by governments and businesses to promote the development of environmentally friendly technology (known informally as "green" technology). However, a side-effect of the push by some industrial nations to "go green" and utilize [[Earth:Biofuel|biofuel]]s was a decrease in the supply of food and a subsequent increase in the price of the same. It partially caused the 2007 food price crisis, which seriously affected the world's poorer nations with an even more severe shortage of food.<ref>Global Policy [http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/hunger/general/2008/0303foodcrisis.htm Global Policy Forum, Are We Approaching a Global Food Crisis?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090422035616/http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/hunger/general/2008/0303foodcrisis.htm|date=April 22, 2009 }}</ref>

===The rise of the euro===
[[File:Euro banknotes 2002.png|thumb|left|The euro became the currency of members of the Eurozone.]]
A common currency for most EU member states, the [[Finance:Euro|euro]], was established electronically in 1999, officially tying all the currencies of each participating nation to each other. The new currency was put into circulation in 2002 and the old currencies were phased out. Only three countries of the then 15 member states decided not to join the euro (the United Kingdom, Denmark and Sweden). In 2004 the EU undertook a major eastward enlargement, admitting 10 new member states (eight of which were former communist states). Two more, Bulgaria and Romania, joined in 2007, establishing a union of 27 nations.

The euro has since become the second largest [[Finance:Reserve currency|reserve currency]] and the second most traded currency in the world after the US$.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bis.org/publ/rpfxf07t.pdf|title=Triennial Central Bank Survey 2007&nbsp;– BIS&nbsp;– December 2007|publisher=BIS|date=December 19, 2007|access-date=July 25, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130825004633/http://www.bis.org/publ/rpfxf07t.pdf|archive-date=August 25, 2013 }}</ref>
{{As of|2009|10}}, with more than €790&nbsp;billion in circulation, the euro was the currency with the highest combined value of banknotes and coins in [[Finance:Circulation (currency)|circulation]] in the world, having surpassed the US$.<ref group="note">{{As of|2009|10|30|df=US}}:<br />
Total EUR currency (coins and banknotes) in circulation 771.5 (banknotes) + 21.032 (coins) =792.53&nbsp;billion EUR *1.48 (exchange rate) = 1,080&nbsp;billion USD <br />
Total USD currency (coins and banknotes) in circulation 859&nbsp;billion USD
* {{cite web
|url=https://stats.ecb.europa.eu/stats/download/bkn_notes_val/bkn_notes_val/bkn_notes_val.pdf
|title=Table 2: Euro banknotes, values (EUR billions, unless otherwise indicated, not seasonally adjusted)
|access-date=December 13, 2009
|publisher=ECB
|quote=2009, October: Total banknotes: 771.5 (billion EUR)
|archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5njSKhMeM?url=https://stats.ecb.europa.eu/stats/download/bkn_notes_val/bkn_notes_val/bkn_notes_val.pdf
|archive-date=February 22, 2010
|url-status=dead
}}
* {{cite web
|url=https://stats.ecb.europa.eu/stats/download/bkn_coins_val/bkn_coins_val/bkn_coins_val.pdf
|title=Table 4: Euro coins, values (EUR millions, unless otherwise indicated, not seasonally adjusted)
|access-date=December 13, 2009
|publisher=ECB
|quote=2009, October: Total coins: 21,032 (million EUR)
|archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5njSKi43Q?url=https://stats.ecb.europa.eu/stats/download/bkn_coins_val/bkn_coins_val/bkn_coins_val.pdf
|archive-date=February 22, 2010
|url-status=dead
}}
* {{cite web
|url=http://federalreserve.gov/releases/h6/current/h6.htm
|title=Money Stock Measures
|access-date=December 13, 2009
|work=Federal Reserve Statistical Release
|publisher=Board of Governors of the [[Finance:Federal Reserve System|Federal Reserve System]]
|quote=Table 5: Not Seasonally Adjusted Components of M1 (Billions of dollars), not seasonally adjusted, October 2009: Currency: 859.3 (billion USD)
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091209203956/http://federalreserve.gov/releases/h6/Current/h6.htm
|archive-date=December 9, 2009
}}
* {{cite web
|url=http://www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/eurofxref/eurofxref-hist-90d.xml
|title=Euro foreign exchange reference rates
|access-date=December 13, 2009
|publisher=ECB
|quote=Exchange rate October 30, 2009: 1 EUR = 1.48 USD
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325101851/http://www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/eurofxref/eurofxref-hist-90d.xml
|archive-date=March 25, 2014
}}
</ref>

==Science and technology==

===Science===
====Scientific Marks by Field====
=====Archaeology=====
* 2003 – Fossils of a new dwarf species of human, ''[[Biology:Homo floresiensis|Homo floresiensis]]'', were discovered on the island of Flores, Indonesia. (report published initially October 2004).
* 2009 – Discovery of ''[[Biology:Ardipithecus ramidus|Ardipithecus ramidus]]''' a species of Hominin classified as an [[Biology:Australopithecine|australopithecine]] of the genus ''[[Biology:Ardipithecus|Ardipithecus]]''. ''[[Biology:Ardipithecus kadabba|A. kadabba]]'' was considered to be a subspecies of ''A. ramidus'' until 2004.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Haile-Selassie |first1=Yohannes |last2=Suwa |first2=Gen |last3=White |first3=Tim D. |title=Late Miocene Teeth from Middle Awash, Ethiopia, and Early Hominid Dental Evolution |journal=Science |date=5 March 2004 |volume=303 |issue=5663 |pages=1503–1505 |doi=10.1126/science.1092978 |pmid=15001775 |bibcode=2004Sci...303.1503H |s2cid=30387762 }}</ref>

=====Biology=====
* 2001 – The world's first self-contained [[Engineering:Artificial heart|artificial heart]] was implanted in Robert Tools.
* 2002 – The [[Medicine:2002–2004 SARS outbreak|2002–2004 SARS outbreak]] occurred in China and Hong Kong.
* 2003 – The [[Biology:Human Genome Project|Human Genome Project]] was completed, with 99% of the human [[Biology:Genome|genome]] sequenced to 99.99% accuracy.
* 2005 – [[Organization:National Geographic Society|National Geographic Society]] and [[Company:IBM|IBM]] established The Genographic Project, which aims to trace the ancestry of every living human down to a single male ancestor.
* 2005 – Surgeons in France carried out the first successful partial human [[Medicine:Face transplant|face transplant]].
* 2005 – Equipped with genome data and field observations of organisms from microbes to mammals, biologists made huge strides toward understanding the mechanisms by which living creatures [[Biology:Evolution|evolve]].
* 2006 – Australian scientist Ian Frazer developed a [[Biology:Vaccine|vaccine]] for the Human Papillomavirus, a common cause of [[Medicine:Cervical cancer|cervical cancer]].
* 2007 – [[Biology:RNA interference|RNA]], long upstaged by its more glamorous sibling, DNA, is turning out to have star qualities of its own. Science hails these electrifying discoveries, which are prompting biologists to overhaul their vision of the cell and its evolution.
* 2008 – By inserting genes that turn back a cell's developmental clock, researchers are gaining insights into disease and the biology of how a cell decides its fate.
* 2008 – Launch of the [[Biology:1000 Genomes Project|1000 Genomes Project]] an international research effort to establish by far the most detailed catalogue of [[Biology:Human genetic variation|human genetic variation]].
* 2009 – Launch of the [[Human Connectome Project]] to build a [[Connectome|network map]] that will shed light on the anatomical and functional connectivity within the healthy [[Biology:Human brain|human brain]], as well as to produce a body of data that will facilitate research into brain disorders.
* 2009 – A new strain of H1N1 virus first detected in Mexico spread to the world, resulting in the [[Biology:2009 swine flu pandemic|2009 swine flu pandemic]].

=====Mathematics=====
* 2006 – [[Biography:Grigori Perelman|Grigori Perelman]] is a Russian [[Biography:Mathematician|mathematician]] who has made landmark contributions to [[Riemannian geometry]] and [[Geometric topology|geometric topology]]. In 2003, he proved [[Geometrization conjecture|Thurston's geometrization conjecture]]. This consequently solved in the affirmative the [[Poincaré conjecture]], posed in 1904, which before its solution was viewed as one of the most important and difficult open problems in [[Topology|topology]]. In August 2006, Perelman was awarded the Fields Medal<ref>{{cite web
| work = International Mathematical Union (IMU) – Prizes
| title = Fields Medals 2006
|url=http://www.mathunion.org/general/prizes/2006/
| access-date=April 30, 2006| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130617222042/http://www.mathunion.org/General/Prizes/2006/
| archive-date=June 17, 2013
}}</ref> for "his contributions to geometry and his revolutionary insights into the analytical and geometric structure of the [[Ricci flow]]." Perelman declined to accept the award or to appear at the congress, stating: "I'm not interested in money or fame, I don't want to be on display like an animal in a zoo."<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8585407.stm Russian maths genius Perelman urged to take $1m prize] bbc.co.uk, Wednesday, March 24, 2010.</ref> On December 22, 2006, the journal ''Science'' recognized Perelman's proof of the Poincaré conjecture as the scientific "Breakthrough of the Year", the first such recognition in the area of mathematics.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mackenzie |first1=Dana |title=The Poincaré Conjecture--Proved |journal=Science |date=22 December 2006 |volume=314 |issue=5807 |pages=1848–1849 |doi=10.1126/science.314.5807.1848 |pmid=17185565 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The Poincaré conjecture is one of the seven Millennium Problems and the first to be solved.

=====Physics=====
* 2001 – Scientists assembled molecules into basic circuits, raising hopes for a new world of [[Engineering:Nanoelectronics|nanoelectronics]]. If researchers can wire these circuits into intricate computer chip architectures, this new generation of molecular electronics will undoubtedly provide computing power to launch scientific breakthroughs for decades.
* 2008 – [[Organization:CERN|CERN]]'s [[Physics:Large Hadron Collider|Large Hadron Collider]], the [[Physics:List of accelerators in particle physics#Hadron colliders|world's largest and highest-energy]] [[Physics:Particle accelerator|particle accelerator]] ever made, was completed in 2008.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/11/13/water.moon.nasa/index.html| work=CNN| title=NASA finds 'significant' water on moon| access-date=April 21, 2010| date=November 14, 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100406133228/http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/11/13/water.moon.nasa/index.html| archive-date=April 6, 2010}}</ref>

=====Space=====
[[File:Opportunity_in_Endurance_Crater_(cropped).jpg|thumb|Artist Concept of a NASA Mars Exploration Rover on Mars]]
[[File:Water Around Fresh Moon Crater.jpg|thumb|These images show water in a very young lunar crater on the side of the Moon that faces away from Earth.]]
* 2000 – Beginning on November 2, 2000, the [[Astronomy:International Space Station|International Space Station]] has remained continuously inhabited. The [[Engineering:Space Shuttle program|Space Shuttles]] helped make it the largest space station in history, despite one of the Shuttles [[Engineering:Space Shuttle Columbia disaster|disintegrating upon re-entry]] in 2003. By the end of 2009 the station was supporting [[Astronomy:Expedition 22|5 long-duration crew members]].
* 2001 – [[Astronomy:Space tourism|Space tourism]]/[[Engineering:Private spaceflight|Private spaceflight]] begins with American Dennis Tito, paying Russia US$20 million for a week-long stay to the [[Astronomy:International Space Station|International Space Station]].
* 2004 – The [[Astronomy:Mars Exploration Rover|Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Mission]] successfully reached the surface of [[Astronomy:Mars|Mars]] in 2004, and sent detailed data and images of the landscape there back to Earth. ''[[Engineering:Opportunity (rover)|Opportunity]]'' discovers evidence that an area of [[Astronomy:Mars|Mars]] was once covered in water. Both rovers were each expected to last only 90 days, however both completely exceeded expectations and continued to explore through the end of the decade and beyond.
* 2004 – [[Company:Scaled Composites|Scaled Composites]]' [[Engineering:SpaceShipOne|SpaceShipOne]] becomes the first privately built and operated [[Astronomy:Human spaceflight|crewed spacecraft]] to achieve [[Engineering:Spaceflight|spaceflight]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.space.com/16769-spaceshipone-first-private-spacecraft.html|title=SpaceShipOne: The First Private Spacecraft – The Most Amazing Flying Machines Ever|last=Sharp|first=Tim|publisher=Space.com|date=July 26, 2012}}</ref>
* 2004 – ''Cassini-Huygens'' becomes the first space probe to orbit [[Astronomy:Saturn|Saturn]], with ''Huygens'' landing on the moon [[Astronomy:Titan (moon)|Titan]] in 2005.
* 2006 – As a result of the discovery of [[Astronomy:Eris (dwarf planet)|Eris]], a Kuiper Belt object larger than [[Astronomy:Pluto|Pluto]], Pluto is demoted to a "[[Astronomy:Dwarf planet|dwarf planet]]" after being considered a planet for 76 years, redefining the solar system to have eight planets and three dwarf planets.
* 2009 – After having analyzed the data from the [[Astronomy:LCROSS|LCROSS]] lunar impact, in 2009 [[Organization:NASA|NASA]] announced that the discovery of a "significant" quantity of [[Astronomy:Lunar water|water]] in the [[Astronomy:Moon|Moon]]'s [[Astronomy:Cabeus (crater)|Cabeus]] crater.<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2009/nov/HQ_09-265_LCROSS_Confirms_Water.html|title=NASA's LCROSS Impacts Confirm Water in Lunar Crater|publisher=NASA|date=November 13, 2009|access-date=November 21, 2009|quote=Preliminary data from NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, indicates the mission successfully uncovered water in a permanently shadowed lunar crater.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091115180658/http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2009/nov/HQ_09-265_LCROSS_Confirms_Water.html|archive-date=November 15, 2009|url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/11/13/water.moon.nasa/index.html|work=CNN|title=NASA finds 'significant' water on moon|date=November 13, 2009|access-date=November 21, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091116064753/http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/11/13/water.moon.nasa/index.html|archive-date=November 16, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* 2009 – [[Astronomy:Physical cosmology|Astrophysicists]] studying the [[Astronomy:Universe|universe]] confirm [[Astronomy:Age of the universe|its age]] at 13.7 billion years,<ref>{{cite web|author=WMAP mission| title = The Age of the Universe with New Accuracy|url=http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/m_mm/mr_age.html|date=March 16, 2006|publisher=NASA| access-date=November 30, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130224025934/http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/m_mm/mr_age.html|archive-date=February 24, 2013}}</ref> discover that it will most likely [[Astronomy:Cosmic inflation|expand]] forever without limit, and conclude that only 4% of the universe's contents are ordinary [[Physics:Matter|matter]] (the other 96% being still-mysterious [[Astronomy:Dark matter|dark matter]], [[Astronomy:Dark energy|dark energy]], and [[Astronomy:Dark flow|dark flow]]).

===Technology===
====Automobiles====
* [[Automotive navigation system]]s become widely popular making it possible to direct vehicles to any destination in real-time as well as detect traffic and suggest alternate routes with the use of [[Engineering:GPS navigation device|GPS navigation device]]s.
* Greater interest in future energy development due to [[Earth:Global warming|global warming]] and the potential exhaustion of crude oil. Photovoltaics increase in popularity as a result.
* The [[Engineering:Hybrid vehicle|Hybrid vehicle]]s market, which became somewhat popular towards the middle of the decade, underwent major advances notably typified by such cars as the [[Engineering:Toyota Prius|Toyota Prius]], Ford Escape, and the [[Engineering:Honda Insight|Honda Insight]] though by December 2010 they accounted for less than 0.5% of the world cars.
* Many more computers and other technologies were implemented in vehicles throughout the decade such as: Xenon HID headlights, [[Engineering:GPS|GPS]], [[Engineering:DVD player|DVD player]]s, self-diagnosing systems, memory systems for car settings, back-up sensors and cameras, in-car media systems, MP3 player compatibility, [[Engineering:USB|USB]] drive compatibility, [[Engineering:Remote keyless system|keyless start and entry]], [[Physics:Satellite radio|satellite radio]], [[Voice command device|voice-activation]], cellphone connectivity, HUD (Head-Up-Display) and infrared cameras. In addition, more safety features were implemented in vehicles throughout the decade such as: advanced pre-collision safety systems, [[Engineering:Backup camera|Backup camera]]s, [[Engineering:Blind spot monitor|Blind spot monitor]], [[Engineering:Adaptive cruise control|Adaptive cruise control]], Adaptive headlamps, [[Engineering:Automatic parking|Automatic parking]], [[Engineering:Lane departure warning system|Lane departure warning system]]s and the [[Engineering:Advanced Automatic Collision Notification|Advanced Automatic Collision Notification]] system Onstar (on all GM models).
* The sale of [[Engineering:Crossover (automobile)|Crossovers]] (CUVs), a type of car-based [[Engineering:Vehicle frame#Unibody|unibody]] sports utility vehicle, increased in the 2000s.<ref name="cnn1">{{cite news |title= GM and Ford's New Cross to Bear |work= CNN Money |first= Chris |last= Isidore |date= January 9, 2006 |url= https://money.cnn.com/2006/01/09/Autos/detroit_crossovers/index.htm |access-date= July 27, 2015}}</ref> By 2006, the segment came into strong visibility in the U.S., when crossover sales "made up more than 50% of the overall SUV market".<ref>{{cite news |title=Crossover vehicles pass up SUVs on road to growing sales |newspaper=USA Today |date=May 3, 2006 |first= Sharon Silke |last=Carty |url= http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/autos/2006-05-03-crossover-usat_x.htm |access-date=July 27, 2015}}</ref> <gallery widths="190px" perrow="5">
File:Mapas Digitales 2 (cropped).jpg|[[Engineering:GPS|GPS]] devices for automobiles gained massive popularity during the decade
File:Collision Warning Brake Support.jpg|Collision Warning with Brake Support on the 2009 Lincoln MKS
</gallery>

====Communications====
[[File:Texting.jpg|thumb|The popularity of mobile phones and text messaging surged in the 2000s in the Western world.]]
* The popularity of mobile phones and text messaging surged in the 2000s in the Western world. The advent of text messaging made possible new forms of interaction that were not possible before, leading to positive implications such as having the ability to receive information on the move. Nevertheless, it also led to negative social implications such as "cyberbullying" and the rise of traffic collisions caused by drivers who were distracted as they were texting while driving.
* Mobile internet, first launched in Japan with the i-mode in 1999, became increasingly popular with people in developed countries throughout the decade, thanks to improving cell phone capabilities and advances in mobile telecommunications technology, such as [[3G|3G]].
* E-mail continued to be popular throughout the decade. It began to replace "[[Snail mail|snail mail]]" (also known, more neutrally, as '''paper mail''', '''postal mail''', '''land mail''', or simply '''mail''' or '''post''') as the primary way of sending letters and other messages to people in faraway locations, though it has been available since 1971.
* Social networking sites arose as a new way for people to stay in touch no matter where they are, as long as they have an internet connection. The earliest social networking sites were Friendster, [[Company:Myspace|Myspace]], [[Company:Facebook|Facebook]], and [[Company:Twitter|Twitter]] in 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2006, respectively. Myspace was the most popular social networking website until June 2009 when Facebook overtook Myspace in the number of American users.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/former-myspace-ceo-reveals-what-facebook-did-right-to-dominate-social-media/|title=Former MySpace CEO explains why MySpace lost out to Facebook so badly|first=Marc|last=Schenker|publisher=Digital Trends|date=May 12, 2015|access-date=December 21, 2017}}</ref>
* [[Engineering:Smartphone|Smartphone]]s, which combine mobile phones with the features of [[Social:Personal digital assistant|personal digital assistant]]s and [[Engineering:Portable media player|portable media player]]s, first emerged in the 1990s but did not become popular until the late 2000s. Smartphones are rich in features and often have high resolution [[Engineering:Touchscreen|touchscreen]]s and [[Software:Web browser|web browser]]s. The first modern smartphone was the [[Engineering:IPhone (1st generation)|iPhone 2G]]. It was released on June 29, 2007, in the {{wipe|United States}}, and in the {{wipe|United Kingdom}}, {{wipe|France}}, {{wipe|Germany}}, Portugal, the Republic of Ireland and Austria in November 2007. It was the first smartphone to not include a physical keyboard, solely utilizing a touch screen and a home button.
* Due to the major success of broadband Internet connections, [[Engineering:Voice over IP|VoIP]] begins to gain popularity as a replacement for traditional telephone lines.

====Computing and Internet====
In the 2000s, the Internet became a mainstay, strengthening its grip on Western society while becoming increasingly available in the developing world. The share of the world population using the internet grew from 6.7% to 25.7%.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Share of the population using the Internet |url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-individuals-using-the-internet |access-date=2023-01-09 |website=Our World in Data}}</ref>
{{main|Timeline of computing 2000–2009}}
[[File:Google 2011 logo.png|thumb|[[Software:Google Search|Google]] becomes the Internet's most visited website.]]
* A huge jump in broadband internet usage globally – for example, from 6% of U.S. internet users in June 2000<ref>{{cite web|author=Bethea, Neil|first2=Jacob|last2=Williams|first3=Yiwen|last3=Yu|name-list-style=amp|title=Broadband services in the United States|quote=Growth of Broadband Users:June 2000:total:4,367,434|publisher=Ohio State University|date=June 2003|page=9|url=http://www.nrri.ohio-state.edu/dspace/bitstream/2068/814/3/Article+1-Bethea+_Broadband_.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060904211822/http://www.nrri.ohio-state.edu/dspace/bitstream/2068/814/3/Article%2B1-Bethea%2B_Broadband_.pdf|archive-date=September 4, 2006|access-date=November 30, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> to what one mid-decade study predicted would be 62% by 2010.<ref>{{cite web|last=Sharma|first=Dinesh|title=Study: Broadband penetration to surge by 2010|date=August 2, 2005|publisher=CNET News.com|url=http://news.cnet.com/Study+Broadband+penetration+to+surge+by+2010/2100-1034_3-5815756.html| access-date=November 30, 2011}}</ref> By February 2007, over 80% of U.S. Internet users were connected via broadband and broadband internet has been almost a required standard for quality internet browsing.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.websiteoptimization.com/bw/0703/|title=US Broadband Penetration Breaks 80% Among Active Internet Users|publisher=WebSiteOptimization.com|date=May 2007| access-date=November 30, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131030184150/http://www.websiteoptimization.com/bw/0703/|archive-date=October 30, 2013}}</ref>
* Wireless internet became prominent by the end of the decade, as well as internet access in devices besides computers, such as mobile phones and gaming consoles.
* Email became a standard form of interpersonal written communication, with popular addresses available to the public on [[Software:Outlook.com|Hotmail (now Outlook.com)]], [[Software:Gmail|Gmail]] and [[Software:Yahoo! Mail|Yahoo! Mail]].
* [[Text normalization|Normalisation]] became increasingly important as massive standardized [[Social:Corpus linguistics|corpora]] and [[Social:Lexicon|lexicon]]s of spoken and written language became widely available to laypeople, just as documents from the paperless office were archived and retrieved with increasing efficiency using [[XML]]-based markup.
* [[Peer-to-peer]] technology gained massive popularity with [[File sharing|file sharing]] systems enabling users to share any audio, video and data files or anything in digital format, as well as with applications which share real-time data, such as [[Engineering:Voice over IP|telephony]] traffic.
* [[Virtual private network|VPN]]s (virtual private networks) became likewise accessible to the general public, and data encryption remained a major issue for the stability of web commerce.
* Boom in music downloading and the use of [[Data compression|data compression]] to quickly transfer music over the Internet, with a corresponding rise of portable digital audio players. As a result, the entertainment industry struggled through the decade to find digital delivery systems for music, movies, and other media that reduce [[Copyright infringement|copyright infringement]] and preserve profit.
* The [[Engineering:USB flash drive|USB flash drive]] replaces the [[Floppy disk|floppy disk]] as the preferred form of low-capacity mobile data storage.
* In February 2003, [[Company:Dell|Dell]] announced floppy drives would no longer be pre-installed on Dell Dimension home computers, although they were still available as a selectable option and purchasable as an aftermarket OEM add-on.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2905953.stm|title=R.I.P. Floppy Disk|work=BBC News|date=April 1, 2003|access-date=July 19, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090216235741/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2905953.stm|archive-date=February 16, 2009 }}</ref> On January 29, 2007, PC World stated that only 2% of the computers they sold contained built-in [[Floppy disk|floppy disk]] drives; once present stocks were exhausted, no more standard floppies would be sold.<ref name="PCW">{{cite news|last=Derbyshire|first=David|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/01/30/nfloppy30.xml|title=Floppy disks ejected as demand slumps|newspaper=Daily Telegraph|date=January 30, 2007|access-date=July 19, 2011|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080420083540/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2007%2F01%2F30%2Fnfloppy30.xml|archive-date=April 20, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* During the decade, [[Software:Windows 2000|Windows 2000]], [[Software:Windows XP|XP]], [[Software:Microsoft Office 2003|Microsoft Office 2003]], [[Software:Windows Vista|Vista]]{{dubious|reason=Vista was never widely adopted with the majority of Windows users choosing to stick with XP.|date=February 2015}} and [[Software:Microsoft Office 2007|Office 2007]] (and later [[Software:Windows 7|Windows 7]]{{dubious|reason=Windows 7 only became available in the last 3 months of the decade as a result, it did not become widely adopted until the 2010s.|date=February 2015}}) become the ubiquitous industry standards{{dubious|reason=These proprietary products were widely adopted (except Vista) but no "industry standard" was ever formalised or published.|date=February 2015}} in personal computer software until the end of the decade, when Apple began to slowly gain market share. Windows ME and [[Software:Microsoft Office XP|Microsoft Office XP]] were also released during the decade.
* With the advent of the [[Social:Web 2.0|Web 2.0]], dynamic technology became widely accessible, and by the mid-2000s, [[Organization:PHP|PHP]] and [[Software:MySQL|MySQL]] became (with [[Software:Apache HTTP Server|Apache]] and [[Software:Nginx|nginx]]) the backbone of many sites, making programming knowledge unnecessary to publish to the web. Blogs, portals, and [[Wiki|wiki]]s become common electronic dissemination methods for professionals, amateurs, and businesses to conduct [[Knowledge management|knowledge management]] typified by success of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia which launched on January 15, 2001, grew rapidly and became the largest and most popular general reference work on the Internet<ref name="Woodson">{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN0819429120070708|title=Wikipedia remains go-to site for online news|date=July 8, 2007|first=Alex|last=Woodson|work=Reuters|access-date=December 16, 2007|quote=Online encyclopedia Wikipedia has added about 20 million unique monthly visitors in the past year, making it the top online news and information destination, according to Nielsen//NetRatings.| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071121104746/https://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN0819429120070708| archive-date=November 21, 2007}}</ref><ref name="AlexaTop500">{{cite web|url=http://www.alexa.com/site/ds/top_sites?ts_mode=global&lang=none|title=Top 500|publisher=[[Company:Alexa Internet|Alexa]]|access-date=October 13, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302215553/http://www.alexa.com//site//ds//top_sites?ts_mode=global&lang=none|archive-date=March 2, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> as well as the best known [[Wiki|wiki]] in the world and the largest encyclopedia in the world.
* [[Open-source software]], such as the [[Software:Linux|Linux]] operating system, the [[Software:Firefox|Mozilla Firefox]] web browser and [[Software:VLC media player|VLC media player]], gain ground.
* [[Social:E-commerce|Internet commerce]] became standard for reservations; stock trading; promotion of music, arts, literature, and film; shopping; and other activities.
* During this decade certain websites and search engines became prominent worldwide as transmitters of goods, services and information. Some of the most popular and successful online sites or search engines of the 2000s included [[Company:Google|Google]], [[Company:Yahoo!|Yahoo!]], Wikipedia, Amazon, [[Company:EBay|eBay]], MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
* More and more businesses began providing [[Paperless office|paperless]] services, clients accessing bills and bank statements directly through a web interface.
* In 2007, the fast food chain [[Company:McDonald's|McDonald's]] announced the introduction of free high speed wireless internet access at most of its 1,200 restaurants by the end of the year in a move which will make it the UK's biggest provider of such a service.<ref>{{cite news|last=Smithers|first=Rebecca|title=McDonald's to offer free Wi-Fi in restaurants|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2007/oct/06/internet |access-date=February 26, 2013|location=London|date=October 5, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122210426/http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/oct/06/internet|archive-date=January 22, 2013}}</ref>

==== Popular websites ====
[[Company:Google|Google]], [[Company:YouTube|YouTube]], [[Software:Ask.com|Ask.com]] and [[Wikipedia]] emerged as popular websites, becoming the 2nd, 3rd, 7th and 9th most popular websites by the end of the decade respectively. Amazon overtook [[Company:EBay|eBay]] as the most-visited e-commerce site in 2008. AOL significantly declined in popularity throughout the decade, falling from being the most popular website to no longer being within the top 10. [[Company:Excite (web portal)|Excite]] and [[Software:Lycos|Lycos]] fell outside the top 10, and [[Software:MSN|MSN]] fell from the second to sixth most popular site, though it quadrupled its monthly visits (going from 325 to 1.2 billion monthly visits). [[Software:Lycos|Yahoo]] maintained relatively stable popularity, remaining the most popular website for most of the decade.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Eagle |first=James |date=2022-09-09 |title=Animation: The Most Popular Websites by Web Traffic (1993-2022) |url=https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/most-popular-websites-by-web-traffic/ |access-date=2023-01-09 |website=Visual Capitalist |language=en-US}}</ref>

====Electronics====
* [[Engineering:Global Positioning System|GPS]] (Global Positioning System) became very popular especially in the tracking of items or people, and the use in cars (see [[Automotive navigation system]]s). Games that utilized the system, such as [[Engineering:Geocaching|geocaching]], emerged and became popular.
* Green [[Physics:Laser pointer|laser pointer]]s<ref>[http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/laserpic/glpdpics.htm Sam's Laser FAQ: Dissection of Green Laser Pointer]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522190301/http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/laserpic/glpdpics.htm|date=May 22, 2013 }}</ref> appeared on the market circa 2000, and are the most common type of DPSS lasers (also called DPSSFD for "diode pumped solid state frequency-doubled").

In late 2004 and early 2005, came a significant increase in reported incidents linked to [[Physics:Laser pointer|laser pointer]]s – see Lasers and aviation safety. The wave of incidents may have been triggered in part by "copycats" who read press accounts of laser pointer incidents. In one case, David Banach of New Jersey was charged under federal Patriot Act anti-terrorism laws, after he allegedly shone a laser pointer at aircraft.<ref>{{cite news|last=Levin|first=Alan|url=https://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2005-01-04-laser-aircraft_x.htm|title=N.J. man charged with aiming laser at aircraft|work=USA Today|date=January 5, 2005|access-date=February 17, 2013|archive-date=April 6, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406095716/http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2005-01-04-laser-aircraft_x.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Finance:Chip and PIN|Chip and PIN]] is the brand name adopted by the banking industries in the {{wipe|United Kingdom}} and Ireland for the rollout of the EMV smart card payment system for credit, debit and [[Finance:Automated teller machine|ATM]] cards.

Chip and PIN was trialled in Northampton, {{wipe|England}} from May 2003, and as a result was rolled out nationwide in the United Kingdom in 2004 with advertisements in the press and national television touting the "Safety in Numbers" slogan.
* In 2009, Tesco (a British multinational grocery and general merchandise retailer) opened its first UK branch at which service robots were the only option at the checkout, in Kingsley, Northampton – its US chain, Fresh & Easy, already operates several branches like this.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hancox|first=Dan|title=How Britain became a self-service nation|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/how-britain-became-a-selfservice-nation-2241830.html|newspaper=Independent|access-date=February 22, 2013|location=London|date=March 15, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130828144034/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/how-britain-became-a-selfservice-nation-2241830.html|archive-date=August 28, 2013}}</ref>
* September 7, 2009, an EU watchdog warns of an "alarming increase" in cash machine fraud by organised criminal gangs across Europe using sophisticated skimming technology, together with an explosion in ram-raiding attacks on [[Finance:Automated teller machine|ATM]]s.

ATM crime in Europe jumped to €485m (£423m) in 2008 following a 149% rise in attacks on cash machines. Gangs are turning to [[Bluetooth]] wireless technology to transmit card and [[Personal identification number|personal identification number]] (PIN) details to nearby laptops and using increasingly sophisticated techniques to skim cards.

Portable laptops became popular during the late 2000s.

More conventional smash-and-grab attacks are also on the rise, says Enisa, the European Network and Information Security Agency. It reports a 32% rise in physical robberies on ATMs, ranging from ram raids to the use of rotary saws, blowtorches and diamond drills. It blames the increase on criminal gangs from eastern Europe.<ref>{{cite news|last=Collinson|first=Patrick|title=Huge rise in cash-machine crime, watchdog warns|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/sep/07/cash-machine-crime-increase-fraud |access-date=February 24, 2013|location=London|date=September 7, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110206184803/http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/sep/07/cash-machine-crime-increase-fraud|archive-date=February 6, 2011}}</ref>

<gallery widths="190px" perrow="5">
File:Ipod_5th_Generation_white_bijgewerkt.jpg|Digital audio players, especially the [[Engineering:IPod|iPod]], gained massive popularity during the decade
File:T-DSL Modem - original photo.jpg|A DSL modem from the 2000s. During the decade broadband Internet connection gained massive popularity around the world and gradually replaced internet connection via telephone lines.
File:IFA 2005 Panasonic Blu-ray Disc Single Layer 25GB BD-RE (LM-BRM25) (Cartridge) (by HDTVTotalDOTcom) v2.jpg|During the decade the [[Engineering:Blu-ray|Blu-ray]] format became dominant successor of to the [[Engineering:DVD|DVD]] format
File:MacBook Air.jpg|The MacBook Air also saw popularity in the late 2000s
</gallery>

====Robotics====
[[File:Laproscopic_Surgery_Robot.jpg|The [[Engineering:Da Vinci Surgical System|Da Vinci surgical robot]] which enables doing accurate robotic surgeries was introduced in the 2000s|thumb|140px]]
* The U.S. Army used increasingly effective unmanned aerial vehicles in war zones, such as Afghanistan.
* Emerging use of robotics, especially [[Engineering:Telerobotics|telerobotics]] in medicine, particularly for surgery.
* [[Engineering:Home automation|Home automation]] and home robotics advance in North America; iRobot's "[[Engineering:Roomba|Roomba]]" is the most successful domestic robot and has sold 1.5 million units.

====Transportation====
[[File:Segway PT (2006)-02.jpg|The [[Engineering:Segway|Segway]] was unveiled in December 2001|thumb|120px]]
* [[Company:Competition between Airbus and Boeing|Competition between Airbus and Boeing]], the two largest remaining airliner manufacturers, intensified, with pan-European [[Company:Airbus|Airbus]] outselling American [[Company:Boeing|Boeing]] for the first time during this decade.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/10/22/how-airbus-achieved-the-miracle-of---------keeping-a-european-pr/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/10/22/how-airbus-achieved-the-miracle-of---------keeping-a-european-pr/ |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=How Airbus achieved the miracle of keeping a European project flying|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=October 22, 2016|access-date=November 28, 2016|first=Alan|last=Tovey}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
** Airbus launched the [[Engineering:Double-deck aircraft|double-decker]] [[Engineering:Airbus A380|Airbus A380]], the largest passenger aircraft ever to enter production.<ref>{{cite web|title=Airbus A380 Facts & Figures|date=June 2016|publisher=Airbus|url=http://www.airbus.com/presscentre/corporate-information/key-documents/?eID=maglisting_push&tx_maglisting_pi1%5BdocID%5D=109179|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161010184524/http://www.airbus.com/presscentre/corporate-information/key-documents/?eID=maglisting_push&tx_maglisting_pi1%5BdocID%5D=109179|archive-date=October 10, 2016}}</ref>
** The [[Engineering:Boeing 787 Dreamliner|Boeing 787 Dreamliner]], the first mass-production aircraft manufactured primarily with [[Chemistry:Composite material|composite material]]s, had its maiden flight.<ref name=FG_takeoff>{{Cite journal|last=Ostrower|first=Jon|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/12/15/336211/breaking-video.html|title=Boeing 787 Dreamliner lifts off on maiden flight|journal=Flight International|date=December 15, 2009|access-date=September 2, 2011}}</ref>
** Production of the [[Engineering:Boeing 757|Boeing 757]], Boeing's largest single-aisle airliner, ended with no replacement.<ref name="B757">{{cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.de/boeing-757-airline-demand-la-compagnie-2016-5?r=US&IR=T|title=Boeing made a 'major mistake' 12 years ago that left its customers in the lurch|first=Benjamin|last=Zhang|date=May 26, 2016|access-date=November 28, 2016|website=Business Insider|archive-date=November 28, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128195532/http://www.businessinsider.de/boeing-757-airline-demand-la-compagnie-2016-5?r=US&IR=T|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* The [[Engineering:Concorde|Concorde]], a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner or supersonic transport (SST), was retired in 2003 due to a general downturn in the aviation industry after the type's only crash in 2000, the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001 and a decision by [[Company:Airbus|Airbus]], the successor firm of Aerospatiale and BAC, to discontinue maintenance support.
* December 9, 2005 – The London Transport Executive AEC Routemaster double-decker bus was officially withdrawn from 51 years general service in the UK. In the 2008 London mayoral election campaign, prospective mayor Boris Johnson made several commitments to change the London Buses vehicle policy, namely to introduce a new Routemaster, and remove the bendy buses.
* High-speed rail projects opened across Asia and Europe, and rail services saw record passenger numbers.
** The Acela Express, the first full high-speed service in North America, started on the Northeast Corridor in 2000.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=M2 Presswire|date=November 17, 2000|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-67162158.html|title=U.S. Transportation Secretary Slater celebrates inaugural run of Acela Express high-speed rail service|access-date=August 29, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026120746/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-67162158.html|archive-date=October 26, 2012 }}</ref>
** The Qinhuangdao–Shenyang High-Speed Railway opened, becoming the first high-speed railway in China.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-107756365.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409050721/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-107756365.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 9, 2016|title=China opens first dedicated high-speed line: China continues to expand its railway network. It is also improving the technology it employs in constructing new lines and developing new rolling stock in an effort to increase train speeds|work=International Railway Journal|date=August 1, 2003|access-date=May 3, 2015}}</ref>
** High Speed 1, the first true high-speed line in the United Kingdom, opened in stages between 2003 and 2007, cutting travel times between Paris, Brussels and London considerably.<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.eurostar.com/UK/uk/leisure/about_eurostar/press_release/press_archive_2006/14_11_2006_november_14_07.jsp|website=[[Engineering:Eurostar|Eurostar]]|date=November 14, 2006|title=Eurostar to launch passenger services at St Pancras International on Wednesday 14 November 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070228213525/http://www.eurostar.com/UK/uk/leisure/about_eurostar/press_release/press_archive_2006/14_11_2006_november_14_07.jsp|archive-date=February 28, 2007}}</ref>
** [[Company:Taiwan High Speed Rail|Taiwan High Speed Rail]] opened in 2007, connecting cities down the island's west coast.<ref name="khi-700T">{{cite journal|title=Take a Ride on the Taiwan High Speed Rail|journal=Scope|publisher=Kawasaki Heavy Industries|date=January 2007|url=http://www.khi.co.jp/scope/pdf_e/scope72.pdf|access-date=November 28, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091229135028/http://www.khi.co.jp/scope/pdf_e/scope72.pdf|archive-date=December 29, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>
** HSL-Zuid opened in 2009, linking Amsterdam to the European high-speed network for the first time.<ref name=rgi20090907>{{cite magazine| url=http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/10/ns-hispeed-launches-hsl-zuid-services.html| title=NS Hispeed launches HSL-Zuid services| magazine=Railway Gazette International| date=September 7, 2009| access-date=November 28, 2016| archive-date=July 2, 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100702043118/http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/10/ns-hispeed-launches-hsl-zuid-services.html| url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Video====
* [[Engineering:Digital camera|Digital camera]]s become widely popular due to rapid decreases in size and cost while photo resolution steadily increases. As a result, the digital cameras largely supplanted the analog cameras and the integration into [[Engineering:Camera phone|mobile phones]] increase greatly. Digital camera outsold film camera in 2003. Since 2007, digital cameras started being manufactured with the face recognition feature built in.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1109/ISSCS.2007.4292641 |chapter=A Review of Face Recognition Techniques for In-Camera Applications |title=2007 International Symposium on Signals, Circuits and Systems |year=2007 |last1=Iancu |first1=Claudia |last2=Corcoran |first2=Peter |last3=Costache |first3=Gabriel |pages=1–4 |hdl=10379/1344 |isbn=978-1-4244-0968-6 |s2cid=39811202 }}</ref>
* [[Flat panel display]]s started becoming widely popular in the second half of the decade displacing [[Engineering:Cathode ray tube|cathode ray tube]]s.<ref>{{cite news|last=Miller|first=Michael J.|url=http://blogs.pcmag.com/miller/2009/12/top_technologies_of_the_decade.php|title=Top Technologies of The Decade|publisher=Blogs.pcmag.com|date=December 14, 2009|access-date=February 14, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110801003946/http://blogs.pcmag.com/miller/2009/12/top_technologies_of_the_decade.php|archive-date=August 1, 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews_deca/ynews_deca_ts1012|title=Yahoo News|publisher=News.yahoo.com| access-date=November 30, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604045435/https://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews_deca/ynews_deca_ts1012|archive-date=June 4, 2011 }}</ref>
* [[Engineering:Handheld projector|Handheld projector]]s enter the market and are then integrated into cellphones.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Projector Phone: A Study of Using Mobile Phones with Integrated Projector for Interaction with Maps|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/221270608|access-date=2022-02-02|website=ResearchGate|language=en}}</ref>
* [[Engineering:Digital video recorder|DVR]] devices such as [[Engineering:TiVo|TiVo]] became popular, making it possible to record television broadcasts to a hard drive-based digital storage medium and allowing many additional features including the option to fast-forward through commercials or to use an automatic Commercial skipping feature. This feature created controversy, with major television networks and movie studios claiming it violates copyright and should be banned. With the commercial skipping feature, many television channels place advertisements on the bottom on the TV screen.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Digital Video Recorders (DVR) – An Interesting History|url=https://www.cctvcameraworld.com/digital-video-recorders-history.html|access-date=2022-02-02|website=www.cctvcameraworld.com|date=April 12, 2019 }}</ref>
* [[Engineering:Video on demand|VOD]] technology became widely available among cable users worldwide, enabling the users to select and watch video content from a large variety of available content stored on a central server, as well as gaining the possibility to freeze the image, as well as fast-forward and rewind the VOD content.
* DVDs, and subsequently Blu-ray Discs, replace VCR technology as the common standard in homes and at video stores.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/3335984/DVD-kills-the-video-show-as-digital-age-takes-over.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/3335984/DVD-kills-the-video-show-as-digital-age-takes-over.html |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=DVD kills the video show as digital age takes over|first=Robert|last=Uhlig|date=November 22, 2004|via=www.telegraph.co.uk}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
* Free Internet video portals like YouTube, [[Software:Hulu|Hulu]], and Internet TV software solutions like [[Software:Joost|Joost]] became new popular alternatives to [[Engineering:Television broadcasting|TV broadcasts]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Fitzpatrick |first1=Laura |title=Brief History YouTube |url=https://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1990787,00.html |magazine=Time |date=31 May 2010 }}</ref>
* TV becomes available on the networks run by some mobile phone providers, such as [[Company:Verizon Wireless|Verizon Wireless]]'s Vcast. {{Citation needed|date=December 2009}}
* "[[Engineering:High-definition television|High-definition television]]" becomes very popular towards the second half of the decade, with the increase of HD television channels and the conversion from analog to digital signals.<ref>{{cite web|last=Evenson|first=Kelly|url=http://www.examiner.net/news/x967382688/Gadgets-that-defined-the-last-decade|title=Gadgets that defined the last decade|publisher=Examiner.net|date=December 19, 2009|access-date=February 14, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222052308/http://www.examiner.net/news/x967382688/Gadgets-that-defined-the-last-decade|archive-date=February 22, 2012 }}</ref>

<gallery widths="190px" perrow="5">
File:Canon_powershot_a95.jpg|[[Engineering:Digital camera|Digital camera]]s gained massive popularity during the decade
File:Home cinema 01.jpg|[[Flat panel display]]s begin to displace cathode-ray tubes
</gallery>

====Miscellaneous====
[[File:Electronic Cigarette (cropped).jpg|At the beginning of the decade the vape was invented|thumb|160px]]
* The vape was invented at the beginning of the decade.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}

==Religion and irreligion==
Prominent events and trends during the 2000s:
* Increasing [[Religion:Islamophobia|Islamophobia]] and Islamophobic incidents during the 2000s associated with the [[Religion:September 11 attacks|September 11 attacks]] or with the increased presence of Muslims in the Western world.<ref>Monshipouri, Mahmood. "The war on terror and Muslims in the west." In ''Muslims in the West after 9/11: Religion, Politics and Law'', p. 46pp.</ref><ref>Achcar, Gilbert. ''The Arabs and the Holocaust: The Arab-Israeli War of Narratives'', p. 283</ref><ref>Zine, Jasmin. ''Canadian Islamic Schools: Unraveling the Politics of Faith, Gender, Knowledge, and Identity'', p. 153</ref>
* In 2000, the Italian Supreme Court ruled that [[Religion:Scientology|Scientology]] is a religion for legal purposes.<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Cowan | first1 = Douglas E. |  last2 = Bromley | first2 = David G. | chapter = The Church of Scientology | year = 2006 | editor1-last = Gallagher | editor1-first = Eugene V. | editor2-last = Ashcraft | editor2-first = W. Michael | title = Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America | place = Westport, CT | publisher = Greenwood Press | volume = 5 | pages = 169–196 | isbn = 978-0-275-98712-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cesnur.org/testi/scie_march2000.htm |title=Italian Supreme Court decision |publisher=Cesnur.org |date=March 23, 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130221000131/http://www.cesnur.org/testi/scie_march2000.htm |archive-date=February 21, 2013 |url-status=live |access-date=July 21, 2014}}</ref>
* In 2001, lawsuits were filed in the {{wipe|United States}} and Ireland, alleging that some priests had sexually abused minors and that their superiors had conspired to conceal and otherwise abet their criminal misconduct.<ref name="Bruni336">Bruni, p. 336.</ref> In 2004, the John Jay report tabulated a total of 4,392 priests and deacons in the U.S. against whom allegations of sexual abuse had been made.
* The French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools bans wearing conspicuous religious symbols in French public (i.e. government-operated) primary and secondary schools; and came into effect on September 2, 2004.
* June 27, 2005, – The Supreme Court of the United States ruled on in a 5–4 decision, that a Ten Commandments display at the McCreary County courthouse in Whitley City, Kentucky and a Ten Commandments display at the Pulaski County courthouse—were unconstitutional: ''McCreary County v. American Civil Liberties Union''
* France created in 2006 the first French parliamentary commission on cult activities which led to a report registering a number of cults considered as dangerous. Supporters of such movements have criticized the report on the grounds of the respect of religious freedom. Proponents of the measure contend that only dangerous cults have been listed as such, and state secularism ensures religious freedom in France.
* November 2009 – Minaret controversy in Switzerland: A referendum, a constitutional amendment banning the construction of new Mosque minarets was approved, sparking reactions from governments and political parties throughout of the world.
* 2009 – In [[Biography:Pope Benedict XVI|Pope Benedict XVI]]'s third encyclical Caritas in Veritate, he warns that a purely technocrat mindset where decisions are made only on grounds of efficiency will not deliver true development. Technical decisions must not be divorced from ethics. Benedict discusses bioethics and states that practices such as abortion, eugenics and euthanasia are morally hazardous and that accepting them can lead to greater tolerance for various forms of moral degradation. He turns to another consequence of the technocratic mindset, the viewing of people's personalities in purely psychological terms at the exclusion of the spiritual, which he says can lead to people feeling empty and abandoned even in prosperous societies.

==Population and social issues==
* The decade saw further expansion of LGBTQ+ rights, with many European, Oceanic, and American countries recognizing civil unions and partnerships and a number of countries extending civil marriage to same-sex couples. The Netherlands was the first country in the world to legalize [[Social:Same-sex marriage|same-sex marriage]] in 2001. By the end of 2009, [[Social:Same-sex marriage|same-sex marriage]] was legal and performed in 10 countries worldwide, although only in some jurisdictions in Mexico and the United States.
* Population continued to grow in most countries, in particular in developing countries, though overall the rate slowed. According to United Nations estimates, world population reached six billion in late 1999,<ref>United Nations [https://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/sixbillion/sixbillion.htm The World at Six Billion] U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs (Population Division) {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130709223435/http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/sixbillion/sixbillion.htm|date=July 9, 2013 }}</ref> and continued to climb to 6.8 billion in late 2009.<ref>U.S. Census Bureau [https://www.census.gov/ipc/www/popclockworld.html World POPClock Projection] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080205020959/http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/popclockworld.html|date=February 5, 2008 }}</ref> In 2007 the population of the United States reached 300 million inhabitants, and Japan's population peaked at 127 million before going into decline.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/handbook/c02cont.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411094023/http://www.stat.go.jp/English/data/handbook/c02cont.htm|url-status=dead|title=Statistical Handbook of Japan|archive-date=April 11, 2008}}</ref>
* In a 2003 memo to a staff member, Britain's Charles, Prince of Wales wrote: {{blockquote|What is wrong with everyone nowadays? Why do they all seem to think they are qualified to do things far beyond their technical capabilities? This is to do with the learning culture in schools as a consequence of a child-centred system that admits no failure. People think they can all be pop stars, high court judges, brilliant TV personalities or infinitely more competent heads of state without ever putting in the necessary work or having natural ability. This is the result of social utopianism which believes humanity can be genetically and socially engineered to contradict the lessons of history ...<ref>{{cite news|title=What is wrong with everyone?|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/nov/13/prince-charles-monarchy-letters-60|access-date=February 12, 2013|newspaper=The Guardian|date=November 13, 2008|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120411064247/http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/nov/13/prince-charles-monarchy-letters-60|archive-date=2012-04-11}}</ref>}}
* Obesity is a leading preventable cause of death worldwide, with increasing prevalence in adults and children, and authorities view it as one of the most serious public health problems of the 21st century.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sturm |first1=R. |title=Increases in morbid obesity in the USA: 2000–2005 |journal=Public Health |date=July 2007 |volume=121 |issue=7 |pages=492–496 |doi=10.1016/j.puhe.2007.01.006 |pmc=2864630 |pmid=17399752 }}</ref>
* In 2001, 46.4% of people in [[Place:Sub-Saharan Africa|sub-Saharan Africa]] were living in extreme poverty.<ref>"[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/birth-rates-must-be-curbed-to-win-war-on-global-poverty-434387.html Birth rates 'must be curbed to win war on global poverty']". The Independent. January 31, 2007. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215163037/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/birth-rates-must-be-curbed-to-win-war-on-global-poverty-434387.html|date=December 15, 2013 }}</ref> Nearly half of all Indian children are undernourished, however, even among the wealthiest fifth one third of children are malnourished.<ref>"[http://www.calcuttanews.net/story/554769 Half of India's children malnourished, says NGO report]". Calcutta News. October 15, 2009. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224064743/http://www.calcuttanews.net/story/554769|date=December 24, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/node/17090948?story_id=17090948|title=Putting the smallest first: Why India makes a poor fist of feeding the young, and how it could do better|newspaper=The Economist|quote=Even the children of wealthier families suffer surprisingly high rates of malnutrition. Government data show that a third of children from the wealthiest fifth of India's population is malnourished.|date=September 23, 2010|access-date=November 28, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101106040333/http://www.economist.com/node/17090948?story_id=17090948|archive-date=November 6, 2010|url-status=dead }}{{Subscription required}}</ref>
* 5 A Day is the name of a number of programs in countries such as the United States, the {{wipe|United Kingdom}} and {{wipe|Germany}}, to encourage the consumption of at least five portions of [[Biology:Fruit|fruit]] and vegetables each day, following a recommendation by the [[Organization:World Health Organization|World Health Organization]] that individuals consume at least 400g of vegetables daily.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/fruit/en/index.html|title=WHO &#124; Promoting fruit and vegetable consumption around the world|publisher=Who.int|access-date=February 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021144323/http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/fruit/en/index.html|archive-date=October 21, 2013}}</ref>
* The programme was introduced by the UK Department of Health in the winter of 2002–2003, and received some adverse media attention because of the high and rising costs of fresh fruit and vegetables. After ten years, research suggested that few people were meeting the target.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wales|first=South|url=http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/Rising-costs-mean-fewer-hitting-target-day/story-17425618-detail/story.html|title="Rising costs mean fewer are hitting target of 'five-a-day'", ''South Wales Evening Post'', November 26, 2012. Accessed December 3, 2012|publisher=Thisissouthwales.co.uk|date=November 26, 2012|access-date=February 19, 2014}}</ref>
* The [[Finance:London congestion charge|London congestion charge]] is a fee charged on most motor vehicles operating within the Congestion Charge Zone (CCZ) in central London between 07:00 and 18:00 Monday to Friday. It is not charged at weekends, public holidays or between Christmas Day and New Year's Day (inclusive). The charge, which was introduced on February 17, 2003, remains one of the largest congestion charge zones in the world.
* On December 3, 2003, [[Earth:New Zealand|New Zealand]] passed legislation to progressively implement a smoking ban in schools, school grounds, and workplaces by December 2004.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.moh.govt.nz/smokefreelaw|author=Ministry of Health|title=Smokefree Law in New Zealand|publisher=moh.govt.nz|date=September 15, 2005|access-date=March 24, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111129001044/http://www.moh.govt.nz/smokefreelaw|archive-date=November 29, 2011 }}</ref> On March 29, 2004, Ireland implemented a nationwide ban on smoking in all workplaces. In Norway, similar legislation was put into force on June 1 the same year. Smoking was banned in all public places in the whole of the United Kingdom in 2007, when England became the final region to have the legislation come into effect (the age limit for buying tobacco was also raised from 16 to 18 on October 1, 2007). From 2004 to 2009, the UK's Merseyside police officers, conducted 1,389 section 60 stop and searches (without reasonable suspicion), rising to 23,138 within five years.<ref>{{cite news|title=Stop and search 'racial profiling' by police on the increase, claims study|url=https://www.theguardian.com/law/2012/jan/14/stop-search-racial-profiling-police|newspaper=The Guardian|date=January 14, 2012|url-status=live|access-date=February 11, 2013|location=London|first=Mark|last=Townsend|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130422000102/http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2012/jan/14/stop-search-racial-profiling-police|archive-date=April 22, 2013}}</ref>
* In 2005 the cost of alcohol dependence and abuse was estimated to cost the US economy approximately 220 billion dollars per year, more than cancer and obesity.<ref name="soa2008">{{cite book|last1=Potter|first1=James V.|volume=2|title=Substances of Abuse|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WU73eJAIDI4C&pg=PA1|date=January 14, 2008|publisher=AFS Publishing Co|isbn=978-1-930327-46-7|pages=1–13}}</ref>
* The number of [[Chemistry:Antidepressant|antidepressant]]s prescribed by the NHS in the United Kingdom almost doubled during one decade, authorities reported in 2010. In 2009, 39.1 million prescriptions for drugs to tackle depression were issued in England, compared with 20.1 million issued in 1999.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Davis |first1=Rowenna |title=Antidepressant use rises as recession feeds wave of worry |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2010/jun/11/antidepressant-prescriptions-rise-nhs-recession |work=The Guardian |date=11 June 2010 }}</ref>
* In the United States a 2005 independent report stated that 11% of women and 5% of men in the non-institutionalized population (2002) take [[Chemistry:Antidepressant|antidepressant]]s. The use of antidepressants in the United States doubled over one decade, from 1996 to 2005.<ref name="Antidepressant use doubles in U.S., study finds| Reuters">{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5725E720090804| title=Antidepressant Use Doubles in U.S., Study Finds|date=August 4, 2009|access-date=July 1, 2010|work=Reuters|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100703003724/https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5725E720090804|archive-date=July 3, 2010|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Antidepressant drugs were prescribed to 13 million in 1996 and to 27 million people by 2005. In 2008, more than 164 million prescriptions were written.<ref name="Antidepressant use doubles in U.S., study finds| Reuters" />
* In the UK, the number of weddings in 2006 was the lowest for 110 years.<ref>{{cite news|last=Truscott|first=Claire|title=Nearly half of marriages doomed for divorce, study finds|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/mar/27/britishidentity.divorce |access-date=February 27, 2013|location=London|date=March 27, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130629081529/http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/mar/27/britishidentity.divorce|archive-date=June 29, 2013}}</ref>
* [[Biography:Jamie Oliver|Jamie Oliver]], is a British chef, restaurateur, media personality, known for his food-focused television shows and cookbooks. In 2006, Oliver began a formal campaign to ban unhealthy food in British schools and to get children eating nutritious food instead. Oliver's efforts to bring radical change to the school meals system, chronicled in the series ''Jamie's School Dinners'', challenged the junk-food culture by showing schools they could serve healthy, cost-efficient meals that kids enjoyed eating.<ref>[http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2007/11/02/317090/jamie-oliver-slams-government-for-not-supporting-school-meals.html "Jamie Oliver slams government for not supporting school meals reform"] caterersearch.com. Retrieved November 2, 2007 {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091217043319/http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2007/11/02/317090/jamie-oliver-slams-government-for-not-supporting-school-meals.html|date=December 17, 2009 }}</ref> Jamie's efforts brought the subject of school dinners to the political forefront and changed the types of food served in schools.<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article7080355.ece "Jamie Oliver's school dinners 'are more effective than literacy hour"] March 29, 2010, The Times {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100601181448/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article7080355.ece|date=June 1, 2010 }}</ref>
* In 2006, nearly 11 million [[Engineering:Plastic surgery|Plastic surgery]] procedures were performed in the United States alone. The number of cosmetic procedures performed in the United States has increased over 50 percent since the start of the century.<ref>{{cite web|last1=American Society of Plastic Surgeons|title=2006 Quick Facts Cosmetic and Reconstructive Plastic Surgery Trends|url=https://d2wirczt3b6wjm.cloudfront.net/News/Statistics/2006/plastic-surgery-trends-quick-facts-2006.pdf|website=American Society of Plastic Surgeons.com|access-date=January 25, 2017|archive-date=February 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202071925/https://d2wirczt3b6wjm.cloudfront.net/News/Statistics/2006/plastic-surgery-trends-quick-facts-2006.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* In November 2006, the Office of Communications (Ofcom) announced that it would ban television advertisements for junk food before, during and after television programming aimed at under-16s in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite news|title=Junk food ad crackdown announced|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6154600.stm|work=BBC News|date=November 17, 2006|access-date=November 17, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090107022846/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6154600.stm|archive-date=January 7, 2009}}</ref> These regulations were originally outlined in a proposal earlier in the year. This move has been criticized on both ends of the scale; while the Food and Drink Federation labelled the ban "over the top", others have said the restrictions do not go far enough (particularly due to the fact that soap operas would be exempt from the ban).<ref>{{cite news|title=Reactions in quotes: ad ban|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6157956.stm|work=BBC News|date=November 17, 2006|access-date=November 17, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071021084445/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6157956.stm|archive-date=October 21, 2007}}</ref> On April 1, 2007, junk food advertisements were banned from programmes aimed at four to nine-year-olds.<ref name="April07">{{cite news|title=Junk food ad ban comes into force|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6515245.stm|work=BBC News|date=April 1, 2007|access-date=April 2, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071021084445/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6515245.stm|archive-date=October 21, 2007}}</ref> Such advertisements broadcast during programmes "aimed at, or which would appeal to," ten to fifteen-year-olds will continue to be phased out over the coming months,<ref>{{cite news|title=Junk food ad ban plans laid out|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6385345.stm|work=BBC News|date=February 22, 2007|access-date=April 2, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090117075525/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6385345.stm|archive-date=January 17, 2009}}</ref> with a full ban coming into effect on January 1, 2009.<ref name="April07" />
* November 10, 2006 – referring to the UK's annual poppy appeal, British journalist and presenter Jon Snow condemned the attitude of those who insist remembrance poppies are worn. He claimed: ''there is a rather unpleasant breed of poppy fascism out there''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Pook|first=Sally|title=I won't bow to poppy fascists, says Jon Snow|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1533751/I-wont-bow-to-poppy-fascists-says-Jon-Snow.html |access-date=February 25, 2013|location=London|date=November 10, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131211002042/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1533751/I-wont-bow-to-poppy-fascists-says-Jon-Snow.html|archive-date=December 11, 2013}}</ref>
* In January 2007, the British Retail Consortium announced that major UK retailers, including Asda, Boots, Co-op, Iceland, Marks and Spencer, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose intended to cease adding trans fatty acids to their own products by the end of 2007.<ref>{{cite news|title=Retailers to stop trans-fat use|date=January 31, 2007|work=BBC|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6314753.stm|access-date=January 31, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115124752/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6314753.stm|archive-date=January 15, 2009}}</ref>
* In October 2008 AFP reported on the further expansion of killings of albinos to the Ruyigi region of Burundi. Body parts of the victims are then smuggled to Tanzania, where they are used for witch doctor rituals and potions.<ref name="afp">{{cite web|url=http://www.france24.com/20081014-burundis-albinos-flee-sorcerers-organ-traders|first=Esdras|last=Ndikumanna|title=Burundi's albinos flee sorcerers and organ traders|publisher=Agence France-Presse|date=October 14, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090929003917/http://www.france24.com/20081014-burundis-albinos-flee-sorcerers-organ-traders|archive-date=September 29, 2009}}</ref> Albinos have become "a commercial good", commented Nicodeme Gahimbare in Ruyigi, who established a local safe haven in his fortified house.<ref name="afp" />
* A 2009 study found a 30% increase in Chinese [[Medicine:Diabetes|diabetes]] over 7 years.<ref name="LiLu2012">{{cite journal |last1=Li |first1=Rui |last2=Lu |first2=Wei |last3=Jiang |first3=Qing Wu |last4=Li |first4=Yan Yun |last5=Zhao |first5=Gen Ming |last6=Shi |first6=Liang |last7=Yang |first7=Qun Di |last8=Ruan |first8=Ye |last9=Jiang |first9=Junyi |last10=Zhang |first10=Sheng Nian |last11=Xu |first11=Wang Hong |last12=Zhong |first12=Wei Jian |title=Increasing Prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes in Chinese Adults in Shanghai |journal=Diabetes Care |date=1 May 2012 |volume=35 |issue=5 |pages=1028–1030 |doi=10.2337/dc11-1212 |pmid=22432111 |pmc=3329854 }}</ref>
* AIDS continued to expand during the decade, mainly in [[Place:Sub-Saharan Africa|Sub-Saharan Africa]]. New diseases of animal origin appeared for a short time, such as the [[Biology:Avian influenza|bird flu]] in 2007.<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523154841/https://www.cbsnews.com/elements/2007/01/04/in_depth_world/timeline2330123.shtml|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/elements/2007/01/04/in_depth_world/timeline2330123.shtml|archive-date=May 23, 2013|title=Bird Flu Soars|website=CBS News}}</ref> Swine flu was declared a pandemic by the [[Organization:World Health Organization|World Health Organization]] in 2009.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Chan|first1=Margaret|title=World now at the start of 2009 influenza pandemic|url=https://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2009/h1n1_pandemic_phase6_20090611/en/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090818192945/http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2009/h1n1_pandemic_phase6_20090611/en/|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 18, 2009|website=WHO|access-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref>

==Environment and climate change==
[[Earth:Climate change|Climate change]] and [[Earth:Climate change|global warming]] became household words in the 2000s. Predictions tools made significant progress during the decade, UN-sponsored organisations such as the [[Organization:Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|IPCC]] gained influence, and studies such as the [[Earth:Stern Review|Stern report]] influenced public support for paying the political and economic costs of countering climate change.

The global temperature kept climbing during the decade. In December 2009, the [[Organization:World Meteorological Organization|World Meteorological Organization]] (WMO) announced that the 2000s might have been the warmest decade since records began in 1850, with four of the five warmest years since 1850 having occurred in this decade.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i9TuMrvrknh-ZXwqmZ2N-48kff3wD9CF81LO0|title=UN: 2000–2009 likely warmest decade on record|agency=Associated Press|date=December 8, 2009|access-date=December 20, 2009|author=Hanley, Charles J.|quote=This decade is on track to become the warmest since records began in 1850, and 2009 could rank among the top-five warmest years, the U.N. weather agency reported Tuesday on the second day of a pivotal 192-nation climate conference.|archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5m7FhrAlX?url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i9TuMrvrknh-ZXwqmZ2N-48kff3wD9CF81LO0|archive-date=December 18, 2009|url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/temperature-records-released-to-debunk-climate-change-claims-1836391.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091213051423/http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/temperature-records-released-to-debunk-climate-change-claims-1836391.html|archive-date=December 13, 2009|title=Temperature records released to debunk climate change claims|agency=Press Association|work=The Independent|location=London|author=Beament, Emily|date=December 8, 2009|access-date=December 20, 2009|url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Organization:NASA|NASA]] and the [[Organization:National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|NOAA]] later echoed the WMO's findings.<ref>{{cite news|last=Broder|first=John M.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/22/science/earth/22warming.html?hpw|title=Past Decade Warmest on Record, NASA Data Shows|date=January 21, 2010|work=The New York Times|access-date=January 23, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100125154903/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/22/science/earth/22warming.html?hpw|archive-date=January 25, 2010}}</ref>

[[File:Global Warming Predictions Map.jpg|thumb|Scientific studies on [[Earth:Climate|climate]] helped establish a consensus.]] Major natural disasters became more frequent and helped change public opinion. One of the deadliest heat waves in human history happened during the 2000s, mostly in Europe, with the 2003 European heat wave killing 37,451 people over the summer months.<ref>[http://www.earth-policy.org/index.php?/plan_b_updates/2003/update29 Earth-policy.org], Janet Larsen, ''Record Heat Wave in Europe Takes 35,000 Lives: Far Greater Losses May Lie Ahead''. Retrieved December 10, 2009. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130716072349/http://www.earth-policy.org/index.php?/plan_b_updates/2003/update29|date=July 16, 2013 }}</ref> In February 2009, a series of highly destructive bushfires started in Victoria, Australia, lasting into the next month. While the fires are believed to have been caused by arson, they were widely reported as having been fueled by an excessive heatwave that was due in part to climate change. It has also been alleged that climate change was a cause of increased storms intensity, notably in the case of Hurricane Katrina.

===International actions===
Climate change became a major issue for governments, populations and scientists. [[Earth:Global warming controversy|Debates on global warming]] and its causes made significant progress, as [[Earth:Climate change denial|climate change denial]]s were refuted by [[Earth:Scientific consensus on climate change|most scientific studies]]. Decisive reports such as the [[Earth:Stern Review|Stern Review]] and the [[Earth:IPCC Fourth Assessment Report|2007 IPCC Report]] almost established a climate change consensus.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Osborne |first1=Hilary |title=Stern report: the key points |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2006/oct/30/economy.uk |work=The Guardian |date=30 October 2006 }}</ref> NGOs' actions and the commitment of political personalities (such as former U.S. Vice President [[Biography:Al Gore|Al Gore]]) also urged to international reactions against climate change. Documentary films ''An Inconvenient Truth'' and ''Home'' may have had a decisive impact.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/inconvenient-truth-then-and-now|title=An Inconvenient Truth Then and Now: What's Changed for Our Climate Since 2006?|website=Climate Reality|date=January 17, 2017|language=en|access-date=October 9, 2019}}</ref>

Under the auspices of The UN Convention on Climate Change the [[Chemistry:Kyoto Protocol|Kyoto Protocol]] (aimed at combating global warming) entered into force on February 16, 2005. As of November 2009, [[Earth:List of parties to the Kyoto Protocol|187 states have signed and ratified]] the protocol.<ref name="Kyoto-PDF-unfccc">{{cite web| title=Kyoto Protocol: Status of Ratification|url=http://unfccc.int/files/kyoto_protocol/status_of_ratification/application/pdf/kp_ratification.pdf| date=January 14, 2009| access-date=May 6, 2009| publisher=United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325015751/http://unfccc.int/files/kyoto_protocol/status_of_ratification/application/pdf/kp_ratification.pdf| archive-date=March 25, 2009}}</ref> In addition The UN Convention on Climate Change helped coordinate the efforts of the international community to fight potentially disastrous effects of human activity on the planet and launched negotiations to set an ambitious program of carbon emission reduction that began in 2007 with the [[Earth:Bali Road Map|Bali Road Map]]. However, the representatives of the then 192 member countries of the United Nations gathered in December 2009 for the Copenhagen Conference failed to reach a binding agreement to reduce carbon emissions because of divisions between regional areas.

However, as environmental technologies were to make up a potential market, some countries made large investments in [[Engineering:Renewable energy|renewable energies]], [[Physics:Energy conservation|energy conservation]] and [[Engineering:Sustainable transport|sustainable transport]]. Many governments launched national plans to promote sustainable energy. In 2003, the European Union members created an [[Earth:European Union Emissions Trading System|emission trading scheme]], and in 2007 they assembled a [[Earth:European Union climate and energy package|climate and energy package]] to reduce further their carbon emission and improve their energy-efficiency. In 2009, the United States Obama administration set up the [[Earth:Green New Deal|Green New Deal]], a plan to create millions of jobs in sectors related to [[Biology:Environmentalism|environmentalism]].

The Household Waste Recycling Act 2003 requires local authorities in {{wipe|England}} to provide every household with a separate collection of at least two types of recyclable materials by 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/waste/news/recycling_bill_success.html|title=Friends of the Earth – "Recycling Bill success!"|publisher=Foe.co.uk|access-date=February 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212193454/http://foe.co.uk/campaigns/waste/news/recycling_bill_success.html|archive-date=February 12, 2009}}</ref>

==Culture==
===Architecture===

Commercialization and globalization resulted in mass migration of people from rural areas to urban areas resulting in high-profile skyscrapers in Asia and Europe. In Asia skyscrapers were constructed in {{wipe|India}}, China, Thailand, South Korea, and Japan.
* The Millennium Bridge, London officially known as the London Millennium Footbridge, is a steel suspension bridge for pedestrians crossing the River Thames in London, {{wipe|England}}, linking Bankside with the city. Londoners nicknamed the bridge the "Wobbly Bridge" after participants in a charity walk on behalf of Save the Children to open the bridge felt an unexpected, and, for some, uncomfortable, swaying motion on the first two days after the bridge opened. The bridge was closed later that day, and after two days of limited access the bridge was closed for almost two years while modifications were made to eliminate the wobble entirely. It was reopened in 2002.
* 30 St Mary Axe (informally also known as "the Gherkin" and previously the Swiss Re Building) is a skyscraper in London's financial district, the City of London, completed in December 2003 and opened at the end of May 2004. The building has become an iconic symbol of London and is one of the city's most widely recognised examples of modern architecture.
* Wembley Stadium is a football stadium located in Wembley Park, in the Borough of Brent, London, {{wipe|England}}. It opened in 2007 and was built on the site of the previous 1923 Wembley Stadium. The earlier Wembley stadium, originally called the Empire Stadium, was often referred to as "The Twin Towers" and was one of the world's most famous football stadia until its demolition in 2003.
* A major redevelopment of London's Trafalgar Square led by WS Atkins with Foster and Partners as sub-consultants was completed in 2003. The work involved closing the main eastbound road along the north side, diverting the traffic around the other three sides of the square, demolishing the central section of the northern retaining wall and inserting a wide set of steps leading up to a pedestrianised terrace in front of the National Gallery. The construction includes two lifts for disabled access, public toilets, and a small café. Previously, access between the square and the Gallery was by two crossings at the northeast and northwest corners of the square.<ref>{{cite web|title=Transformation of Trafalgar Square|publisher=Foster+Partners|url=http://www.fosterandpartners.com/News/110/Default.aspx|access-date=April 5, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121214035327/http://www.fosterandpartners.com/News/110/Default.aspx|archive-date=2012-12-14}}</ref>
* Taipei 101 became the tallest building in the world ever built after it officially opened on December 31, 2004, a record it held until the opening of the Burj Khalifa (Formerly known as Burj Dubai) in January 2010, standing at {{convert|828|m|ft|abbr=on}}.

===Fine arts===
* Lucian Freud was a German-born British painter. Known chiefly for his thickly impastoed portrait and figure paintings, he was widely considered the pre-eminent British artist of his time.<ref>{{cite web|last=Hogrefe|first=Jeffrey|url=http://www.observer.com/node/39963|title=Lucian Freud Bio Killed Amid Much Heavy Breathing|work=The New York Observer|date=December 14, 1997|access-date=July 22, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080719205413/http://www.observer.com/node/39963|archive-date=July 19, 2008}} Also see Rimanelli, David (January 2012), [https://web.archive.org/web/20140610054047/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-2553396771.html "Damien Hirst"], ''Artforum'': "With the recent death of Lucían Freud, some might argue that Hirst is now the greatest living British artist". Retrieved October 28, 2012. Also see Kennedy, Maev (December 21, 2001), [https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/dec/21/arts.monarchy1 "Palace unveils Freud's gift to Queen"], ''The Guardian'', who calls Freud "the artist regarded as the greatest living British painter". Retrieved October 28, 2012. Darwent, Charles (November 28, 1999), [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/the-1990s-in-review-visual-arts--who-wants-to-be-a-yba-they-do-1129125.html "The 1990s in Review: Visual Arts"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925010655/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/the-1990s-in-review-visual-arts--who-wants-to-be-a-yba-they-do-1129125.html |date=September 25, 2015 }}, ''The Independent'', says "Freud becomes the greatest living British artist after his Whitechapel show [of 1993]". Retrieved October 28, 2012.</ref>
** During a period from May 2000 to December 2001, Freud painted Queen Elizabeth II. There was criticism of this portrayal of the Queen in some sections of the British media. The highest selling tabloid newspaper, ''[[Social:The Sun (United Kingdom)|The Sun]]'', was particularly condemnatory, describing the portrait as "a travesty".<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/1723071.stm "Freud royal portrait divides critics"]. BBC News. December 21, 2001. Retrieved February 26, 2008. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090130011802/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/1723071.stm|date=January 30, 2009 }}</ref>
* The [[History:Hockney–Falco thesis|Hockney–Falco thesis]] is a controversial theory of [[Art history|art history]], advanced by artist David Hockney and physicist [[Biography:Charles M. Falco|Charles M. Falco]], suggesting that advances in realism and accuracy in the history of Western art since the [[Philosophy:Renaissance|Renaissance]] were primarily the result of optical aids such as the [[Physics:Camera obscura|camera obscura]], [[Physics:Camera lucida|camera lucida]], and curved mirrors, rather than solely due to the development of artistic technique and skill. In a 2001 book, ''Secret Knowledge: Rediscovering the Lost Techniques of the Old Masters'', Hockney analyzed the work of the Old Masters and argued that the level of accuracy represented in their work is impossible to create by "eyeballing it". Since then, Hockney and Falco have produced a number of publications on positive evidence of the use of optical aids, and the historical plausibility of such methods.
* Rolf Harris is an Australian entertainer. He is a musician, a singer-songwriter, a composer, a painter, and a television personality.
** In 2005 he painted an official portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, which was the subject of a special episode of ''Rolf on Art''.
** Harris's portrait of The Queen was voted by readers of the ''Radio Times'' the third favourite portrait of her. The royal portrait was exhibited at Buckingham Palace, the Palace of Holyroodhouse in [[Place:Edinburgh|Edinburgh]], and was exhibited on a tour of public galleries in the UK.
* In April–June 2003, the English visual artists often known as The Chapman Brothers, held a solo show at Modern Art Oxford entitled ''The Rape of Creativity'' in which "the ''enfants terribles'' of Britart, bought a mint collection of Goya's most celebrated prints – and set about systematically defacing them".<ref name="jones">Jones, Jonathan. [https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2003/mar/31/artsfeatures.turnerprize2003 Look What We Did], ''{{wipe|The Guardian}}'', March 31, 2003. Retrieved February 3, 2009. {{cite web|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2003/mar/31/artsfeatures.turnerprize2003|title=Look what we did |department=Art and design |website=The Guardian|date=March 31, 2003 |access-date=February 24, 2013|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114190818/http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2003/mar/31/artsfeatures.turnerprize2003|archive-date=November 14, 2012}}</ref> The Francisco Goya prints referred to his ''Disasters of War'' set of 80 etchings.<ref name="jones" /> The duo named their newly defaced works ''Insult to Injury''.<ref name="jones" /> BBC described more of the exhibition's art: "Drawings of mutant Ronald McDonalds, a bronze sculpture of a painting showing a sad-faced Hitler in clown make-up and a major installation featuring a knackered old caravan and fake dog turds."<ref>Sumpter, Helen. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/collective/A1024282 BBC - collective - jake and dinos chapman, modern art oxford], BBC, April 17, 2003. Retrieved February 3, 2009. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113202552/http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/collective/A1024282|date=November 13, 2012 }}</ref> ''The Daily Telegraph'' commented that the Chapman brothers had "managed to raise the hackles of art historians by violating something much more sacred to the art world than the human body – another work of art"<ref name="telegraph">Dorment, Richard. [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/3593618/Inspired-vandalism.html Inspired Vandalism], ''The Telegraph'', May 27, 2003. Retrieved February 3, 2009. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131218072401/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/3593618/Inspired-vandalism.html|date=December 18, 2013 }}</ref>
** As a protest against this piece, Aaron Barschak (who later gate-crashed Prince William's 21st birthday party dressed as [[Biography:Osama bin Laden|Osama bin Laden]] in a frock) threw a pot of red paint over Jake Chapman during a talk he was giving in May 2003.
* On May 5, 2004, a 1905 painting titled ''Garçon à la Pipe'' (English: Boy with a Pipe) by Pablo Picasso was sold for US$104,168,000 at [[Company:Sotheby's|Sotheby's]] [[Finance:Auction|auction]] in New York City. At the time, it broke the record for the amount paid for an auctioned painting (when inflation is ignored). The amount, US$104 million, includes the auction price of US$93 million plus the auction house's commission of about US$11 million. Many art critics have stated that the painting's high sale price has much more to do with the artist's name than with the merit or historical importance of the painting. ''{{wipe|The Washington Post}}''{{'}}s article<ref name="The_Washington_Post">''A Record Picasso and the Hype Price of Status Objects'', Blake Gopnik, ''{{wipe|The Washington Post}}'', May 7, 2004</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100712212647/http://www.theartistpablopicasso.com/pablo-picasso-painting-boy-pipe.htm ''Boy with Pipe'' or ''Garcon a la Pipe'', 1905] (archived), ''The Artist Pablo Picasso''</ref> on the sale contained the following characterisation of the reaction: {{blockquote|Picasso expert Pepe Karmel, reached in New York the morning after the sale, was waxing wroth about the whole affair. "I'm stunned," he said, "that a pleasant, minor painting could command a price appropriate to a real masterwork by Picasso. This just shows how much the marketplace is divorced from the true values of art."}}
* On May 24, 2004, more than 100 artworks from the famous collection of art collector and sponsor of the Young British Artists (YBAs) Charles Saatchi's were destroyed in a warehouse fire on an industrial estate in Leyton, east London. Modern art classics such as Tracey Emin's tent and works by Damien Hirst, Sarah Lucas and Gary Hume were lost.
** Works by Patrick Caulfield, Craigie Horsfield and 20 pieces by Martin Maloney were also destroyed. They represent some of the cream of the so-named "Britart" movement of celebrated modern artists.<ref>{{cite news|title=Fire devastates Saatchi artworks|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3748179.stm|access-date=February 18, 2013|date=May 26, 2004|work=BBC News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071021084053/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3748179.stm|archive-date=October 21, 2007}}</ref>
* In 2004, during Channel 5 (UK)'s 'Big Art Challenge' television program, despite declaring: "I hold video and photography in profound contempt." English art critic Brian Sewell, noted for artistic conservatism and having been described as "Britain's most famous and controversial art critic",<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2005/nov/13/art|title=We pee on things and call it art|newspaper=Guardian|date=November 13, 2005|author1=Cooke, Rachel|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417010203/http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2005/nov/13/art|archive-date=April 17, 2012|url-status=live|access-date=June 17, 2017}}</ref> went on to at least 3 times hail video artist (and ultimately the competition's winner) Chris Boyd (aged 21) a "genius".<ref>{{cite web|last=Boyd|first=Chris|title=Big Art Challenge Clips|website=[[Company:YouTube|YouTube]]|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PstdmbusGeQ|access-date=February 18, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120810194634/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PstdmbusGeQ|archive-date=August 10, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Art of persuasion|url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/going-out/art-of-persuasion-1128717|newspaper=Manchester Evening News|access-date=February 18, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217062053/http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/going-out/art-of-persuasion-1128717|archive-date=December 17, 2013}}</ref>
* In June 2007, the English artist, entrepreneur and art collector Damien Hirst gained the European record for the most expensive work of art by a living artist, when his ''Lullaby Spring'', (a 3-metre-wide steel cabinet with 6,136 pills) sold for 19.2 million dollars.
** In September 2008, Damien Hirst took an unprecedented move for a living artist by selling a complete show, ''Beautiful Inside My Head Forever'', at [[Company:Sotheby's|Sotheby's]] by auction and by-passing his long-standing galleries. The auction exceeded all predictions, raising £111 million ($198 million), breaking the record for a one-artist auction.
* December 9, 2009 – when the most expensive drawing by an Old Master ever, was sold in an auction. Titled 'Head of a Muse' by Raphael; costing £29,200,000 ($47,788,400), at Christie's, [[Place:London|London]], UK.<ref>{{cite web|title=Most expensive drawing by an Old Master sold at auction|url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records-1/most-expensive-drawing-by-an-old-master-sold-at-auction/|publisher=Guinness World Records|access-date=February 21, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217072653/http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records-1/most-expensive-drawing-by-an-old-master-sold-at-auction/|archive-date=December 17, 2013}}</ref>

===Literature===
* Carol Ann Duffy, CBE, FRSL (born December 23, 1955) is a British poet and playwright. She is Professor of Contemporary Poetry at [[Organization:Manchester Metropolitan University|Manchester Metropolitan University]], and was appointed Britain's poet laureate in May 2009.<ref name="about">[http://www2.hlss.mmu.ac.uk/english/academic-staff/?profileID=47 ''Manchester Metropolitan University, Profile: Professor Carol Ann Duffy''], accessed November 2, 2009. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107022702/http://www2.hlss.mmu.ac.uk/english/academic-staff/?profileID=47|date=January 7, 2014 }}</ref> She is the first woman, the first Scot, and the first openly LGBT person to hold the position.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8029388.stm Duffy reacts to new Laureate post], BBC News, May 1, 2009. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111030093931/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8029388.stm|date=October 30, 2011 }}</ref>
* The phenomenally successful ''Harry Potter'' series by J. K. Rowling is concluded in July 2007 (having been first published in 1997), although the film franchise continues until 2011; several spin-off productions are announced in the early 2010s. The ''Harry Potter'' series is to date the best-selling book series in world history, with only seven main volumes (and three supplemental works) published and four hundred and fifty million<ref>
[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13889578 The BBC] on ''Harry Potter'': "The Harry Potter novels have sold more than 450 million copies through Bloomsbury in Britain, and Scholastic in the United States." (June 23, 2011) {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719004955/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13889578|date=July 19, 2011 }}</ref> copies sold. The film franchise is also currently the third highest-grossing film franchise in history, with eight films (all but the final two of which were released in the 2000s) and $8,539,253,704 in sales.

==Popular culture==
<gallery widths="190px" perrow="5">
File:PS2-Versions.jpg|The sixth and seventh generation of video game consoles like [[Engineering:PlayStation 2|PlayStation 2]] (pictured) and [[Engineering:Xbox (console)|the first Xbox]] were a hit in the 2000s. Sleeper hits like ''[[Software:Katamari Damacy|Katamari Damacy]]'' released on the PlayStation 2, and more popular games like ''[[Software:Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas|Grand Theft Auto]]'' released on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. 
File:Nintendo DS Default.PNG|[[Company:Nintendo|Nintendo]]'s Nintendo DS (pictured) and Game Boy Advance were the best-selling portable systems of the decade. Games released for the Nintendo DS in the 2000s included ''Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!'', ''[[Software:Nintendogs|Nintendogs]]'', ''[[Software:New Super Mario Bros.|New Super Mario Bros.]]'', ''[[Software:Super Mario 64 DS|Super Mario 64 DS]]'', and ''[[Software:Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars|Grand Theft Auto]]''.  
File:The Friends Stage.jpg|Stage 24 at Warner Bros. studio, named after the television show ''Friends.'' The final episode of ''Friends'' aired in 2004 with over 52 million viewers in the United States, and the character of Joey remained on television in his own spin-off until 2006. 
File:CSI series logos.svg|''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' and ''Two and a Half Men'' were popular on CBS and even crossed over. TV shows of varying genres such as ''The Sopranos'', ''House M.D'', ''Gilmore Girls'' , ''Drake & Josh'', ''Ned's Declassified'', ''Unfabulous'', ''Scrubs'', ''Zoey 101'', ''7th Heaven'', ''George Lopez'', ''Malcolm in the Middle'', and ''That 70s Show'' were popular in the 2000s. 
File:iPod 5G, nano 2G, shuffle 2G.jpg|The [[Engineering:IPod|iPod]] became a hit in the 2000s. iPods were digital music players that had click wheels and stored songs, the first iteration releasing in 2001.
File:Disco Wii (davanti) - Wii Sports.JPG|''[[Software:Wii Sports|Wii Sports]]'' was the best-selling game of the decade. The [[Engineering:Wii|Wii]] was popular in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Games for the console released in the decade included ''[[Software:Super Mario Galaxy|Super Mario Galaxy]]'', ''[[Software:The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess|The Legend of Zelda]],'' ''[[Software:Wii Fit|Wii Fit]]'', ''[[Software:Wii Play|Wii Play]]'', ''New Super Mario Bros Wii'' and ''Mario Kart Wii''. 
File:IFA 2005 Panasonic Blu-ray Discs Single and Dual Layer BD-RE (Cartridge) (by HDTVTotalDOTcom).jpg|By the mid-2000s, [[Engineering:DVD|DVD]]s and even Blu-ray discs had begun to eclipse the use of [[Engineering:Videotape|videotape]]s, which in some regards were still somewhat prevalent.
File:Shrek lass nach - panoramio.jpg|With the advancements and rise in computer technologies, computer-animated films like ''[[Social:Shrek|Shrek]]'', ''Kung Fu Panda'', ''The Incredibles'', and ''Monsters, Inc.'' were produced by DreamWorks Animation and Disney-Pixar took over the dying traditionally animated movie industry.
File:Motorola flip phone, open.jpg|Flip phones and keyboard phones were commonplace throughout the 2000s, like [[Engineering:BlackBerry|BlackBerry]] and [[Company:Motorola|Motorola]] phones. By the very late 2000s and mostly 2010s, [[Engineering:IPhone (1st generation)|iPhone]]s and other multi-touch [[Engineering:Smartphone|smartphone]]s had replaced flip-phones and keyboard phones.
File:nokia1100.jpg|Over 250 million Nokia 1100s were sold since its launch in late 2003 up through 2009, making it the [[Engineering:List of best-selling mobile phones|world's best-selling mobile phone]] and the best-selling consumer electronics device in the world at the time. Home telephones such as [[Engineering:Landline|Landline]]s and [[Engineering:Cordless telephone|Cordless telephone]]s were also used in the 2000s. 
File:Dave Chappelle (cropped).jpg|Comedian Dave Chappelle rose to fame during the mid-2000s with his satirical sketch show ''Chappelle's Show'' (2003–2006). Other popular comedy shows during the mid-2000s included ''The Bernie Mac Show'' and ''Everybody Hates Chris''. 
File:Justin Bieber.jpg|Wings haircuts and cardigan sweaters were popular during the mid-to-late part of the 2000s (and into the early 2010s), modeled here by singer Justin Bieber in 2009.
File:Britney Spears.jpg|Low-rise jeans and crop-tops were popular and worn by women in the 2000s, as shown here by pop star Britney Spears in 2003.
File:Ms. magazine Cover - Winter 2004-2005.jpg|[[Religion:September 11 attacks|9/11]] damaged popular culture in the early 2000s. It caused greater sensitivity in media imagery. Following its use in radio and TV broadcasts after the event, Enya's ''[[Social:Only Time|Only Time]]'' became a commercial hit; and pictured above is a ''Ms.'' magazine cover showcasing "9/11 widows".
File:Beijing 2008 Olympic cauldron lighting (cropped).JPG|Five [[Social:Olympic Games|Olympic Games]] were held in the 2000s, Sydney in 2000, Salt Lake City in 2002, Athens in 2004, Turin in 2006 and Beijing in 2008.
File:Harry Potter Book and Wand.jpg|Warner Bros.' ''Harry Potter'' and ''The Lord of the Rings'' were the highest-grossing fantasy film series during the decade, both based on J. R. R. Tolkien and J. K. Rowling's novel series. The final ''Harry Potter'' book released in 2007.
File:Borat in Cologne.jpg|Mockumentaries grew in the 2000s, with mockumentary films such as ''Borat'' in 2006, and the popular documentaries ''Super Size Me'' and ''Fahrenheit 9/11'' in 2004.
File:Early iPod interface.png|After the Y2K bug scare that caused concern between 1999 and 2000, Y2K culture appeared in the early 2000s. This period was defined by then new technology such as the 2001 [[Engineering:IPod Classic|iPod Classic]], [[Engineering:Digital camera|Digital camera]]s, and fashion such as shiny metallic clothing.
File:AAAMM Big Tech.svg|The 2000s saw the rise of the Big Tech companies like Alphabet ([[Company:Google|Google]]), [[Company:Amazon|Amazon]], [[Company:Apple Inc.|Apple]], [[Company:Meta Platforms|Meta]], and [[Company:Microsoft|Microsoft]] are headquartered in the West Coast of the United States.
File:Leon hot air balloon festival 2010.jpg|''Futurama'' and other cartoons like ''[[Religion:Family Guy|Family Guy]]'', ''South Park'', ''[[Social:SpongeBob SquarePants|SpongeBob SquarePants]]'', ''The Powerpuff Girls'', and ''The Fairly Odd Parents'' were popular in the 2000s.
</gallery>

===Film===

'''Live-action films'''[[File:Avatar Flight of Passage (33825582954).jpg|260px|thumb|The highest-grossing film of the decade was ''Avatar'' (2009)]]

The usage of [[Computer-generated imagery|computer-generated imagery]] became more widespread in films during the 2000s. Documentary and mockumentary films, such as ''March of the Penguins'', ''Borat'', and ''Super Size Me'', were popular in the 2000s. 2004's ''Fahrenheit 9/11'' by [[Biography:Michael Moore|Michael Moore]] is the highest-grossing documentary of all time. Online films became popular, and conversion to [[Engineering:Digital cinema|digital cinema]] started. Critically acclaimed movies released in the decade including highlights such as ''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'' and ''Lost in Translation''.

December 2009's ''Avatar'', an American science fiction film written and directed by James Cameron, made extensive use of cutting edge [[Motion capture|motion capture]] filming techniques, and was released for traditional viewing, [[3D film|3D]] viewing (using the [[RealD 3D]], [[Dolby 3D]], [[XpanD 3D]], and IMAX 3D formats). It was also released in "4D" in select South Korean theaters.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sunhee |first1=Han |title='Avatar' goes 4D in Korea |url=https://variety.com/2010/more/news/avatar-goes-4d-in-korea-1118014803/ |website=Variety |date=February 5, 2010 |access-date=30 December 2021}}</ref>

[[3D film|3D film]]s became more and more successful throughout the 2000s, culminating in the unprecedented success of 3D presentations of ''Avatar''.
* [[Biography:Roger Ebert|Roger Ebert]], described by ''{{wipe|Forbes}}'' as "the most powerful pundit in America",<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/2007/09/21/pundit-americas-top-oped-cx_tvr_0924pundits.html|title=The Top Pundits in America|access-date=December 9, 2008|author=Riper, Tom Van|date=September 24, 2007|work=Forbes|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140412165345/http://www.forbes.com/2007/09/21/pundit-americas-top-oped-cx_tvr_0924pundits.html|archive-date=April 12, 2014}}</ref> was skeptical of the resurgence of 3D effects in film, which he found unrealistic and distracting.<ref>{{cite news|first=Roger|last=Ebert|url=http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2008/08/dminus_for_3d.html|title=D-minus for 3-D|newspaper=Chicago Sun-Times: Blogs|date=August 16, 2008|access-date=October 17, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130207230520/http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2008/08/dminus_for_3d.html|archive-date=February 7, 2013}}</ref>
* In August 2004, American horror author [[Biography:Stephen King|Stephen King]], in a column, criticized what he saw as a growing trend of leniency towards films from critics. His main criticism was that films, citing ''[[Social:Spider-Man 2|Spider-Man 2]]'' as an example, were constantly given four star ratings that they did not deserve: "Formerly reliable critics who seem to have gone remarkably soft – not to say softhearted and sometimes softheaded – in their old age."<ref>King, Stephen, [https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,681657,00.html "The Four-Star Follies"], August 20, 2004. Retrieved January 31, 2008. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130526140558/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0%2C%2C681657%2C00.html|date=May 26, 2013}}</ref>

In July 2005, it was reported that the Scottish actor and producer Sir Sean Connery had decided to retire, due to disillusionment with the "idiots now in Hollywood"' Telling ''The New Zealand Herald'': "I'm fed up with the idiots... the ever-widening gap between people who know how to make movies and the people who greenlight the movies."<ref>{{cite news |title=Connery "turning back on movies" |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4736303.stm |website=BBC News |date=August 2005 |access-date=29 February 2020}}</ref>

''The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'', a 2003 epic fantasy-drama film directed by Peter Jackson based on the second and third volumes of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'', was nominated for eleven Academy Awards and won all the categories for which it was nominated.<ref name="Oscars2004">{{cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/76th-winners.html|title=The 76th Academy Awards (2004) Nominees and Winners|access-date=November 20, 2011|work=oscars.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120929190645/http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/76th-winners.html|archive-date=September 29, 2012|url-status=dead }}</ref> The film is tied for largest number of awards won with ''Ben-Hur'' (1959) and ''Titanic'' (1997).

''The Passion of the Christ'', a 2004 American film directed by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus Christ, was highly controversial<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/passion-of-the-christ-15-years-mel-gibson-jim-cavieziel-movie-reaction-christianity-a8788381.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/passion-of-the-christ-15-years-mel-gibson-jim-cavieziel-movie-reaction-christianity-a8788381.html |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=The blood, the outrage and The Passion of the Christ: Mel Gibson's biblical firestorm, 15 years on|last=Chilton|first=Louis|date=February 25, 2019|publisher=The Idependent|access-date=January 10, 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and received mixed reviews; however, it was a major commercial hit, grossing in excess of $600 million worldwide during its theatrical release.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Passion-of-the-Christ-The#tab=summary|title=The Passion of the Christ (2004)|website=The Numbers|access-date=January 10, 2020}}</ref>

The superhero film genre experienced renewed and intense interest throughout the 2000s. With high ticket and DVD sales, several new superhero films were released every year. The ''X-Men'', ''Batman'' and ''Spider-Man'' series were particularly prominent, and other films in the genre included ''Daredevil'' (2003), ''The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'' (2003), ''Hulk'' (2003), ''Hellboy'' (2004), ''The Incredibles'' (2004), ''Fantastic Four'' (2005), the first two Marvel Cinematic Universe films (''Iron Man'' and ''The Incredible Hulk''; both in 2008), and ''Watchmen'' (2009). Some media commentators attributed the increased popularity of such franchises to the social and political climate in Western society since the September 11th attacks,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://io9.com/5837450/where-would-superheroes-be-without-911|title=Where would superheroes be without 9/11?|author=Charlie Jane Anders|work=io9|date=September 7, 2011 }}</ref> although others argued advances in special effects technology played a more significant role.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/aug/31/marvel-superheroes-true-believers|title=How Marvel's superheroes found the magic to make us all true believers|first=Jeffrey A.|last=Brown|work=The Observer|date=August 31, 2013|access-date=May 18, 2014}}</ref>

Cult films that came out this decade like ''Shaun of the Dead'', ''Saw'', ''Donnie Darko'', ''300'', ''Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy'', ''Napoleon Dynamite'', ''The Room'' and ''Moulin Rouge!'' became popular.

'''Animated films'''

The animated feature film market changed radically. [[Computer animation|Computer animated films]] became hugely popular following the release of ''Toy Story'' in the mid-1990s. After failures such as ''[[Social:The Road to El Dorado|The Road to El Dorado]]'', ''Rugrats Go Wild'',  ''Osmosis Jones'', ''Treasure Planet'' and ''Looney Tunes: Back in Action'', studios have stopped their production of traditional 2D animated films, and gradually changed their focus into CGI animation in the late 2000s. Traditional 2D animated films that did well in the first half of the decade include ''Rugrats in Paris'', ''Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron'', ''Recess: School's Out'', ''The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie'', and ''Lilo & Stitch'' as well as anime films such as Studio Ghibli's ''Spirited Away'', ''The Cat Returns'', ''Howl's Moving Castle'', and ''Ponyo''.

Disney would begin making 3D animated films such as ''Dinosaur'', ''Chicken Little'', ''Meet the Robinsons'', and ''Bolt'' as well as continuing to make traditional animated films from the past decades such as ''[[Social:The Emperor's New Groove|The Emperor's New Groove]], Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Treasure Planet, Brother Bear, Home on the Range'', and ''The Princess and the Frog.'' All of these films would underperform at the box office and receive adequate reviews although they would become [[Engineering:Cult film|cult classics]].

Meanwhile, computer-animated films saw the rise of Pixar throughout the 2000s with their critically and commercially films like ''Monsters, Inc.'', ''Finding Nemo'', ''Cars'', ''Ratatouille'', ''WALL-E'', and ''Up''.

DreamWorks also began to take its rise albeit to a lesser extent as the 2003 movie ''Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas'' became the last traditional animated DreamWorks film. These films include ''[[Social:Shrek|Shrek]]'', ''Shrek 2'', ''Madagascar'', ''Over the Hedge'', ''Flushed Away'', ''Shrek the Third'', ''[[Social:Bee Movie|Bee Movie]]'', ''Kung Fu Panda'', ''Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa'', and ''Monsters vs. Aliens''.

20th Century Fox Animation's works in that decade include the ''Ice Age'' series, ''Robots'' and ''Horton Hears a Who!'' which were all made by its [[Company:Blue Sky Studios|Blue Sky Studios]] subsidiary, and ''Titan A.E.'', ''Waking Life'', ''The Simpsons Movie'' and ''Fantastic Mr. Fox.''

[[Stop motion]] animated films in that decade which mostly use live-action or computer animation methods included ''Chicken Run'', ''Team America: World Police'', ''Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'', ''Corpse Bride'', ''Flushed Away'', ''Coraline'' and ''Mary and Max''. [[Engineering:Independent film|Independent]] animated works in that decade included ''The Triplets of Belleville'', ''Terkel in Trouble'', ''Laura's Star'', ''A Scanner Darkly'', ''Renaissance'', ''Persepolis'', ''Sita Sings the Blues'', ''The Secret of Kells'' and ''A Town Called Panic''.

'''Award winners'''

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:9%"| Award
! style="width:9%"| 2000
! style="width:9%"| 2001
! style="width:9%"| 2002
! style="width:9%"| 2003
! style="width:9%"| 2004
! style="width:9%"| 2005
! style="width:9%"| 2006
! style="width:9%"| 2007
! style="width:9%"| 2008
! style="width:9%"| 2009
|-
| '''Academy Award for Best Picture winners'''
| ''Gladiator''<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lyman|first1=Rick|title=Oscar Spreads the Wealth, but 'Gladiator' Takes Top Prize; Julia Roberts Is Named Best Actress, And Russell Crowe Is Chosen Best Actor|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/26/movies/oscar-spreads-wealth-but-gladiator-takes-top-prize-julia-roberts-named-best.html|access-date=August 12, 2017|work={{wipe|The New York Times}}|date=March 26, 2001}}</ref>
| ''A Beautiful Mind''<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lyman|first1=Rick|title='Beautiful Mind' Wins; Best Actress Goes to Halle Berry|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/25/movies/beautiful-mind-wins-best-actress-goes-to-halle-berry.html?rref=collection%2Fbyline%2Frick-lyman&action=click&contentCollection=undefined&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=search&contentPlacement=5&pgtype=collection|access-date=August 12, 2017|work={{wipe|The New York Times}}|date=March 25, 2002}}</ref>
| ''Chicago''<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lyman|first1=Rick|title='Chicago' Is Big Oscar Winner, but 'Pianist' Surprises; Hollywood Glamour Still Stars at Ceremony, but Security and War Play Supporting Roles|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/24/movies/chicago-big-oscar-winner-but-pianist-surprises-hollywood-glamour-still-stars.html|access-date=August 12, 2017|work={{wipe|The New York Times}}|date=March 24, 2003}}</ref>
| ''The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King''<ref>{{cite news|last1=Waxman|first1=Sharon|title='Lord of the Rings' Dominates the Oscars; Final Film of Trilogy Sweeps 11 Categories; Sean Penn and Charlize Theron Get Top Acting Awards|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/01/arts/lord-rings-dominates-oscars-final-film-trilogy-sweeps-11-categories-sean-penn.html|access-date=August 12, 2017|work={{wipe|The New York Times}}|date=March 1, 2004}}</ref>
| ''Million Dollar Baby''<ref>{{cite news|author1=Waxman, Sharon|author2=Halbfinger, David M.|title='Million Dollar Baby' Dominates Oscars|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/28/movies/oscars/million-dollar-baby-dominates-oscars.html?mtrref=www.google.com&gwh=697A7169B66FEC4C5C0084E4E3053163&gwt=pay|access-date=August 12, 2017|work={{wipe|The New York Times}}|date=February 28, 2005}}</ref>
| ''Crash''<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kilday|first1=Gregg|title='Crash' takes best pic in upset|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/crash-takes-best-pic-upset-138262|access-date=August 12, 2017|work=The Hollywood Reporter|agency=Associated Press|date=March 6, 2006}}</ref>
| ''The Departed''<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kilday|first1=Gregg|title=Scorsese cuffs Oscar; 'Departed' named best pic|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/scorsese-cuffs-oscar-departed-named-130836|access-date=August 12, 2017|work=The Hollywood Reporter|agency=Associated Press|date=February 26, 2007}}</ref>
| ''No Country for Old Men''<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kilday|first1=Gregg|title='No Country' takes top Oscar honors|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/no-country-takes-top-oscar-105541|access-date=August 12, 2017|work=The Hollywood Reporter|agency=Associated Press|date=February 25, 2008}}</ref>
| ''Slumdog Millionaire''<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kilday|first1=Gregg|title='Slumdog' tops Oscars|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/slumdog-tops-oscars-79663|access-date=August 12, 2017|work=The Hollywood Reporter|agency=Associated Press|date=February 22, 2009}}</ref>
| ''The Hurt Locker''<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kilday|first1=Gregg|title='The Hurt Locker' tops Oscars with six|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hurt-locker-tops-oscars-six-21375|access-date=August 12, 2017|work=The Hollywood Reporter|agency=Associated Press|date=March 7, 2010}}</ref>
|-
| '''''Palme d'Or'' winners at the Cannes Film Festival'''
| ''Dancer in the Dark''<ref>{{cite news|author1=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Dancer's surprise win at Cannes|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/758280.stm|access-date=August 12, 2017|work=BBC News|date=May 21, 2000}}</ref>
| ''The Son's Room''<ref>{{cite news|author1=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Italian film wins Palme d'Or|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1341005.stm|access-date=August 12, 2017|work=BBC News|date=May 20, 2001}}</ref>
| ''The Pianist''<ref>{{cite news|author1=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Polanski wins Palme d'Or|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/Movies/05/26/cannes.finish/index.html|access-date=August 12, 2017|work=CNN.com|publisher=Cable News Network LP, LLLP|date=May 27, 2002|location=Cannes, France}}</ref>
|-
| '''César Award for Best Film winners'''
| ''The Taste of Others''<ref>{{cite web|title=Cesar Awards - French film industry awards Edition 2001|url=http://en.unifrance.org/festivals-and-markets/620/cesar-awards-french-film-industry-awards/2001|website=UniFrance|publisher=UniFrance Film International|access-date=August 12, 2017}}</ref>
| ''Amélie''<ref>{{cite web|title=Cesar Awards - French film industry awards Edition 2002|url=http://en.unifrance.org/festivals-and-markets/620/cesar-awards-french-film-industry-awards/2002|website=UniFrance|publisher=UniFrance Film International|access-date=August 12, 2017}}</ref>
| ''The Pianist''<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Susman|first1=Gary|title=British, French name ''Pianist'' best picture|url=https://ew.com/article/2003/02/24/british-french-name-pianist-best-picture/|access-date=August 12, 2017|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=February 24, 2003}}</ref>
| ''The Barbarian Invasions''<ref>{{cite news|title=Arcand wins France's top movie prizes|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/arcand-wins-frances-top-movie-prizes/article994399/|access-date=August 12, 2017|work=The Globe and Mail|agency=The Canadian Press|date=February 23, 2004|location=[[Place:Paris|Paris]], France}}</ref>
| ''Games of Love and Chance''<ref>{{cite news|title=Low-budget French film wins Cesar|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4301563.stm|access-date=August 12, 2017|work=BBC News|date=February 27, 2005}}</ref>
| ''The Beat That My Heart Skipped''<ref>{{cite news|last1=James|first1=Alison|title='Heart' beats for Cesars|url=https://variety.com/2006/film/news/heart-beats-for-cesars-1117938899/|access-date=August 12, 2017|work=Variety|date=February 26, 2006}}</ref>
| ''Lady Chatterley''<ref>{{cite news|last1=Leffler|first1=Rebecca|title='Lady Chatterley' tops French Cesar awards|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/lady-chatterley-tops-french-cesar-130807|access-date=August 12, 2017|work=The Hollywood Reporter|agency=Associated Press|date=February 25, 2007|location=Paris, France}}</ref>
| ''The Secret of the Grain''<ref>{{cite news|last1=Leffler|first1=Rebecca|title='Vie en Rose' wins big at Cesars, 'Grain' earns best pic|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/vie-en-rose-wins-big-105486|access-date=August 12, 2017|work=The Hollywood Reporter|agency=Associated Press|date=February 24, 2008|location=[[Place:Paris|Paris]], France}}</ref>
| ''Séraphine''<ref>{{cite news|last1=Leffler|first1=Rebecca|title=Cesars hail 'Seraphine' best pic|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cesars-hail-seraphine-pic-80014|access-date=August 12, 2017|work=The Hollywood Reporter|agency=Associated Press|date=February 27, 2009|location=[[Place:Paris|Paris]], France}}</ref>
| ''A Prophet''<ref>{{cite news|last1=Leffler|first1=Rebecca|title='A Prophet' scores nine Cesar Awards|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/prophet-scores-nine-cesar-awards-21149|access-date=August 12, 2017|work=The Hollywood Reporter|agency=Associated Press|date=February 27, 2010|location=[[Place:Paris|Paris]], France}}</ref>
|-
| '''''Golden Lion'' winners at the Venice Film Festival'''
| ''The Circle''
| ''Monsoon Wedding''
| ''The Magdalene Sisters''
| ''The Return''
| ''Vera Drake''
| ''Brokeback Mountain''
| ''Still Life''
| ''Lust, Caution''
| ''The Wrestler''
| ''Lebanon''
|-
| '''Empire Award for Best Film'''
| ''Gladiator''
| ''The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring''<ref>{{cite journal|title=Empire Awards 2002: Best Film|journal=Empire|issue=#154|date=April 2002|page=56|publisher=Bauer Consumer Media|url=http://scrapbook.theonering.net/scrapbook/events/awards/view/3694|access-date=October 11, 2011}}</ref>
| ''The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.empireonline.com/awards2003/winners/film.asp|title=Best Film|work=Empire|publisher=Bauer Consumer Media|year=2003|access-date=October 11, 2011}}</ref>
| ''The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.empireonline.com/awards2004/winners/film.asp|title=Best Film|work=Empire|publisher=Bauer Consumer Media|year=2004|access-date=October 11, 2011}}</ref>
| ''The Bourne Supremacy''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.empireonline.com/awards2005/winners/film.asp|title=Best Film|work=Empire|publisher=Bauer Consumer Media|year=2005|access-date=October 11, 2011}}</ref>
| ''King Kong''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.empireonline.com/awards2006/winners/movie.asp|title=Best Film|work=Empire|publisher=Bauer Consumer Media|year=2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130616191517/http://www.empireonline.com/awards2006/winners/movie.asp|archive-date=June 16, 2013}}</ref>
| ''Casino Royale''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.empireonline.com/awards/film.asp|title=Best Film|work=Empire|publisher=Bauer Consumer Media|year=2007|access-date=October 11, 2011}}</ref>
| ''The Bourne Ultimatum''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.empireonline.com/awards2008/winners/film.asp|title=Best Film|work=Empire|publisher=Bauer Consumer Media|year=2008|access-date=October 11, 2011}}</ref>
| ''The Dark Knight''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.empireonline.com/awards2009/winners/film.asp|title=Best Film|work=Empire|publisher=Bauer Consumer Media|year=2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111106203739/http://www.empireonline.com/awards2009/winners/film.asp|archive-date=November 6, 2011}}</ref>
| ''Avatar''<ref>{{cite news|last1=Masters|first1=Tim|title=Sci-fi triumphs at Empire awards|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8591899.stm|access-date=July 5, 2018|work=BBC News|publisher=BBC|date=March 28, 2010}}</ref>
|-
| '''Best films of the ''Sight & Sound'' annual poll'''
| N/A
| N/A
| N/A
| N/A
| N/A
| ''Brokeback Mountain''<ref>{{cite web|title=The best films of 2005|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk//sight-sound-magazine/best-films-of-2005|website=Sight & Sound|date=February 27, 2017 |publisher=British Film Institute|access-date=August 12, 2017}}</ref>
| ''Caché''<ref>{{cite web|title=The Films Of 2006: Top Ten|url=http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/feature/49351|website=Sight & Sound|publisher=British Film Institute|access-date=August 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170812211038/http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/feature/49351|archive-date=August 12, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| ''4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days''<ref>{{cite web|title=The films of 2007|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk//sight-sound-magazine/best-films-2007|website=Sight & Sound|date=February 27, 2017 |publisher=British Film Institute|access-date=August 12, 2017}}</ref>
| ''Hunger''<ref>{{cite web|title=The films of 2008|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk//sight-sound-magazine/best-films-2008|website=Sight & Sound|date=February 27, 2017 |publisher=British Film Institute|access-date=August 12, 2017}}</ref>
| ''A Prophet''<ref>{{cite web|title=The films of 2009|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk//sight-sound-magazine/best-films-2009|website=Sight & Sound|date=February 27, 2017 |publisher=British Film Institute|access-date=August 12, 2017}}</ref>
|}

'''The 20 highest-grossing films of the decade are (in order from highest to lowest grossing)'''

''Avatar'', ''The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'', ''Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest'', ''The Dark Knight'', ''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'', ''Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End'', ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'', ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'', ''The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'', ''Shrek 2'', ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'', ''[[Social:Spider-Man 3|Spider-Man 3]]'', ''Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs'', ''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'', ''The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'', ''Finding Nemo'', ''Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith'', ''Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'', ''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'' and ''Shrek the Third''.<ref name="imdb.com">{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/chart/boxoffice|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111117141416/http://www.imdb.com/boxoffice/alltimegross?region=world-wide|url-status=dead|title=IMDb Top Box Office|archive-date=November 17, 2011|website=IMDb}}</ref>

'''The top 15 highest-grossing film series of the decade are (in order from highest to lowest grossing)'''
''Harry Potter'' film series, ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy, ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series, ''Spider-Man'' film series, ''Shrek'' film series, ''Ice Age'' film series, ''Transformers'' film series, ''X-Men'' film series, ''Batman'' film series' ''Batman Begins'' and ''The Dark Knight'', ''Star Wars:'' ''Episode II – Attack of the Clones'' and ''Episode III – Revenge of the Sith'', ''The Da Vinci Code'' and ''Angels & Demons'', ''The Matrix'' film series' ''The Matrix Reloaded'' and ''The Matrix Revolutions'', ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' film series, ''Mission: Impossible'' film series' and ''The Mummy'' film series.<ref name="imdb.com" />

===Music===
{{multiple image
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| image1            = EMINEM rapping Anger management tour 2003 (cropped).jpg
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| alt1              = Eminel
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| image2            = Beyonce.jpg
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| alt2              = Beyoncé
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| footer_align      = center
| footer            = Eminem (left) and Beyoncé were two of the best-selling musical artists and most-culturally significant figures of the decade, pictured here in 2003 and 2007 respectively.
}}

In the 2000s, the Internet allowed consumers unprecedented access to music. The Internet also allowed more artists to distribute music relatively inexpensively and independently without the previously necessary financial support of a record label. Music sales began to decline following the year 2000, a state of affairs generally attributed to unlicensed uploading and downloading of sound files to the Internet, a practice which became more widely prevalent during this time. Business relationships called 360 deals—an arrangement in which a company provides support for an artist, and, in exchange, the artist pays the company a percentage of revenue earned not only from sales of recorded music, but also live performances and publishing—became a popular response by record labels to the loss of music sales attributed to online copyright infringement.<ref name="usatoday.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2009-12-29-musicdecade29_CV_N.htm| work=USA Today| title=The decade in music: Sales slide, pirates, digital rise| date=December 30, 2009| access-date=December 23, 2011| first1=Edna| last1=Gundersen}}</ref><ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/17/arts/music/new-pop-music-sounds-like-its-predecessors.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all| work=The New York Times| title=The Songs of Now Sound a Lot Like Then| date=July 15, 2011| access-date=December 2, 2011| first1=Simon| last1=Reyonolds| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130614122202/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/17/arts/music/new-pop-music-sounds-like-its-predecessors.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all| archive-date=June 14, 2013 }}</ref>

In the 2000s, hip hop reached a commercial peak and heavily influenced various aspects of popular culture, dominating the musical landscape of the decade.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page3/story?page=boyd/040818|first=Todd|last=Boyd|title=They're playing bas-ket-ball|work=ESPN|date=August 19, 2004|access-date=February 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927203643/http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page3/story?page=boyd%2F040818|archive-date=September 27, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.spin.com/2009/11/myth-no-4-biggie-tupac-are-hip-hops-pillars/| website=Spin| title=MYTH No. 4: Biggie & Tupac Are Hip-Hop's Pillars|date=November 9, 2009|access-date=September 4, 2011| first1=Jon| last1=Caramanica|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207075950/https://www.spin.com/2009/11/myth-no-4-biggie-tupac-are-hip-hops-pillars//|archive-date=December 7, 2013 }}</ref> The best-selling musical artist of the decade was American rapper Eminem, who sold 32 million albums. Other popular hip hop artists included Jay-Z, Nas, Busta Rhymes, Kanye West, Ludacris, Common, Ja Rule, Mos Def, DMX, Missy Elliot, OutKast, Lil Jon, Fat Joe, Cam'ron, Pharrell, Gorillaz, Snoop Dogg, Twista, [[Biography:50 Cent|50 Cent]], Nelly, Lil Wayne, T.I., Young Jeezy and The Game. The genre was extremely diverse stylistically, including subgenres such as gangsta rap and crunk. Many hip hop albums were released to widespread critical acclaim.

R&B also gained prominence throughout the decade, and included artists such as D'Angelo, Aaliyah, Usher, Akon, Black Eyed Peas, R. Kelly, Amy Winehouse, Mary J. Blige, Jamie Foxx, Chris Brown, John Legend and Alicia Keys.

In the early and mid 2000s, disco-inspired dance genres became popular; many french house and funky house songs broke into the charts.<ref name="dangminds">{{Cite web|title=Every summer is 'The Summer Of Disco': Your essential 'Nu-Disco' primer (part one)|url=https://dangerousminds.net/comments/every_summer_is_the_summer_of_disco_your_essential_nu_disco_primer_part_one|date=2013-06-04|website=DangerousMinds|access-date=2020-05-13}}</ref> Popular tracks such as Daft Punk's "One More Time" Fonzerelli's "Moonlight Party", Kylie Minogue's "Spinning Around", Jamiroquai's "Little L", Michael Gray's "The Weekend" and Freemasons "Love on My Mind".

For Latin music Shakira dominated the charts with ''Fijación Oral, Vol. 1'' being the 2nd best-selling Spanish album of all-time and the best-selling Spanish album of the 2000s being 11× platinum to date.

''Billboard'' magazine named Eminem as the "artist of the decade" with the best performance on the Billboard charts<ref>{{Cite magazine|author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2009-12-14|title=Eminem is Top Artist in Decade-End Charts; Neil Diamond Animates 'Chanukah'|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/eminem-is-top-artist-in-decade-end-charts-neil-diamond-animates-266394/|access-date=2022-02-21|magazine=Billboard|language=en-US}}</ref>{{Refn|''Billboard'' awards are based on album and digital songs sales, radio airplay, streaming, touring and social engagement.<ref>{{Cite web|title=About|url=https://www.billboardmusicawards.com/about/|access-date=2022-02-21|website=Billboard Music Awards|language=en}}</ref>|group=note|name=billboard}} and Beyoncé as the "female artist of the decade", with Nickelback as the "band of the decade".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nationalpost.com/story.html?id=2330688|title=Nickelback: 'Band of the decade', according to Billboard|work=National Post|location=Canada|date=December 11, 2009|access-date=February 14, 2012}}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1157694&SMap=1|title=Beyoncé And Eminem Top Billboard Artists Of Decade|publisher=RTTnews.com|date=December 15, 2009|access-date=February 14, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001210020/http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1157694&SMap=1|archive-date=October 1, 2011 }}</ref> In the UK, the biggest selling artist of the decade was Robbie Williams and the biggest selling band of the decade was Westlife.

On August 25, 2001, Aaliyah Haughton – a recording artist, dancer, actress and model – as well as eight others onboard were killed in an airplane crash in The Bahamas after filming the music video for the single "Rock the Boat". On November 29, 2001, George Harrison – best known as a member of the Beatles, one of the most popular bands in history – died of lung cancer at the age of 58. On April 25, 2002, Lisa Lopes (aka Left Eye) – a rapper, dancer and singer-songwriter best known as a member of the R&B/hip hop girl group TLC – was killed in a car crash in La Ceiba, Honduras. On October 30, 2002, Jason William Mizell (aka Jam Master Jay) – a member of the pioneering hip hop group Run-D.M.C – was shot and killed in a Merrick Boulevard recording studio in Jamaica, Queens. On December 25, 2006, James Brown – a recording artist known as the "Godfather of Soul" – died of pneumonia at the age of 73. On September 12, 2003, Johnny Cash – a country musician known as the "Man in Black" – died of diabetes at the age of 71. On June 10, 2004, Ray Charles – one of the pioneers of soul music – died of liver failure at the age of 73. On June 25, 2009, recording artist and dancer Michael Jackson – one of the highest-selling musicians of all time – died of a drug overdose, creating the largest global public mourning since the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997.<ref name="Allen">Allen, Nick. [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/michael-jackson/5771156/Michael-Jackson-memorial-service-the-biggest-celebrity-send-off-of-all-time.html "Michael Jackson memorial service: the biggest celebrity send-off of all time"]. ''The Daily Telegraph'', July 7, 2009. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140409064400/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/michael-jackson/5771156/Michael-Jackson-memorial-service-the-biggest-celebrity-send-off-of-all-time.html|date=April 9, 2014 }}</ref><ref name="Scott">Scott, Jeffry. [http://www.accessatlanta.com/services/content/entertainment/stories/2009/07/08/jackson_funeral_ratings.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=4 "Jackson memorial second most-watched in TV history"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224073906/http://www.accessatlanta.com/services/content/entertainment/stories/2009/07/08/jackson_funeral_ratings.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=4|date=February 24, 2012 }}. ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'', July 8, 2009.</ref><ref name="Hinckley">Hinckley, David and Richard Huff.
[http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/michael_jackson/2009/07/08/2009-07-08_michael_jacksons_memorial_2nd_mostwatched_funeral_ever_after_princess_di_say_nie.html "Michael Jackson's memorial 2nd most-watched funeral ever, after Princess Di, say Nielsen ratings"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090828131632/http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/michael_jackson/2009/07/08/2009-07-08_michael_jacksons_memorial_2nd_mostwatched_funeral_ever_after_princess_di_say_nie.html |date=August 28, 2009 }}. ''New York Daily News'', July 8, 2009.{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/michael-jackson-memorial-2nd-most-watched-funeral-princess-di-nielsen-ratings-article-1.428177|title=Michael Jackson's memorial 2nd most-watched funeral ever, after Princess Di, say Nielsen ratings|website=New York Daily News|date=July 8, 2009 |access-date=May 31, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160625030534/http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/michael-jackson-memorial-2nd-most-watched-funeral-princess-di-nielsen-ratings-article-1.428177|archive-date=June 25, 2016}}</ref> Other notable deaths of musical artists in the 2000s were Joey Ramone and Chet Atkins in 2001, Waylon Jennings in 2002, Maurice Gibb and Elliott Smith in 2003, Rick James and Ol' Dirty Bastard in 2004, J Dilla in 2006, Ike Turner and Dan Fogelberg in 2007, and Les Paul in 2009.

In 2002, Robbie Williams signed a record-breaking £80&nbsp;million contract with [[Company:EMI|EMI]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Robbie signs '£80m' deal|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/2291605.stm|work=BBC News|date=October 2, 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080506101550/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/2291605.stm|archive-date=May 6, 2008}}</ref> So far it is the biggest music deal in British history.

In alternative rock, the garage rock revival and post-punk revival entered the mainstream, with bands such as The Strokes, Interpol, The Killers, Arctic Monkeys, Bloc Party, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The White Stripes seeing commercial success. Indie rock also saw a proliferation in the 2000s with numerous bands experiencing commercial success, including Modest Mouse, TV on the Radio, Franz Ferdinand, Death Cab for Cutie, Arcade Fire, Vampire Weekend, LCD Soundsystem, The Shins, Wilco, Bright Eyes, Spoon, The Decemberists, Broken Social Scene, Grizzly Bear, Fleet Foxes and many more.

Other genres such as post-grunge, post-Britpop, nu metal and metalcore also achieved notability during the decade. Popular metal or hard rock bands consisted of Avenged Sevenfold, Bullet for My Valentine, Disturbed,<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Disturbed |url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/301014/disturbed/chart?f=305|magazine= Billboard|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160620000649/http://www.billboard.com/artist/301014/disturbed/chart?f=305|date=2 June 2016|archive-date=20 June 2016 |access-date=10 January 2022}}</ref> Breaking Benjamin,<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Breaking Benjamin|url= http://www.billboard.com/artist/297098/breaking-benjamin/chart?f=376|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160729130713/http://www.billboard.com/artist/297098/breaking-benjamin/chart?f=376|magazine=Billboard|date=2 June 2016|archive-date=29 July 2016|access-date=10 January 2022}}</ref> Linkin Park, Slipknot, Mudvayne, Tenacious D, Incubus, System of a Down, Mastodon, The Mars Volta, Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age, Three Days Grace, Godsmack, Shinedown, Limp Bizkit, Killswitch Engage, Evanescence, Tool, Deftones, Opeth, and Seether.

Pop-punk and emo-pop became popular in the decade, with bands like Blink-182, The Offspring, Green Day, Good Charlotte, My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy and Panic! at the Disco.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=193947 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070513171703/http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=193947 |archive-date=May 13, 2007 |title=JS Online: Punk's Offspring is aging well |access-date=April 1, 2014}}</ref><ref name="Fall out boy">{{cite web|last=Loftus|first=Johnny|title=Fall Out Boy|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/fall-out-boy-p533936|work=AllMusic|publisher=Rovi Corporation|access-date=10 June 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/31248926/100_best_songs_of_the_decade/9 |title=100 Best Songs of the Decade: #68–65 |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=December 9, 2009 |access-date=December 10, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091213004922/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/31248926/100_best_songs_of_the_decade/9| archive-date= December 13, 2009 |url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/31248926/100_best_songs_of_the_decade/14 |title=100 Best Songs of the Decade: #48–45 |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=December 9, 2009 |access-date=December 10, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091213004739/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/31248926/100_best_songs_of_the_decade/14| archive-date= December 13, 2009 |url-status= live}}</ref>

The 2000s gave rise to a new trend in music production with the growing use of auto-tune. The effect was first popularized in the early 2000s by Eiffel 65 with their 1998 hit song "Blue (Da Ba Dee)", which came to global prominence in 2000. It was also used in certain tracks off critically acclaimed 2001 albums from Daft Punk (with ''Discovery'') and Radiohead (with ''Amnesiac'').<ref name="nytimes.com" /> By 2008, auto-tune was part of the music mainstream with artists such as Lil Wayne, T-Pain and Kanye West utilizing it in their hit albums ''Tha Carter III'', ''Three Ringz'' and ''808s & Heartbreak'' respectively. Towards the end of the decade, electronic dance music began to dominate western charts (as it would proceed to in the following decade), and in turn helped contribute to a diminishing amount of rock music in the mainstream.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/23/showbiz/music/nirvana-nevermind/index.html|title='Nevermind,' never again?|work=CNN|date=September 23, 2011|access-date=October 27, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102005827/http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/23/showbiz/music/nirvana-nevermind/index.html|archive-date=November 2, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopfeatures/5978573/La-Roux-Lady-Gaga-Mika-Little-Boots-the-80s-are-back.html|location=London|work=The Daily Telegraph|first=Neil|last=McCormick|title=La Roux, Lady Gaga, Mika, Little Boots: the 80s are back|date=August 5, 2009|url-status=live|access-date=February 11, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131027012310/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopfeatures/5978573/La-Roux-Lady-Gaga-Mika-Little-Boots-the-80s-are-back.html|archive-date=October 27, 2013 }}</ref> Hip hop music also saw a decline in the mainstream in the late 2000s because of electronic music's rising popularity.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2009/nov/26/notes-noughties-hip-hop|work=The Guardian|location=London| title=Simon Reynolds's Notes on the noughties: When will hip-hop hurry up and die?| date=November 26, 2009|first1=Simon|last1=Reynolds|url-status=live|access-date=February 11, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120411211603/http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2009/nov/26/notes-noughties-hip-hop|archive-date=April 11, 2012 }}</ref>

According to ''{{wipe|The Guardian}}'', music styles during the 2000s changed very little from how they were in the latter half of the 1990s.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/dec/06/review-of-the-decade-pop|work={{wipe|The Guardian}}|location=London|title=Review of the decade: Alexis Petridis on pop|date=December 7, 2009|access-date=April 21, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100423172215/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/06/review-of-the-decade-pop|archive-date=April 23, 2010}}</ref> The 2000s had a profound impact on the condition of [[Digital distribution|music distribution]]. Recent advents in digital technology have fundamentally altered industry and marketing practices as well as players in unusual rapidity.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/techtime/200304/sites_angel.html|magazine={{wipe|Time (magazine)}}|title=TECH TIME: Sound Advice – Too Legit|date=July 4, 2003|access-date=April 21, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100903092816/http://www.time.com/time/techtime/200304/sites_angel.html|archive-date=September 3, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/arts/music/04nine.html|work={{wipe|The New York Times}}|title=Nine Inch Nails Fashions Innovative Web Pricing Plan|first=Jeff|last=Leeds|date=March 4, 2008|access-date=April 21, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140117021841/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/arts/music/04nine.html|archive-date=January 17, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=nine inch nails|bio=true}}|title=Nine Inch Nails|magazine=Billboard|date=May 17, 1965|access-date=February 14, 2012}}</ref> According to Nielsen Soundscan, by 2009 CDs accounted for 79 percent of album sales, with 20 percent coming from digital, representing both a 10 percent drop and gain for both formats in 2 years.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Music/07/19/cd.digital.sales/index.html|work=CNN|title=Is the death of the CD looming?|date=July 20, 2010|access-date=November 3, 2011|first1=Lisa|last1=France|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130918005119/http://edition.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Music/07/19/cd.digital.sales/index.html|archive-date=September 18, 2013}}</ref>

Grime is a style of music that emerged from Bow, East London, {{wipe|England}} in the early 2000s, primarily as a development of UK garage, drum & bass, hip hop and dancehall. Pioneers of the style include English rappers Dizzee Rascal, Wiley, Roll Deep and Skepta.

Michael Jackson's final album, ''Invincible'', released on October 30, 2001, and costing $30m to record, was the most expensive record ever made.<ref>{{cite news|last=Branigan|first=Tania|title=Jackson spends £20m to be Invincible|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/sep/08/taniabranigan|access-date=February 16, 2013|newspaper=The Guardian|date=September 8, 2001|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116044622/http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2001/sep/08/taniabranigan|archive-date=January 16, 2013}}</ref>

The end of the 2000s decade also saw the dramatic rise of new pop stars such as Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj and Lady Gaga, all of whom would go on to become some of the best-selling musicians in history.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.eventbrite.com/e/y2k-disco-taylor-swift-justin-bieber-2000s-pop-at-dreamland-tickets-153832024727 | title=Y2K Disco - Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber + 2000s Pop at Dreamland }}</ref>

The general socio-political fallout of Iraq War also extended to popular music. In July 2002, the release of English musician George Michael's song "Shoot the Dog" proved to be controversial. It was critical of George W. Bush and Tony Blair in the lead up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The video showed a cartoon version of Michael astride a nuclear missile in the Middle East and Tony and Cherie Blair in bed with President Bush. The Dixie Chicks are an American country music band. During a [[Place:London|London]] concert ten days before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, lead vocalist Maines said, "we don't want this war, this violence, and we're ashamed that the President of the United States <nowiki>[</nowiki>George W. Bush<nowiki>]</nowiki> is from Texas".<ref>Film:Shut up and Sing</ref> The positive reaction to this statement from the British audience contrasted with the [[Social:Boycott|boycott]]s that ensued in the U.S., where "the band was assaulted by talk-show conservatives",<ref name="Toronto" /> while their albums were discarded in public protest.<ref name="Toronto">{{cite news|url=https://www.today.com/popculture/dixie-chicks-shut-sing-toronto-wbna14822593|title=Dixie Chicks 'Shut Up and Sing' in Toronto|agency=Associated Press|publisher=Today.com|date=September 13, 2006|access-date=October 8, 2006}}</ref> The original music video for the title song from American pop singer Madonna's ''American Life'' album was banned as music television stations thought that the video, featuring violence and war imagery, would be deemed unpatriotic since America was then at war with Iraq. She also made her widely considered "comeback" album with her tenth studio album Confessions on a Dance Floor which topped the charts worldwide in a record 40 countries. As of 2016 the album has sold more than 11 million copies worldwide. Madonna also made history by completing her Sticky & Sweet Tour which became the highest-grossing tour by a female artist and the tenth highest-grossing tour by an artist during 2008–2009.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.ew.com/article/2003/04/01/madonna-pulls-controversial-american-life-video|title=Madonna pulls controversial ''American Life'' video|date=April 1, 2003|access-date=May 17, 2010|last=Susman|first=Gary|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328210740/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0%2C%2C439329%2C00.html|archive-date=March 28, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Live8 rome1.jpg|right|thumb|Live 8 concert in Rome, Italy, 2005]]

Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on July 2, 2005, in the [[Organization:G8|G8]] states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland from July 6 to 8, 2005; they also coincided with the 20th anniversary of Live Aid. Run in support of the aims of the UK's Make Poverty History campaign and the Global Call for Action Against Poverty, ten simultaneous concerts were held on July 2 and one on July 6. On July 7, the G8 leaders pledged to double 2004 levels of aid to poor nations from US$25 billion to US$50&nbsp;billion by the year 2010. Half of the money was to go to Africa. More than 1,000 musicians performed at the concerts, which were broadcast on 182 television networks and 2,000 radio networks.<ref name="yahoo1">{{cite web |url=https://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/cpress/20050623/ca_pr_on_en/music_live_8_cda_10 |title=Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines |access-date=November 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105225825/https://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=%2Fcpress%2F20050623%2Fca_pr_on_en%2Fmusic_live_8_cda_10 |archive-date=November 5, 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In November 2006, the Rolling Stones' 'A Bigger Bang' tour was declared the highest-grossing tour of all time, earning $437 million.

In December 2009, a campaign was launched on [[Company:Facebook|Facebook]] by Jon and Tracy Morter, from South Woodham Ferrers, which generated publicity in the UK and took the 1992 Rage Against the Machine track "Killing in the Name" to the Christmas Number One slot in the UK Singles Chart, which had been occupied the four consecutive years from 2005 by winners from the TV show The X Factor. Rage's Zack de la Rocha spoke to BBC One upon hearing the news, stating that:

"...We want to thank everyone that participated in this incredible, organic, grass-roots campaign. It says more about the spontaneous action taken by young people throughout the UK to topple this very sterile pop monopoly."

During the late 2000s, a new wave of [[Software:Chiptune|chiptune]] culture took place. This new culture has much more emphasis on live performances and record releases than the demoscene and tracker culture, of which the new artists are often only distantly aware.<ref>{{cite thesis|last=Yabsley|first= Alex|year=2007|url=http://www.tomgilmore.com.au/dotay/Thesis.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091229150415/http://www.tomgilmore.com.au/dotay/Thesis.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 29, 2009|title= The Sound of Playing: A Study into the Music and Culture of Chiptunes |place=South Brisbane |publisher=Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University }}</ref> Much of 2000s hip hop was characterized as the "bling era", following the success of B.G.'s 1999 single Bling Bling, referring to forms of opulence and the material commodities that were popular from the early-to-mid part of the decade in hip-hop culture.<ref>Del Cowie, [https://www.cbc.ca/radio/q/bling-bling-from-lil-wayne-to-merriam-webster-1.4102195 {{"'}}Bling bling': from Lil Wayne to Merriam-Webster"]. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. May 9, 2017.</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=MTV: Bling Bling - Advertisement|url=http://creativity-online.com/work/mtv-bling-bling/10129|date=July 13, 2004 |website=MTV|publisher=Creativity Online|access-date=March 24, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Bubbles and bling|url=http://www.economist.com/node/6905921|newspaper=The Economist|date=May 8, 2006|access-date=March 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903051456/http://www.economist.com/node/6905921|archive-date=September 3, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> However, by the end of the decade, an antecedent emotional rap subgenre gained prominence, with musical projects like Kanye West's fourth studio album ''808s & Heartbreak'' (2008), Kid Cudi's debut album ''Man on the Moon: The End of Day'' (2009), and Drake's career catalyzing mixtape ''So Far Gone'' (2009) garnering significant popularity and ushering in a new era of hip hop.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/kanye-west-the-college-dropout-changed-hip-hop/ | title=How Kanye West Changed Hip-Hop Forever with 'The College Dropout' | date=February 11, 2019 }}</ref>

====Reunions====
The original five members of the English new wave band Duran Duran reunited in the early 2000s.

On February 23, 2003, Simon and Garfunkel reunited to perform in public for the first time in a decade, singing "The Sound of Silence" as the opening act of the Grammy Awards.<ref>{{cite web|last=Teather|first=David|title=Simon and Garfunkel Break sound of silence|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/sep/11/arts.artsnews|work=Guardian.co.uk|date=September 11, 2003|publisher=Guardian|access-date=September 11, 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107185533/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/sep/11/arts.artsnews|archive-date=January 7, 2014}}</ref>

On May 9, 2006, British five-piece vocal pop Take That returned to the recorded music scene after more than ten years of absence, signing with Polydor Records. The band's comeback album, ''Beautiful World'', entered the UK album chart at no. 1.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Anon|title=Take That, Westlife Ascend To No. 1 On U.K. Charts|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/56572/take-that-westlife-ascend-to-no-1-on-uk-charts|magazine=Billboard|date=November 27, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130603024952/http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/56572/take-that-westlife-ascend-to-no-1-on-uk-charts|archive-date=June 3, 2013}}</ref>

On December 10, 2007, English rock band Led Zeppelin reunited for the one-off Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert at The O2 Arena in London. According to Guinness World Records 2009, Led Zeppelin set the world record for the "Highest Demand for Tickets for One Music Concert" as 20 million requests for the reunion show were rendered online.<ref>{{cite web|title=Guinness 2010 entertainment winners|url=http://tvnz.co.nz/entertainment-news/guinness-2010-entertainment-winners-3313600|work=TVNZ|access-date=December 17, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140113081939/http://tvnz.co.nz/entertainment-news/guinness-2010-entertainment-winners-3313600|archive-date=January 13, 2014}}</ref>

=== Internet ===
* Prominent websites and apps launched during the decade were [[Wikipedia]] (2001), [[Software:Google Earth|Google Earth]] (2001), [[Internet Archive]] (2001), [[Software:ITunes|iTunes]] (2001), MySpace (2003), [[Social:4chan|4chan]] (2003), [[Company:Facebook|Facebook]] (2004), [[Social:Flickr|Flickr]] (2004), [[Software:Mozilla Firefox|Mozilla Firefox]] (2004), [[Company:YouTube|YouTube]] (2005), [[Software:Google Maps|Google Maps]] (2005), [[Company:Reddit|Reddit]] (2005), [[Company:Twitter|Twitter]] (2006), [[Company:Pornhub|Pornhub]] (2007), [[Software:Google Chrome|Google Chrome]] (2008), [[Software:Spotify|Spotify]] (2008), [[Software:Waze|Waze]] (2009).
* [[Philosophy:Wisdom of the crowd|Wisdom of the crowd]] – during the decade, the benefits of the "Wisdom of the crowd" are pushed into the spotlight by social information sites such as [[Wikipedia]], Yahoo! Answers, [[Company:Reddit|Reddit]] and other web resources that rely on human opinion.<ref>Baase, Sara (2007). ''A Gift of Fire: Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues for Computing and the Internet''. 3rd edition. Prentice Hall. pp. 351–357. {{ISBN|0-13-600848-8}}.</ref>

In early 2001, [[Wikipedia]] was launched, which quickly became the largest and most popular online encyclopedia, and one of the most viewed sites on the web. In 2003, the first beta version of the [[Software:Skype|Skype]] telephony software was launched. By the end of the decade, Skype will have over 600 million users. In 2004, the social network [[Company:Facebook|Facebook]] was launched. By the end of the decade, the site will be ranked 7th in its popularity on the web, and will have over 350 million active users worldwide. Co-founder Mark Zuckerberg pictured above in the site's infancy. [[Company:YouTube|YouTube]] was launched in 2005 and it quickly became the main site for video sharing, 
MySpace was one of the most popular social media sites in the 2000s but declined after the popularity of Facebook in 2008. Facebook launched in 2004. In 2008, Facebook surpassed MySpace as the most used social network. Facebook was mostly used by college students. [[Company:Twitter|Twitter]] was founded in 2006, and by 2009, moved up to the third-highest-ranking social networking site. [[Software:WhatsApp|WhatsApp]], founded in 2009, rose to success and was eventually purchased by Facebook in the next decade.

===Fashion===
[[File:Paris Hilton at Sundance Film Festival 2008.jpg|thumb|150px|Paris Hilton was a fashion icon of the 2000s.]]
[[File:Mtdew.png|thumb|150px|Mountain Dew bottles and cans from the 2000s decade, c. 2007  ]]

Fashion trends of the decade drew much inspiration from 1960s, 1970s and 1980s styles. Hair styles included the bleached and spiked hair for boys and men and long and straight hair for girls and women continued, as well as many other hairstyles from the mid-late 1990s. Kelly Clarkson made chunky highlights fashionable in 2002 on American Idol and lasted until about 2007. Both women and men highlighted their hair until the late 2000s.<ref name="2000sBeautyTrends">{{cite web|url=http://www.bellasugar.com/Beauty-Trends-2000s-6684357#photo-6712386|title=Beauty Trends of the 2000s|access-date=August 15, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413171531/http://www.bellasugar.com/Beauty-Trends-2000s-6684357#photo-6712386|archive-date=April 13, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The decade started with the futuristic Y2K fashion which was built on hype surrounding the new millennium. This dark, slinky style remained popular until 9/11 occurred and casual fashions had made a comeback once again.<ref>{{cite web|last=Brillson|first=Leila|url=http://www.refinery29.com/millennial-trends#page-2|title=Millennial Trends – Clothing Popular in the 2000s|publisher=refinery29.com|date=February 26, 2013|access-date=August 15, 2014}}</ref> Baggy cargo pants were extremely popular among both sexes<ref>{{cite web|url=http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Jan/24/il/il01a.html|title=Lookin' good in cargo pants|access-date=August 15, 2014}}</ref> throughout the early and mid 2000s until about late 2007. Bell-bottoms were the dominant pant style for women until about 2006 when fitted pants began rising in popularity.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2011254_2014381_2014372,00.html|title=Skinny Jean|magazine=Time|date=December 20, 2006|access-date=August 15, 2014}}</ref> The late 1990s-style baggy pants remained popular throughout the early 2000s, but by 2003 boot-cut pants and jeans became the standard among men<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fashionencyclopedia.com/fashion_costume_culture/Modern-World-1980-2003/Baggy-Jeans.html|title=Baggy Jeans|access-date=August 15, 2014}}</ref> until about 2008.

The 2000s saw a revival of 1980s fashion trends such as velour tracksuits in the early 2000s (an early 1980s fashion), and tapered pants in the later years (a late 1980s fashion). Skinny jeans became a staple clothing for young women and men. By 2009 with the Jerkin' movement playing a large part in the popularization of skinny jeans. Mass brands Gap and Levi launched their own lines for skinny jeans.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124683780090998061
|title=Tight Squeeze: Making Room For a New Men's Fashion|last=Smith|first=Ray A.
|date=July 6, 2009|work=The Wall Street Journal|location=New York| access-date=November 30, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130604044903/http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124683780090998061.html|archive-date=June 4, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.latimesmagazine.com/2010/06/jerkin-jeneration.html|title=Jerkin' Jeneration|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=May 31, 2014}}</ref>

Throughout the early and mid 2000s, adults and children wore [[Company:Skechers|Skechers]] shoes.<ref name="SkechersAds">{{cite web|url=http://www.bwgreyscale.com/ads/skechers_sport.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040911164933/http://www.bwgreyscale.com/ads/skechers_sport.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 11, 2004|title=Skechers Sport Advertisements|access-date=August 15, 2014 }}</ref> The company used many celebrities to their advantage, including Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Carrie Underwood, and Ashlee Simpson.<ref name="SkechersAds" /> By the late 2000s, flatter and more compact shoes came into style as chunky sneakers were no longer the mode.

"[[Social:Geek|Geek]] chic" refers to a minor fashion trend that arose in the mid-2000s in which young individuals adopted stereotypically "geeky" fashions, such as oversized black Horn-rimmed glasses, suspenders/braces, and highwater trousers. The glasses—worn with non-prescription lenses or without lenses—quickly became the defining aspect of the trend, with the media identifying various celebrities as "trying geek" or "going geek" for their wearing such glasses, such as David Beckham,<ref>{{cite journal |id={{ProQuest|228109028}} |last1=Vincent |first1=John |last2=Hill |first2=John S |last3=Lee |first3=Jason W |title=The Multiple Brand Personalities of David Beckham: A Case Study of the Beckham Brand |journal=Sport Marketing Quarterly |volume=18 |issue=3 |date=September 2009 |pages=173–180 }}</ref> Justin Timberlake<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Keogh |first=Brendan |title=Hackers, gamers and cyborgs |url=https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/ielapa.258201213140608 |journal=Overland |issue=218 |pages=17–22 |oclc=7128481787 }}</ref> and Myleene Klass.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://uk.stylelist.com/2010/08/31/hot-or-not-myleene-klass-does-geek-chic-in-spectacles/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100922120117/http://uk.stylelist.com/2010/08/31/hot-or-not-myleene-klass-does-geek-chic-in-spectacles/|url-status=dead|title=Yahoo|archive-date=September 22, 2010|website=uk.stylelist.com}}</ref> Meanwhile, in the sports world, many NBA players wore "geek glasses" during post-game interviews, drawing comparisons to Steve Urkel.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V0330Drfkk|title=Whacky NBA Playoff Fashion!|publisher=YouTube|access-date=June 26, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221160729/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V0330Drfkk|archive-date=February 21, 2014}}</ref><ref name="wsj-nba">{{cite news|last=Cacciola|first=Scott|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303822204577466402604980564?mod=WSJ_article_MoreIn_TheA-Hed|title=NBA Finals: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Other Fashion Plates of the NBA Make Specs of Themselves – WSJ.com|publisher=Online.wsj.com|date=June 14, 2012|access-date=June 26, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130922081154/http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303822204577466402604980564.html?mod=WSJ_article_MoreIn_TheA-Hed|archive-date=September 22, 2013 }}</ref>

Emo fashion became popular amongst teenagers for most of the 2000s, associated with the success of bands tied to the subculture (many of whom started at the beginning of the 2000s and rose to fame during the middle part of the decade, such as Brand New, The Used, Hawthorne Heights, My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, Paramore, Panic! at the Disco and more). The style is commonly identified with wearing black/dark coloured skinny jeans, T-shirts bearing the name of emo music groups and long side-swept bangs, often covering one or both eyes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.soemo.co.uk/emo%20fashion.php|title=Emo Scene Fashion Including Emo Hair, Clothing, Makeup & Accessories|publisher=Soemo.co.uk|access-date=February 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140224221226/http://www.soemo.co.uk/emo%20fashion.php|archive-date=February 24, 2014}}</ref> The Scene subculture that emerged in the mid-late 2000s drew much inspiration from Emo style.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/news/national/scene-kids-are-like-so-not-wannabe-emos/2008/03/29/1206207488553.html|title=Inside the clash of the teen subcultures|work=smh.com.au|date=March 30, 2008}}</ref>

Hip hop fashion was popular throughout the 2000s with clothing and shoe brands such as Rocawear, Phat Farm, G-Unit clothing, Billionaire Boys Club, Dipset clothing, Pelle Pelle, BAPE, [[Company:Nike, Inc.|Nike]], Fubu, and Air Jordan. Followers of Hip Hop wore oversized shorts, jewelry, NFL and NBA jerseys, pants, and T-shirts. By the late 2000s this gave way more to fitted and vibrantly colored clothing, with men wearing skinny jeans as influenced by the Hyphy and Jerkin' movements.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hip-Hop's New Steps|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/fashion/22jerking.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|date=June 4, 2014}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=June 2014}}

In cosmetic applications, a Botox injection, consisting of a small dose of [[Biology:Botulinum toxin|Botulinum toxin]], can be used to prevent development of wrinkles by paralyzing facial muscles.<ref name="bcm">{{cite web |title=Botox for Wrinkles |url=https://www.bcm.edu/healthcare/specialties/aesthetics/face-neck/botox-for-wrinkles |work=Baylor College of Medicine }}</ref> As of 2007, it is the most common cosmetic operation, with 4.6 million procedures in the United States, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

<gallery widths="190" perrow="5">
File:Hüfthose.jpg|Caps with crop tops and low-rise pants were popular as women's wear throughout the early and mid 2000s
File:Emo-hairstyle.jpg|Typical 2000s emo hairstyle
File:K. West (cropped).jpg|Cardigans regained popularity in the later part of the decade, worn here by Kanye West in 2007
File:Aaliyah-11-mika.jpg|Bandanas, large hoop earrings and wireframe rectangle sunglasses were fashion trends in the early-2000s, as modeled here by R&B artist Aaliyah in 2000
File:50 Cent (Cropped).jpg|Durags, snapbacks and polo shirts were popular in the 2000s as men's wear, shown here by rapper [[Biography:50 Cent|50 Cent]] in 2006
Image:Truckerhat.jpg|Trucker hats became popular in the early-to-mid 2000s
File:Jared Leto - 66ème Festival de Venise.jpg|Jared Leto wearing slim-fit formal wear, popular from 2008 onwards
File:Sportskor. Grå sko från Dockers och röd sko från Lipstick, hösten 2000 - Nordiska Museet - NMA.0034894.jpg|Chunky sneakers of the early 2000s
</gallery>

===Journalism===
* "It was, we were soon told, 'the day that changed everything', the 21st century's defining moment, the watershed by which we would forever divide world history: before, and after, 9/11." ~ ''{{wipe|The Guardian}}''<ref>{{cite news|last=Henley|first=Jon|title=Was 9/11 really the day that changed the world for ever?|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/sep/09/9-11-changed-world-forever|quote=It was, we were soon told, "the day that changed everything", the 21st century's defining moment, the watershed by which we would forever |access-date=February 25, 2013|location=London|date=September 9, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013074730/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/09/9-11-changed-world-forever|archive-date=October 13, 2012}}</ref>
* The BBC's foreign correspondent John Simpson on Rupert Murdoch (March 15, 2010): {{blockquote|I do think that he and the newspapers he's run have introduced an uglier side, an abusive side, into journalism and life in general in this country.}} He says this Murdochisation of national discourse, which was at its height in the UK with ''The Sun'' in the 1980s, has now migrated to the US. "Murdoch encouraged an ugly tone, which he has now imported into the US and which we see every day on Fox News, with all its concomitant effects on American public life – that fierce hostility between right and left that never used to be there, not to anything remotely like the same extent."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Moss |first1=Stephen |title=John Simpson: 'I'm very pessimistic about the future of the BBC' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/mar/15/john-simpson-bbc-murdoch-journalism |work=The Guardian |date=15 March 2010 }}</ref>
* October 2001, Canadian author and social activist known for her political analyses [[Biography:Naomi Klein|Naomi Klein]]'s book titled ''Fences and Windows'': {{blockquote|On September 11, [2001] watching TV replays of the buildings exploding over and over again in New York and Washington, I couldn't help thinking about all the times media coverage has protected us from similar horrors elsewhere. During the Gulf War, for instance, we didn't see real buildings exploding or people fleeing, we saw a sterile Space Invader battlefield, a bomb's-eye view of concrete targets – there and then none. Who was in those abstract polygons? We never found out.<ref>{{cite book|last=KLEIN|first=NAOMI|title=FENCES AND WINDOWS|year=2002|publisher=Flamingo |isbn=978-0-00-715047-2|page=165}}</ref>}}
* May 15, 2003, Fox News Channel's (which grew during the late 1990s and 2000s to become the dominant cable news network in the United States.<ref>Gillette, Felix (October 1, 2008). [https://web.archive.org/web/20081003183854/http://www.observer.com/2008/media/viewers-continuing-flock-cable-news-networks "Viewers Continuing to Flock to Cable News Networks"]. ''The New York Observer''.</ref>) political commentator Bill O'Reilly's "The Talking Points Memo", from his The O'Reilly Factor television talk show: {{blockquote|So, Talking Points urges the Pentagon to stop the P.R. dance and impose strict rules of conduct for the Iraqi people to follow. Law-abiding Iraqis want that. It's only the gangsters and the fanatics who don't. Shoot looters to kill, and aim well.<br />And that's ''The Memo''.<ref>{{cite news|last=O'Reilly|first=Bill|title=Shoot to Kill|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,86967,00.html|work=Fox News Network, LLC|date=15 May 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524090610/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0%2C2933%2C86967%2C00.html|archive-date=24 May 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>}}
* A poll released in 2004, by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, found that 21 percent of people aged 18 to 29 cited ''The Daily Show'' (an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday) and ''Saturday Night Live'' (an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show) as a place where they regularly learned presidential campaign news. By contrast, 23 percent of the young people mentioned ABC, CBS or NBC's nightly news broadcasts as a source. When the same question was asked in 2000, Pew found only 9 percent of young people pointing to the comedy shows, and 39 percent to the network news shows. One newspaper, ''Newsday'', has ''<nowiki>The Daily Show'</nowiki>''s host Jon Stewart, listed atop a list of the 20 media players who will most influence the upcoming presidential campaign. Random conversations with nine people, aged 19 to 26, waiting to see a taping of ''The Daily Show'', revealed two who admitted they learned much about the news from the program. None said they regularly watched the network evening news shows.<ref>{{cite web|title=And now the news: For many young viewers, it's Jon Stewart|url=http://www.today.com/id/4400644/site/todayshow/ns/today-entertainment/t/now-news-many-young-viewers-its-jon-stewart/|work=NBC News|date=March 2004 |access-date=February 23, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217071445/http://www.today.com/id/4400644/site/todayshow/ns/today-entertainment/t/now-news-many-young-viewers-its-jon-stewart/|archive-date=December 17, 2013}}</ref>
* ''{{wipe|The Guardian}}'', is a British national daily newspaper. In August 2004, for the US presidential election, ''<nowiki>The Guardian'</nowiki>''s daily "G2" supplement launched an experimental letter-writing campaign in Clark County, Ohio, an average-sized county in a swing state. G2 editor Ian Katz bought a voter list from the county for $25 and asked readers to write to people listed as undecided in the election, giving them an impression of the international view and the importance of voting against US President George W. Bush. The paper scrapped "Operation Clark County" on October 21, 2004, after first publishing a column of complaints from Bush supporters about the campaign under the headline "Dear Limey assholes".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uselections2004/story/0,13918,1329858,00.html|title=Dear Limey assholes|access-date=May 13, 2008|work=The Guardian|location=London|date=October 18, 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071228213924/http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections2004/story/0%2C13918%2C1329858%2C00.html|archive-date=December 28, 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> The public backlash against the campaign likely contributed to Bush's victory in Clark County.<ref name="bowers">Bowers, Andy. "[http://www.slate.com/id/2109217/ 'Dear Limey Assholes&nbsp;...'/A crazy British plot to swing Ohio to Kerry—and how it backfired.]" ''Slate'', November 4, 2004. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511092638/http://www.slate.com/id/2109217/|date=May 11, 2011 }}</ref>
* March 2005 – Twenty MPs signed a British House of Commons motion condemning the BBC ''Newsnight'' presenter Jeremy Paxman for saying that "a sort of Scottish Raj" was running the UK. Mr Paxman likened the dominance of Scots at Westminster to past British rule in India.<ref>{{cite news|title=Scots MPs slam Paxman 'Raj' jibe|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4350233.stm|work=BBC|access-date=February 25, 2013|date=March 15, 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170812174742/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4350233.stm|archive-date=August 12, 2017}}</ref>
* August 1, 2007 – News Corp. and Dow Jones entered into a definitive merger agreement. The US$5 billion sale added the largest newspaper in the United States, by circulation ''{{wipe|The Wall Street Journal}}'' to Rupert Murdoch's news empire.
* August 30, 2008 – three years before the 2011 England riots, ''The Socialist Worker'' wrote: "Those who have responded to the tragedy of knife crime by calling for police crackdowns ought to take note. The criminalisation of a generation of black youth will undoubtedly lead to explosions of anger in the future, just as it did a generation ago with the riots that swept Britain's inner cities."<ref>{{cite news|last=Prasad, Assaf and Basketter|first=Yuri, Simon and Simon|title=Notting Hill Carnival crackdown targets young black men|url=http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=15831|newspaper=Socialist Worker|access-date=February 26, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520233036/http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=15831|archive-date=May 20, 2013}}</ref>
* [[Biography:Ann Coulter|Ann Coulter]] is an American conservative [[Social:Social criticism|social]] and political commentator, eight-time best-selling author, syndicated columnist, and lawyer. She frequently appears on television, radio, and as a speaker at public and private events. As the 2008 US presidential campaign was getting under way, Coulter was criticised for statements she made at the 2007 Conservative Political Action Conference about presidential candidate John Edwards:<ref name="Bradley_Tahman">{{cite news|last=Bradley|first=Tahman|title=Controversial Columnist Draws Fire for Anti-Gay Slur|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=2924630&page=1|access-date=September 27, 2011|newspaper=ABC News|date=March 5, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130929180802/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=2924630|archive-date=September 29, 2013}}</ref><ref name="CNN_edwards_faggot_comment">{{cite news|title=Coulter under fire for anti-gay slur|url=https://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/03/04/coulter.edwards/|access-date=September 27, 2011|newspaper=CNN|date=March 4, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121002160349/http://articles.cnn.com/2007-03-04/politics/coulter.edwards_1_anti-gay-slur-neil-g-giuliano-ann-coulter?_s=PM%3APOLITICS|archive-date=October 2, 2012}}</ref>{{blockquote|I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate, John Edwards, but it turns out that you have to go into rehab if you use the word 'faggot,' so I'm... so, kind of at an impasse, can't really talk about Edwards, so I think I'll just conclude here and take your questions.}}
* In December 2008, ''{{wipe|Time (magazine)}}'' magazine named [[Biography:Barack Obama|Barack Obama]] as its Person of the Year for his historic candidacy and election, which it described as "the steady march of seemingly impossible accomplishments".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Von Drehle|first=David|title=Why History Can't Wait|url=http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1861543_1865068_1867013,00.html|magazine={{wipe|Time (magazine)}}|date=December 16, 2008|access-date=December 17, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217223841/http://www.time.com/time/specials/2008/personoftheyear/article/0%2C31682%2C1861543_1865068%2C00.html|archive-date=December 17, 2008}}</ref>

===Print media===
* The decade saw the steady decline of sales of print media such as books, magazines, and newspapers, as the main conveyors of information and advertisements, in favor of the Internet and other digital forms of information.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/business/media/28circ.html|work={{wipe|The New York Times}}|first=Richard|last=Pérez-Peña|title=Newspaper Circulation Continues to Decline Rapidly|date=October 28, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130911173109/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/business/media/28circ.html|archive-date=September 11, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Metz|first=Rachel|url=https://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2009-04-27-newspaper-circulation_N.htm|title=Newspaper circulation decline picks up speed|work=[[Software:USA Today|USA Today]]|date=April 27, 2009|access-date=February 11, 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://www.newspaperdeathwatch.com/ Newspaperdeathwatch.com], ''The Death of Newspapers''. Retrieved December 4, 2009. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131025131610/http://www.newspaperdeathwatch.com/|date=October 25, 2013 }}</ref>
* News blogs grew in readership and popularity; cable news and other online media outlets became competitive in attracting advertising revenues and capable journalists and writers are joining online organizations. Books became available online, and electronic devices such as [[Engineering:Amazon Kindle|Amazon Kindle]] threatened the popularity of printed books.<ref>[https://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2007/12/24/071224crat_atlarge_crain The New Yorker] Caleb Crain, ''Twilight of the Books''. Retrieved December 4, 2009. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140330174715/http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2007/12/24/071224crat_atlarge_crain|date=March 30, 2014 }}</ref><ref>[http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article6236384.ece Times Online], ''The decline and fall of books''. Retrieved December 4, 2009. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090509075146/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article6236384.ece|date=May 9, 2009 }}</ref>
* According to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the decade showed a continuous increase in reading, although circulation of newspapers has declined.<ref>{{cite press release|author=National Endowment for the Arts|url=http://www.nea.gov/news/news09/readingonrise.html|title=More American Adults Read Literature According to New NEA Study|publisher=NEA.gov|date=January 12, 2009|access-date=February 14, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130902085934/http://www.nea.gov/news/news09/readingonrise.html|archive-date=September 2, 2013}}</ref>

===Radio===
The 2000s saw a decrease in the popularity of radio as more listeners starting using MP3 players in their cars to customize driving music. [[Physics:Satellite radio|Satellite radio]] receivers started selling at a much higher rate, which allowed listeners to pay a subscription fee for thousands of ad-free stations. Clear Channel Communications was the largest provider of radio entertainment in the United States with over 900 stations nationwide. Many radio stations began [[Engineering:Streaming media|streaming]] their content over the Internet, allowing a market expansion far beyond the reaches of a radio transmitter.

During the 2000s, FM radio faced its toughest competition ever for in-car entertainment. [[Engineering:IPod|iPod]], satellite radio, and HD radio were all new options for commuters. [[CD player]]s had a steady decline in popularity throughout the 2000s but stayed prevalent in most vehicles, while cassette tapes became virtually obsolete.
* August 27, 2001 – Hot 97 shock jock Star (real name Troi Torain) was suspended indefinitely for mocking R&B singer Aaliyah's death on the air. by playing a tape of a woman screaming while a crash is heard in the background. Close to 32,000 people signed a "No More Star" online petition.<ref>{{cite news|title=STAR FALLS FASTER AFTER AALIYAH 'JOKE'|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/gossip/star-falls-faster-aaliyah-joke-article-1.929910|work=New York Daily News|access-date=February 19, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219174942/http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/gossip/star-falls-faster-aaliyah-joke-article-1.929910|archive-date=December 19, 2013}}</ref>
* In a 2008 edition of his (American) radio show, John Gibson commented on Australian actor Heath Ledger's death the day before. He opened the segment with funeral music and played a clip of Jake Gyllenhaal's famous line "I wish I knew how to quit you" from Ledger's film ''Brokeback Mountain''; he then said "Well, I guess he found out how to quit ''you''." Among other remarks, Gibson called Ledger a "weirdo" with "a serious drug problem".<ref>[https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/23/fox-host-john-gibson-mock_n_82962.html "Fox Host John Gibson Mocks Heath Ledger's Death"] ''Huffington Post''. January 23, 2008. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091213064300/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/23/fox-host-john-gibson-mock_n_82962.html|date=December 13, 2009 }}</ref> The next day, he addressed outcry over his remarks by saying that they were in the context of jokes he had been making for months about ''Brokeback Mountain'', and that "There's no point in passing up a good joke."<ref>''The John Gibson Show'', Fox News Radio, January 25, 2008.</ref> Gibson later apologized on his television and radio shows.<ref>''The Big Story'', Fox News, January 24, 2008</ref><ref>''The John Gibson Show'', Fox News Radio, January 24, 2008</ref>

===Television===
{{See also|2000s in television}}'''Live-action television'''
[[File:American Idol Experience - Disney's Hollywood Studios (3375313843).jpg|thumb|220px|The television genre Reality TV gained massive popularity in America over the decade with reality TV programs such as ''Survivor'',''The Simple Life'',  ''Jersey Shore'', ''American Idol'' (pictured) and ''Big Brother'', for which local adaptations were produced in many countries]]
American television in the 2000s saw the sharp increase in popularity of reality television, with numerous competition shows such as ''American Idol'', ''Dancing with the Stars'', ''Survivor'' and ''The Apprentice'' attracting large audiences, as well as documentary or narrative style shows such as ''Big Brother'', ''The Hills'', ''The Real Housewives'', ''Cheaters'', among many others. ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians'' also aired during the decade, in 2007, and would run for 14 years and 20 seasons, thrusting the Kardashian family into the global pop-culture spotlight. ''Chappelle's Show'' was one of the most popular comedy shows of the decade. Upon its release in 2004, the first-season DVD set became the best-selling TV series set of all time.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chappelle's Show DVD news: S1 DVD Passes The Simpsons As #1 All-Time TV-DVD; Celebrates by Announcing Season 2! |url=http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=2338 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070815181100/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=2338 |archive-date=August 15, 2007 |access-date=2021-07-11 |publisher=TV Shows On DVD |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

Australian television in the 2000s also saw a sharp increase in popularity of reality television, with their own version of shows such as ''Big Brother'' and ''Dancing With The Stars'', other shows in the country also saw an increase with comedy such as Spicks and Specks and game show Bert's Family Feud.

The decade has since seen a steady decline in the number of sitcoms and an increase in reality shows, crime and medical dramas, such as ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', ''House M.D.'', and ''Grey's Anatomy'', paranormal/crime shows like ''Medium'' (2005–2011) and ''Ghost Whisperer'' (2005–2010), and action/drama shows, including ''24'' and ''Lost''. Comedy-dramas became more serious, dealing with such hot button issues, such as drugs, teenage pregnancy, and gay rights. Popular comedy-drama programs include ''Desperate Housewives'', ''Ugly Betty'', and ''Glee''.

Although there were less in this decade than there were in the 1990s, the 2000s still saw many popular and notable sitcoms, including ''3rd Rock from the Sun'', ''Two Guys and a Girl'', ''Just Shoot Me!'', ''The Drew Carey Show'', ''Frasier'', ''Friends'', ''That '70s Show'', ''Becker'', ''Spin City'', ''Dharma & Greg'', ''Will & Grace'', ''Yes, Dear'', ''According to Jim'', ''8 Simple Rules'', ''Less than Perfect'', ''Still Standing'', ''George Lopez'', ''Grounded for Life'', ''Hope & Faith'', ''My Wife and Kids'', ''Sex and the City'', ''Everybody Loves Raymond'', ''Malcolm in the Middle'', ''Girlfriends'', ''The King of Queens'', ''Arrested Development'', ''How I Met Your Mother'', ''Scrubs'', ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', ''What I Like About You'', ''Reba'', ''The Office'', ''Entourage'', ''My Name Is Earl'', ''Everybody Hates Chris'', ''The New Adventures of Old Christine'', ''Rules of Engagement'', ''Two and a Half Men'', '''Til Death'', ''The Big Bang Theory'', ''Samantha Who?'', ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'', and ''30 Rock'', among many others. A trend seen in several sitcoms of the late 2000s was the absence of a [[Engineering:Laugh track|laugh track]].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Schimkowitz |first1=Matt |date=2014-10-08 |title=Who's Laughing Now? The History of the Sitcom Laugh Track |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2014/10/whos-laughing-now-the-history-of-the-sitcom-laugh-track-69284/ |access-date=2020-06-18 |website=IndieWire |language=en}}</ref>

The decade also saw the rise of premium cable dramas such as ''The Sopranos'', ''The Wire'', ''Battlestar Galactica'', ''Deadwood'', ''Mad Men'', and ''Breaking Bad''. The critic Daniel Mendelsohn wrote a critique of ''Mad Men''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mendelsohn |first=Daniel |date=February 24, 2011 |title=The Mad Men Account |url=https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2011/02/24/mad-men-account/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327230914/http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2011/feb/24/mad-men-account/?pagination=false |archive-date=March 27, 2014 |via=www.nybooks.com}}</ref> in which he also claimed this last decade was a golden age for episodic television, citing ''Battlestar Galactica'', ''The Wire'', and the network series ''Friday Night Lights'' as especially deserving of critical and popular attention.

The decade also saw the return of prime time soap operas, a genre that had been popular in the 1980s and early 1990s, including ''Dawson's Creek'' (1998–2003), ''The O.C.'' (2003–2007) and ''One Tree Hill'' (2003–2012). ''Desperate Housewives'' (2004–2012) was perhaps the most popular television series of this genre since ''Dallas'' and ''Dynasty'' in the 1980s;
''ER'' started in 1994 and ended its run in 2009, after 15 years.

'''Animated shows'''

Adult-oriented animated programming also continued a sharp upturn in popularity with controversial cartoons like *''South Park'' (1997–present), ''[[Religion:Family Guy|Family Guy]]'' (1999–2002, 2005–present) and ''Futurama'' (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2023–present) along with the longtime running cartoon ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), while new animated adult series were also produced in that decade such as ''American Dad!'', ''Aqua Teen Hunger Force'', ''[[Social:Robot Chicken|Robot Chicken]]'', ''Archer'', ''Drawn Together'', ''The Cleveland Show'', ''Sealab 2021'' and ''Total Drama''.

Other animated programs debuting and achieving popularity in that decade included ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'', ''[[Social:SpongeBob SquarePants|SpongeBob SquarePants]]'' (1999–present), ''Teen Titans'', ''Phineas and Ferb'', ''Kim Possible'', ''The Fairly OddParents'', ''Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends'', ''Ben 10'', ''Samurai Jack'', ''Invader Zim'', ''Courage the Cowardly Dog'', ''Codename: Kids Next Door'', ''Eon Kid'' and ''Star Wars: The Clone Wars''.

'''Sports channels'''

The [[Company:WWE|WWE]] made a split in 2002 for the brands Raw and Smackdown!, also known as the WWE Brand Extension. This resulted in the WWE's purchase of their two biggest competitors, WCW and ECW. The brand extension would last until 2011. It also saw the rise of popular wrestlers like John Cena, Randy Orton, Dave Bautista, Jeff Hardy, CM Punk, Chris Jericho, Edge and Brock Lesnar. The match between veteran wrestlers Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 24 in 2008 was named as the "match of the decade" by popular professional wrestling magazine Pro Wrestling Illustrated.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.rfgolds.com/matchofthedecade.htm?__cf_chl_tk=X1XcTs9JYZ1VUqoPSWfK3mCHR27TqEHpC3GG8qdaH0M-1647678350-0-gaNycGzNCKU | title=A Tribute to the "Nature Boy" Ric Flair | access-date=March 19, 2022 | archive-date=March 26, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220326033101/https://www.rfgolds.com/matchofthedecade.htm?__cf_chl_tk=X1XcTs9JYZ1VUqoPSWfK3mCHR27TqEHpC3GG8qdaH0M-1647678350-0-gaNycGzNCKU | url-status=dead }}</ref> Pro Wrestling Illustrated would also name veteran wrestler Triple H as the wrestler of the decade.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Triple H: Wrestler of the Decade|date=February 2010|journal=Pro Wrestling Illustrated|volume=31|issue=2}}</ref>

The 2001 World Series between the New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks became the first World Series to be played in the wake of the [[Religion:September 11 attacks|September 11 attacks]]. Super Bowl XXXVI between the New England Patriots and the St. Louis Rams became the first Super Bowl to be played in the wake of the [[Religion:September 11 attacks|September 11 attacks]].

'''Criticism and controversy'''

Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy:
Super Bowl XXXVIII, which was broadcast live on February 1, 2004, from Houston, Texas, on the CBS television network in the United States, was noted for a controversial halftime show in which singer Janet Jackson's breast, adorned with a nipple shield, was exposed by singer Justin Timberlake for about half a second, in what was later referred to as a "wardrobe malfunction". The incident, sometimes referred to as Nipplegate, was widely discussed. Along with the rest of the halftime show, it led to an immediate crackdown and widespread debate on perceived indecency in broadcasting.{{Citation needed|date=February 2013}}

The ''X Factor'' in the UK has been subject to much controversy and criticism since its launch in September 2004.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Welsh |first1=Daniel |date=August 16, 2016 |title=20 Controversial Moments That Rocked 'The X Factor' |work=HuffPost |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/x-factor-controversial-moments-video_uk_57b30e9ee4b0730aab647f79}}</ref>

January 2005 – ''Jerry Springer: The Opera'' was the subject of controversy, when its UK television broadcast on BBC Two elicited 55,000 complaints. The most complained about television event ever.<ref>{{cite news|last=Thorpe|first=Vanessa|title=F***you, says BBC as 50,000 rage at Spr*ng*r|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/jan/09/broadcasting.religion|access-date=February 16, 2013|newspaper=The Observer|date=January 9, 2005|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013012114/http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2005/jan/09/broadcasting.religion|archive-date=October 13, 2012}}</ref>

In May 2005, UK viewers inundated the Advertising Standards Authority with complaints regarding the continuous airing of the latest [[Social:Crazy Frog|Crazy Frog]] advertisements. The intensity of the advertising was unprecedented in British television history. According to ''{{wipe|The Guardian}}'', Jamster bought 73,716 spots across all TV channels in May alone&nbsp;— an average of nearly 2,378 slots daily&nbsp;— at a cost of about £8&nbsp;million, just under half of which was spent on ITV. 87% of the population saw the Crazy Frog adverts an average of 26 times, 15% of the adverts appeared twice during the same advertising break and 66% were in consecutive ad breaks. An estimated 10% of the population saw the advert more than 60 times. This led to many members of the population finding the crazy frog, as its original name suggests, immensely irritating.<ref>(source: ''Media Guardian'', June 20, 2005)</ref>

Blue Peter (the world's longest-running children's television programme) rigged a phone-in competition supporting the UNICEF "Shoe Biz Appeal" on November 27, 2006. The person who appeared to be calling in the competition was actually a ''Blue Peter'' Team Player who was visiting that day. The visitor pretended to be a caller from an outside line who had won the phone-in and the chance to select a prize. The competition was rigged due to a technical error with receiving the calls.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/mar/15/broadcastingethics.bbc|title=Blue Peter admits rigging phone-in competition after technical hitch|work=The Guardian|date=March 15, 2007|location=London|first=Owen|last=Gibson|access-date=April 26, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114070052/http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/mar/15/broadcastingethics.bbc|archive-date=November 14, 2012}}</ref> In July 2007, ''Blue Peter'' was given a £50,000 fine, by the Office of Communications (OFCOM) as a result of rigging the competition.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/broadcasting/a64932/ofcom-fines-bbc-gbp50000-over-blue-peter.html|title=Ofcom fines BBC £50,000 over ''Blue Peter''|website=Digital Spy|date=July 9, 2007|access-date=September 6, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090413022248/http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/broadcasting/a64932/ofcom-fines-bbc-gbp50000-over-blue-peter.html|archive-date=April 13, 2009}}</ref>

''I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!'' is a reality television game show series, originally created in the {{wipe|United Kingdom}}, and licensed globally to other countries.
In its 2009 series, celebrity chef Gino D'Acampo killed, cooked and ate a rat. The Australian RSPCA investigated the incident and sought to prosecute D'Acampo and actor Stuart Manning for [[Philosophy:Cruelty to animals|animal cruelty]] after this episode of the show was aired. ITV was fined £1,600 and the two celebrities involved were not prosecuted for animal cruelty despite being charged with the offense by the New South Wales Police.

====Ended series====
The PBS series ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' aired its final episode on August 31, 2001. Two years later, its host and creator, Fred Rogers, died from stomach cancer.

''Law & Order'' was a police procedural drama that premiered on NBC on September 13, 1990, and ran for 20 seasons. The show aired its series finale ("Rubber Room") on May 24, 2010.

''Tomorrow's World'' was a long-running BBC television series, showcasing new developments in the world of science and technology. First aired on July 7, 1965, on BBC1, it ran for 38 years until it was cancelled in early 2003.

''That '70s Show'' was an American television period sitcom based on the 1970s decade. The 1970s retro style permeated the 2000s decade. The show ended on May 18, 2006.

''Brookside'' is a British soap opera set in Liverpool, {{wipe|England}}. The series began on the launch night of Channel 4 on November 2, 1982, and ran for 21 years until November 4, 2003.

In January 2004, the BBC cancelled the ''Kilroy'' show (which had run for 18 years), after an article entitled 'We owe Arabs nothing' written by its host Robert Kilroy-Silk was published in the Sunday Express tabloid newspaper.

''Friends'' is an American sitcom which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004. Friends received positive reviews throughout its run, and its series finale ("The Last One") ranked as the fifth most watched overall television series finale as well as the most watched single television episode of the 2000s on U.S. television.

''The X-Files'' was a science fiction television series which aired for nine seasons on Fox that premiered on September 10, 1993. The show aired its series finale ("The Truth") on May 19, 2002.

''Frasier'', a spin-off TV series of ''Cheers'' (that ended in 1993), is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004, (only a week after the broadcast of the final episode of ''Friends''). It was one of the most successful spin-off and popular series in television history, as well as one of the most critically acclaimed comedy series.

On June 20, 2006, after 42 years, British music chart show ''Top of the Pops'' was formally cancelled and it was announced that the last edition would be broadcast on July 30, 2006.

''Grandstand'' is a British television sport program. Broadcast between 1958 and 2007, it was one of the BBC's longest running sports shows.

After 30 years, British television drama series ''Grange Hill'' (originally made by the BBC) was cancelled and the last episode was shown on September 15, 2008.

''ER'' is a medical drama that premiered on NBC on September 19, 1994, and ran for 15 seasons. The show aired its series finale ("And in the End...") on April 2, 2009.

====Series returns====
The ''Flower Pot Men'' is a British children's programme, produced by BBC television, first transmitted in 1952, and repeated regularly for more than twenty years, which was produced in a new version in 2000.

''Absolutely Fabulous'', also known as Ab Fab, is a British sitcom.
The show has had an extended and sporadic run. The first three series were broadcast on the BBC from 1992 to 1995, followed by a series finale in the form of a two-part television film entitled The Last Shout in 1996. Its creator Jennifer Saunders revived the show for a fourth series in 2001.

''Gadget and the Gadgetinis'' is a spinoff of the classic series ''Inspector Gadget'' (1983–1986), developed by DiC in cooperation with Haim Saban's SIP Animation and produced from 2001 to 2003. There are 52 episodes.

Basil Brush from 1962 to 1984, ''The Basil Brush Show'' from 2002 to 2007.
Basil Brush is a fictional anthropomorphic red fox, best known for his appearances on daytime British children's television. He is primarily portrayed by a glove puppet.

''Shooting Stars'' is a British television comedy panel game broadcast on BBC Two as a pilot in 1993, then as 3 full series from 1995 to 1997, then on BBC Choice from January to December 2002 with 2 series before returning to BBC Two for another 3 series from 2008 until its cancellation in 2011.

''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The show is a significant part of British popular culture.
The programme originally ran from 1963 to 1989. After an unsuccessful attempt to revive regular production in 1996 with a backdoor pilot in the form of a television film, the programme was relaunched in 2005.

''Family Fortunes'' is a British game show, based on the American game show ''Family Feud''. The programme ran on ITV from January 6, 1980, to December 6, 2002, before being revived by the same channel in 2006 under the title of ''All Star Family Fortunes''. Revived episodes are currently being shown on ITV on Sunday evenings and have been presented by Vernon Kay since 2006.

Gladiators is a British television entertainment series, produced by LWT for ITV, and broadcast between October 10, 1992, and January 1, 2000. It is an adaptation of the American format ''American Gladiators''. The success of the British series spawned further adaptations in Australia and Sweden. The series was revived in 2008, before again being cancelled in 2009.

''Rab C. Nesbitt'' is a British sitcom which began in 1988.
The first series began on September 27, 1990, and continued for seven more, ending on June 18, 1999, and returning with a one-off special on December 23, 2008.<ref>[http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/broadcasting/a125638/rab-c-nesbitt-to-return-on-bbc-two.html 'Rab C Nesbitt' to return on BBC Two] Digital Spy, August 23, 2008 {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122071250/http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/broadcasting/a125638/rab-c-nesbitt-to-return-on-bbc-two.html|date=January 22, 2009 }}</ref>

''Red Dwarf'' is a British comedy franchise which primarily comprises ten series (including a ninth mini-series named ''Back To Earth'') of a television science fiction [[Engineering:Sitcom|sitcom]] that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1993 and from 1997 to 1999 and on ''Dave'' in 2009.

'''Primetime Emmy Award for Best Drama'''

{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* 2000 – ''The West Wing''
* 2001 – ''The West Wing''
* 2002 – ''The West Wing''
* 2003 – ''The West Wing''
* 2004 – ''The Sopranos''
* 2005 – ''Lost''
* 2006 – ''24''
* 2007 – ''The Sopranos''
* 2008 – ''Mad Men''
* 2009 – ''Mad Men''
}}

===Video games===
{{See also|2000s in video gaming}}'''Video-game hardware and software'''[[File:PS2-Versions.jpg|thumb|PlayStation 2 was released in 2000 and became the best-selling gaming console of the decade and of all time.]]

[[File:Xbox-console.jpg|thumb|First '''[[Engineering:Xbox|Xbox]]''' released in 2001]]
[[File:GameCube-Console-Set.png|thumb|'''GameCube''' released in 2001 and is the successor to the Nintendo 64]]

The world of video games reached the 6th generation of video game consoles including the [[Engineering:PlayStation 2|PlayStation 2]], the [[Engineering:Xbox (console)|Xbox]], and the [[Engineering:GameCube|GameCube]], which started technically in 1998 with the release of Sega's [[Engineering:Dreamcast|Dreamcast]], although some consider the true start in 2000 with the release of Sony's PlayStation 2. The 6th gen remained popular throughout the decade, but decreased somewhat in popularity after its 7th gen successors released technically starting in November 2005 with the release of Microsoft's Xbox 360, however, most people agree that 2006 is a 6th gen year since most games being released still released on 6th gen including the Xbox even though the 360 was already released, and the PlayStation 3 and the Wii didn't release until late 2006 which most people consider to be the true start of the 7th gen. It reached 7th Generation in the form of [[Engineering:Video game console|consoles]] like the [[Engineering:Wii|Wii]], the [[Engineering:PlayStation 3|PlayStation 3]] and [[Engineering:Xbox 360|Xbox 360]] by the mid-2000s. The number-one-selling game console of the decade, the [[Engineering:PlayStation 2|PlayStation 2]], was released in 2000 and remained popular up to the end of the decade, even after the [[Engineering:PlayStation 3|PlayStation 3]] was released. The [[Engineering:PlayStation 2|PlayStation 2]] was discontinued in January 2013. The Nintendo DS launched in {{wipe|Japan}} in 2004 and by 2005 was available globally. All Nintendo DS models combined have sold over 154.02 million units, thus making it the best selling handheld of all time and the second [[Engineering:List of best-selling game consoles|best selling video game console]] of all time behind the [[Engineering:PlayStation 2|PlayStation 2]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Consolidated Sales Transition by Region |url=https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/library/historical_data/pdf/consolidated_sales_e1603.pdf |access-date=July 7, 2022 |publisher=Nintendo Co.}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Schreier |first1=Jason |title=Nintendo DS Line Outsells PlayStation 2, Nintendo Says |url=https://www.wired.com/2011/01/nintendo-ds-sales/ |magazine=Wired |date=4 January 2011 }}</ref>

Neo Geo is a family of video game hardware developed by [[Company:SNK|SNK]]. The brand originated in 1990 with the release of an arcade system, the Neo Geo MVS and its home console counterpart, the Neo Geo AES. The Neo Geo brand was officially discontinued in 2004.

[[Finance:Massively multiplayer online role-playing game|MMORPGs]], originating in the mid-to-late 1990s, become a popular PC trend and virtual online worlds become a reality as games such as ''[[Software:RuneScape|RuneScape]]'' (2001), ''[[Software:Final Fantasy XI|Final Fantasy XI]]'' (2002), ''Eve Online'' (2003), ''Tony Hawk's Underground'' (2003), ''[[Software:World of Warcraft|World of Warcraft]]'' (2004), and ''[[Software:EverQuest II|EverQuest II]]'' (2004), ''The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar'' (2007) and ''[[Software:Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning|Warhammer Online]]'' (2008) are released. These worlds come complete with their own economies and social organization as directed by the players as a whole. The persistent online worlds allow the games to remain popular for many years. ''[[Software:World of Warcraft|World of Warcraft]]'', premiered in 2004, remains one of the most popular games in PC gaming and is still being developed into the 2010s.

[[Software:Arcade game|Arcade video games]] had declined in popularity so much by the late 1990s, that revenues in the United States dropped to $1.33 billion in 1999,<ref>{{cite news |last=Henry |first=Lydia |date=April 26, 2001 |title=Skee-ball Mania |page=36 |newspaper=Reading Eagle |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZFsxAAAAIBAJ&pg=5114,5262090 |access-date=March 13, 2012}}</ref> and reached a low of $866 million in 2004.<ref>{{cite news |date=April 20, 2006 |title=Video killed the arcade star |newspaper=East Valley Tribune |url=http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/article_9b22d9ea-1810-5465-8bd9-a4e3204de569.html?mode=story |access-date=March 7, 2012}}</ref> Furthermore, by the early 2000s, networked gaming via computers and then consoles across the Internet had also appeared,<ref name="online games">{{cite web |last=Mabry |first=Donald J. |title=Evolution of Online Games |url=http://www.historicaltextarchive.com/s/online-games.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209100942/http://www.historicaltextarchive.com/s/online-games.php |archive-date=February 9, 2008 |access-date=September 21, 2007}}</ref> replacing the venue of head-to-head competition and social atmosphere once provided solely by arcades.<ref name="socialarcades">{{cite web |last=Fuller |first=Brad |title=Awakening the Arcade |url=http://blogs.oreilly.com/digitalmedia/2005/11/awakening-the-arcade.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003012240/http://blogs.oreilly.com/digitalmedia/2005/11/awakening-the-arcade.html |archive-date=October 3, 2011 |access-date=September 21, 2007}}</ref>

[[Cross-platform software|Cross-platform]] Game engines originating in the very late-1990s, became extremely popular in the 2000s, as they allowed development for [[Software:Indie game development|indie games]] for [[Digital distribution|digital distribution]]. Noteworthy software include [[Software:GameMaker|GameMaker]] and [[Software:Unity (game engine)|Unity]]. Well-known indie games made in that decade include ''[[Software:I Wanna Be the Guy|I Wanna Be the Guy]]'', ''[[Software:Spelunky|Spelunky]]'', ''[[Software:Braid (video game)|Braid]]'', ''[[Software:Clean Asia!|Clean Asia!]]'', ''[[Software:Castle Crashers|Castle Crashers]]'', ''[[Software:World of Goo|World of Goo]]'', ''[[Software:Dino Run|Dino Run]]'', ''[[Software:The Impossible Game|The Impossible Game]]'' and ''[[Software:Alien Hominid|Alien Hominid]]''.

In the late 2000s, [[Engineering:Motion controller|motion controlled]] video games grew in popularity, from the PlayStation 2's [[Engineering:EyeToy|EyeToy]] to Nintendo's successful [[Engineering:Wii|Wii]] console. During the decade 3D video games become the staple of the video-game industry, with 2D games nearly fading from the market. Partially 3D and fully 2D games were still common in the industry early in the decade, but these have now become rare as developers look almost exclusively for fully 3D games to satisfy the increasing demand for them in the market. An exception to this trend is the indie gaming community, which often produces games featuring 'old-school' or retro gaming elements, such as ''[[Software:Minecraft|Minecraft]]'' and [[Software:Shadow Complex|Shadow Complex]]. These games, which are not developed by the industry giants, are often available in the form of downloadable content from services such as [[Company:Microsoft|Microsoft]]'s Xbox Live or Apple's [[Software:App Store (iOS)|App Store]] and usually cost much less than more major releases.

'''Prominent video-games'''
[[File:Gbasp nes collection.jpg|thumb|Game Boy Advance SP is upgraded version of the original Game Boy Advance system and it is the second last Game Boy handheld]]
The ''[[Software:Grand Theft Auto|Grand Theft Auto]]'' series sparked a fad of Mature-rated video games based on including gang warfare, drug use, and perceived "senseless violence" into gameplay. Though violent video games date back to the early 1990s, they became much more common after 2000. Despite the controversy, the 2004 game ''[[Software:Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas|Grand Theft Auto]]'' became the best selling [[Engineering:PlayStation 2|PlayStation 2]] game of all time, with 17.33 million copies sold for that console alone, from a total of 21.5 million in all formats by 2009;<ref name="guinness 2009">{{cite book|title=Guinness World Records 2009 Gamer's Edition|pages=[https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec0000unse_o9k7/page/108 108–109]|isbn=978-1904994459|quote=''GTA: San Andreas'' is the best-selling PlayStation 2 game of all time, with a massive 17.33 million copies sold.|url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec0000unse_o9k7/page/108|author1=Guinness|date=February 2009|publisher=Guinness World Records }}</ref> as of 2011, 27.5 million copies of ''San Andreas'' were sold worldwide.<ref name="2011sales">{{cite web|url=http://kotaku.com/5840484/gta-iv-overtakes-san-andreas-in-lifetime-sales|title=GTA IV Overtakes San Andreas in Lifetime Sales [Correction]|website=Kotaku|first=Owen|last=Good|date=September 15, 2011|access-date=September 12, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120701162931/http://kotaku.com/5840484/gta-iv-overtakes-san-andreas-in-lifetime-sales|archive-date=July 1, 2012 }}</ref>

[[File:Nintendo-DS-Fat-Blue.jpg|thumb|The Nintendo DS awakened an interest in casual play that had never really existed before.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.polygon.com/2018/10/22/18000592/nintendo-ds-mobile-casual-gaming|title = The DS saved Nintendo while destroying handheld gaming as we knew it|website = Polygon|date = October 22, 2018}}</ref>]]

The ''[[Software:Call of Duty|Call of Duty]]'' series was extremely popular during the 2000s, the diverse shooter franchise released multiple games throughout the 2000s that were positively critically reviewed and commercially successful.

''[[Software:The Sims|The Sims]]'' series developed by [[Company:Maxis|Maxis]] became one of the most popular life simulation games series with over 200 million copies sold worldwide since the [[Software:The Sims (video game)|first game]] was released in 2000.<ref name="Hall of Fame Inductees">{{Cite press release |title=2016 World Video Game Hall of Fame Inductees Announced |date=2016-05-05 |publisher=Strong National Museum of Play |url=http://www.museumofplay.org/press/releases/2016/05/2688-2016-world-video-game-hall-fame-inductees-announced/ |last1=Rhinewald |first1=Shane |last2=McElrath |first2=Noelle |access-date=2017-02-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202010533/https://www.museumofplay.org/press/releases/2016/05/2688-2016-world-video-game-hall-fame-inductees-announced |archive-date=2017-02-02 |url-status=live}}</ref>

''Gears of War'' was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful [[Software:Third-person shooter|third-person shooter]] franchise that released two games during the mid-late 2000s. [[Software:Gears of War (video game)|Gears of War 1]] was released in 2006 and was the first installment to the franchise, it was universally critically acclaimed and went on to sell over 5 million copies. The second installment to the franchise ''[[Software:Gears of War 2|Gears of War 2]]'' was released in 2008 and received widespread critical acclaim and also went on to sell over 5 million copies.

''[[Software:Manhunt 2|Manhunt 2]]'', a controversial stealth-based [[Software:Psychological horror|psychological horror]] [[Engineering:Video game|video game]] published by [[Company:Rockstar Games|Rockstar Games]], was suspended by [[Company:Take-Two Interactive|Take-Two Interactive]] (Rockstar's parent company) when it was refused classification in the United Kingdom, Italy and Ireland, and given an Adults Only (AO) rating in the United States. As neither [[Company:Sony Interactive Entertainment|Sony]], [[Company:Microsoft|Microsoft]] or [[Company:Nintendo|Nintendo]] allow AO titles on their systems, it made Rockstar bring the game down to a Mature (M) game and release in October 2007.

The sixth generation sparked a rise in first person shooter games led by ''[[Software:Halo: Combat Evolved|Halo]]'', which changed the formula of the first person shooter. ''[[Software:Halo 2|Halo 2]]'' started online console gaming and was on top of the Xbox Live charts until its successor, ''[[Software:Halo 3|Halo 3]]'' (for Xbox 360), took over. Some other popular first-person shooters during the 2000s include the Medal of Honor series, with ''[[Software:Medal of Honor: Frontline|Medal of Honor]]''{{'}}s release in 2002 bringing the first game in the series to 6th generation consoles.

''Dance Dance Revolution'' was released in Japan and later the United States, where it became immensely popular among teenagers. Another music game, ''[[Software:Guitar Hero|Guitar Hero]]'', was released in North America in late 2005 and had a huge cultural impact on both the music and video games industries. It became a worldwide billion-dollar franchise within three years, spawning several sequels and leading to the creation of a competing franchise, ''Rock Band''.

'''Gaming industry'''

Worldwide, arcade game revenues gradually increased from $1.8 billion in 1998 to $3.2 billion in 2002, rivalling [[PC game]] sales of $3.2 billion that same year.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chou |first1=Yuntsai |title=G-commerce in East Asia: Evidence and Prospects |journal=Journal of Interactive Advertising |date=September 2003 |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=47–53 |doi=10.1080/15252019.2003.10722081 |s2cid=167052950 }}</ref> In particular, arcade video games are a thriving industry in China, where arcades are widespread across the country.<ref>{{cite web |last=Jou |first=Eric |title=The Wonderful and Seedy World of Chinese Arcades |url=http://kotaku.com/5894415/the-wonderful-and-seedy-world-of-chinese-arcades/gallery/1 |website=Kotaku |access-date=April 9, 2012 |date=March 19, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130308130752/http://kotaku.com/5894415/the-wonderful-and-seedy-world-of-chinese-arcades/gallery/1/ |archive-date=March 8, 2013}}</ref> The US market has also experienced a slight resurgence, with the number of video game arcades across the nation increasing from 2,500 in 2003 to 3,500 in 2008, though this is significantly less than the 10,000 arcades in the early 1980s. As of 2009, a successful arcade game usually sells around 4000 to 6000 units worldwide.<ref>{{cite book|title=Digital sport for performance enhancement and competitive evolution : intelligent gaming technologies|year=2009|publisher=Information Science Reference|location=Hershey, PA |isbn=978-1-60566-406-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kags8xC1xzsC&pg=PA260|editor1=Nigel K. Li Pope|editor2=Kerri-Ann L. Kuhn|editor3=John J.H. Forster|access-date=March 14, 2012|page=260}}</ref>

Japanese media giant [[Company:Nintendo|Nintendo]] released 9 out of the 10 top selling games of the 2000s, further establishing the company's dominance over the market.<ref>{{cite web |date=March 25, 2010 |title=Top 10 Best Selling Video Games (2000-2010) Mutiplatform<!--sic--> |url=http://top-10er.blogspot.com/2010/03/top-10-best-selling-video-games-2000.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316124732/http://top-10er.blogspot.com/2010/03/top-10-best-selling-video-games-2000.html |archive-date=March 16, 2012 |access-date=February 6, 2016}}</ref>

Sega Corporation, usually styled as '''SEGA''', is a Japanese [[Finance:Multinational corporation|multinational]] video game software developer and an [[Software:Arcade game|arcade software]] and hardware development company headquartered in {{wipe|Japan}}, with various offices around the world. Sega previously developed and manufactured its own brand of [[Engineering:Video game console|home video game consoles]] from 1983 to 2001, but a restructure was announced on January 31, 2001, that ceased continued production of its existing home console ([[Engineering:Dreamcast|Dreamcast]]), effectively exiting the company from the home console business.<ref name="SegaRestructure">{{cite web|title=Sega announces drastic restructuring |first=Shahed |last=Ahmed |website=GameSpot |url=http://www.gamespot.com/news/2680518.html |date=January 31, 2001 |access-date=September 20, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090914162404/http://www.gamespot.com/news/2680518.html |archive-date=September 14, 2009 }}</ref> In spite of that, SEGA would go on to produce several videogames such as ''Super Monkey Ball'' franchise, the Sega Ages 2500 PlayStation 2 games,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hardcore Gaming 101: Sega Ages |url=https://hg101.kontek.net/segaages/segaages.htm |access-date=2020-07-07 |website=hg101.kontek.net}}</ref> ''[[Software:Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA (video game)|Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA]]'', ''[[Software:Sonic Adventure 2|Sonic Adventure 2]]'', ''[[Software:Sonic Heroes|Sonic Heroes]]'', ''[[Software:Rez (video game)|Rez]]'', ''[[Software:Shadow the Hedgehog (video game)|Shadow the Hedgehog]]'', ''[[Software:Virtua Fighter 4|Virtua Fighter 4]]'', ''[[Software:After Burner Climax|After Burner Climax]]'', ''[[Software:Valkyria Chronicles|Valkyria Chronicles]]'', ''[[Software:Sonic Pinball Party|Sonic Pinball Party]]'', ''[[Software:Bayonetta (video game)|Bayonetta]]'', ''[[Software:Jet Set Radio|Jet Set Radio]]'', ''[[Software:Puyo Pop Fever|Puyo Pop Fever]]'', ''[[Software:Thunder Force VI|Thunder Force VI]]'', ''[[Software:Shenmue II|Shenmue II]]'', ''[[Software:Phantasy Star Online|Phantasy Star Online]]'', ''[[Software:Yakuza 2|Yakuza 2]]'', ''[[Software:Gunstar Super Heroes|Gunstar Super Heroes]]'', ''[[Software:Astro Boy: Omega Factor|Astro Boy]]'', ''[[Software:OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast|OutRun 2006]]'' and ''Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=SEGAbits presents The Top 100 SEGA Games|url=http://segabits.com/blog/2017/05/09/segabits-presents-the-top-100-sega-games/|access-date=2020-07-05|website=SEGAbits presents The Top 100 SEGA Games|date=May 9, 2017 |language=en-US}}</ref>

'''Game of the Year'''

''from the Game Developers Choice Awards starting in 2001 (awards are given to games of the previous calendar year).''
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* 2000 - ''[[Software:The Sims (video game)|The Sims]]''
* 2001 - ''[[Software:Grand Theft Auto III|Grand Theft Auto III]]''
* 2002 - ''[[Software:Grand Theft Auto: Vice City|Grand Theft Auto]]''
* 2003 – ''Tony Hawk's Underground''
* 2004 – ''[[Software:Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas|Grand Theft Auto]]''
* 2005 – ''[[Software:Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories|Grand Theft Auto]]''
* 2006 – ''[[Software:Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories|Grand Theft Auto]]''
* 2007 – ''[[Software:Portal (video game)|Portal]]''
* 2008 – ''[[Software:Fallout 3|Fallout 3]]''
* 2009 – ''[[Software:Uncharted 2: Among Thieves|Uncharted 2]]''
}}'''Best selling games of every year'''

''In some years, sources disagree on the best-selling game.''
* 2000: ''[[Software:Pokémon Stadium|Pokémon Stadium]]''<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=Webb|first=Kevin|date=2019-09-12|title=The best-selling video game of every year, from 1995 to 2018|url=https://www.businessinsider.nl/best-selling-video-game-every-year-2018-11/|access-date=2021-06-29|website=Business Insider|language=}}</ref> or ''[[Software:Pokémon Crystal|Pokémon Crystal]]''<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=The Best Selling Video Game Of Every Year Since 1977|url=https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2013/04/the-best-video-games-to-come-out-every-year-since-the-atari-2600/|access-date=2021-06-29|website=Complex|language=en}}</ref>
* 2001: ''[[Software:Madden NFL 2002|Madden NFL 2002]]''<ref name=":3" /> or ''[[Software:Grand Theft Auto III|Grand Theft Auto III]]''<ref name=":0" />
* 2002: ''[[Software:Grand Theft Auto: Vice City|Grand Theft Auto]]''<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":0" />
* 2003: ''[[Software:Madden NFL 2004|Madden NFL 2004]]''<ref name=":3" /> or ''Tony Hawk's Underground''<ref name=":0" />
* 2004: ''[[Software:Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas|Grand Theft Auto]]''<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":0" />
* 2005: ''[[Software:Madden NFL 06|Madden NFL 06]]''<ref name=":3" /> or ''[[Software:Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories|Grand Theft Auto]]''<ref name=":0" />
* 2006: ''[[Software:Madden NFL 07|Madden NFL 07]]''<ref name=":3" /> or ''[[Software:Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories|Grand Theft Auto]]''<ref name=":0" />
* 2007: ''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock''<ref name=":3" /> or ''[[Software:Wii Sports|Wii Sports]]''<ref name=":0" />
* 2008: ''[[Software:Rock Band (video game)|Rock Band]]''<ref name=":3" /> or ''[[Software:Wii Play|Wii Play]]''<ref name=":0" />
* 2009: ''[[Software:Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2|Call of Duty]]''<ref name=":3" /> or ''[[Software:Wii Sports|Wii Sports]]'']<ref name=":0" />

===Writing===
* The decade saw the rise of digital media as opposed to the use of print, and the steady decline of printed books in countries where [[E-book|e-readers]] had become available.
* The deaths of John Updike, Hunter S. Thompson, and other authors marked the end of various major writing careers influential during the late 20th century.
* Popular book series such as ''Harry Potter'', ''Twilight'' and Dan Brown's "''Robert Langdon''" (consisting of ''Angels & Demons'', ''[[Unsolved:The Da Vinci Code|The Da Vinci Code]]'', and ''The Lost Symbol'') saw increased interest in various genres such as fantasy, [[Social:Romance film|romance]], vampire fiction, and detective fiction, as well as young adult fiction in general.
* Manga (also known as Japanese comics) became popular among the international audience, mostly in English-speaking countries. Such popular manga works include ''Lucky Star'', ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' and ''Naruto''.
* On July 19, 2001, English author and former politician, Jeffrey Archer, was found guilty of perjury and perverting the course of justice at a 1987 libel trial. He was sentenced to four years' imprisonment.
* ''Peter Pan in Scarlet'' is a novel by Geraldine McCaughrean. It is an official sequel to Scottish author and dramatist J. M. Barrie's ''Peter and Wendy'', authorised by Great Ormond Street Hospital, to whom Barrie granted all rights to the character and original writings in 1929. McCaughrean was selected following a competition launched in 2004, in which novelists were invited to submit a sample chapter and plot outline.<ref>"How This Book Came About", ''Peter Pan in Scarlet'', preface.</ref>
* J. K. Rowling was the best-selling author in the decade overall thanks to the ''Harry Potter'' book series,<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|date=2009-12-31|title=The noughties in literature|language=en-GB|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8424600.stm|access-date=2021-11-10}}</ref> although she did not pen the best-selling book (at least in the UK), being second to ''[[Unsolved:The Da Vinci Code|The Da Vinci Code]]'',<ref name=":1" /> which had 5.2 million in the UK by 2009<ref name=":1" /> and 80 million worldwide by 2012.<ref>[http://www.mercurynews.com/celebrities/ci_12530761 San José Mercury News] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113003131/http://www.mercurynews.com/celebrities/ci_12530761|date=2012-01-13}} on ''The Da Vinci Code'': "That earlier book has sold more than 80 million copies worldwide, was adapted into a movie and made hits out of Brown's previous novels, including "Angels & Demons," whose film version is now in theaters." (5 June 2009)</ref>

===Sports===
{{Main|2000s in sports}}'''Major sporting events'''[[File:Michael Phelps Ryan Lochte Laszlo Cseh medals 2008 Olympics.jpg|thumb|Michael Phelps holds his gold medal on the podium during the 2008 Olympics. Pictured with Ryan Lochte (left) and László Cseh (right)]]
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics, followed the centennial anniversary of the modern era Olympic Games, held in Atlanta in 1996. The Athens 2004 Summer Olympics, were a strong symbol, for modern Olympic Games were inspired by the competitions organized in {{wipe|Ancient Greece}}. Finally, the Beijing Games saw the emergence of China as a major sports power, with the highest number of titles for the first time. The 2002 Salt Lake City and the 2006 Turin Winter Olympic Games were also major events, though slightly less popular.

Association football's important events included two World Cups, one organized in South Korea and Japan, which saw Brazil win a record fifth title, and the other in Germany, which saw Italy win its fourth title. The regional competitions, the Copa América and UEFA European Championship, saw five nations rising the cup: Colombia (2001) and Brazil (2004, 2007) won the Copa América, while France (2000), Greece (2004) and Spain (2008) won the European Championship.

In 2001, after the 9/11 attacks, both the National Football League and Major League Baseball canceled their upcoming games for a week. As a result, the World Series would be played in November for the first time and the Super Bowl would be played in February for the first time.

The expansion and rise of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) occurred after the airing of The Ultimate Fighter in 2005.

Rugby increased in size and audience, as the Rugby World Cup became the third most watched sporting event in the world with the 2007 Rugby World Cup organized in France.

Bloodgate is the nickname for a rugby union scandal involving the English team Harlequins in their Heineken Cup match against the Irish side Leinster on April 12, 2009. It was so called because of the use of fake blood capsules, and has been seen by some as one of the biggest scandals in rugby since professionalization in the mid-1990s, indeed even as an argument against the professional ethos. The name is a pun on Watergate.

The New York Yankees won the first Major League Baseball World Series of the decade in 2000, as well as the last World Series of the decade in 2009. The Boston Red Sox won their first World Series since 1918 in 2004 and then again in 2007.

The Pittsburgh Steelers won a record sixth Super Bowl on February 1, 2009, against the Arizona Cardinals. Pittsburgh's Super Bowl win would remain the championship record for an NFL franchise until a decade later when the New England Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams to tie the Super Bowl championship record.

'''Athletes'''

One of the most prominent events of the 2008 Summer Olympics held in Beijing was the achievement of Michael Phelps the American swimmer, frequently cited as the greatest swimmer and one of the greatest Olympians of all time.<ref>{{cite news|title=5 things we learned about Michael Phelps|url=http://www.nbcolympics.com/swimming/news/newsid=229303.html|first=Pamela|last=Barone|date=August 17, 2008|access-date=July 30, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091103052144/http://www.nbcolympics.com/swimming/news/newsid%3D229303.html|archive-date=November 3, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Phelps officially world's greatest athlete ever|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/26194188|work=NBC News|first=Mike|last=Celizic|date=August 16, 2008|access-date=July 30, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=It's over, there are no arguments ... Phelps is the best ever|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=3532594|publisher=ESPN|first=Pat|last=Forde|date=August 13, 2008|access-date=July 30, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131225094027/http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=3532594|archive-date=December 25, 2013}}</ref> He has won 14 career Olympic gold medals, the most by any Olympian. As of August 2, 2009, Phelps has broken thirty-seven world records in swimming. Phelps holds the record for the most gold medals won in a single Olympics, his eight at the 2008 Beijing Games surpassed American swimmer Mark Spitz's seven-gold performance at Munich in 1972.

{{multiple image
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Usain Bolt of Jamaica dominated the male sprinting events at the Beijing Olympics, in which he broke three world records, allowing him to be the first man to ever accomplish this at a single Olympic game. He holds the world record for the 100&nbsp;metres (despite slowing down before the finish line to celebrate), the 200&nbsp;metres and, along with his teammates, the 4 × 100 metres relay.

The Los Angeles Lakers won 3 NBA championships in a row from 2000 to 2002, also known as a Three-peat, led by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal.

In 2003, Michael Jordan retired from the NBA after 2 season with the Washington Wizards, the official NBA website reading in 2006: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time."<ref>{{cite web|title=Michael Jordan Bio|url=http://www.nba.com/history/players/jordan_bio.html|publisher=NBA|access-date=March 30, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060902114359/http://www.nba.com/history/players/jordan_bio.html|archive-date=September 2, 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Popular extreme sports athletes of the decade included Tony Hawk, Shaun White, Kelly Slater, Travis Pastrana, Matt Hoffman, Shaun Murray, Sarah Burke, and more.

[[File:Michelle Kwan Spiral.jpg|thumb|210px|Michelle Kwan performing in the 2002 U.S. Figure Skating Championships]]
Towards the middle of the decade, Michelle Kwan became the most decorated figure skater in U.S. history.<ref name=USbio>{{Cite web|url=http://www.usfigureskating.org/AthleteBio.asp?id=2267|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050424083301/http://www.usfigureskating.org/AthleteBio.asp?id=2267|url-status=dead|title=Athlete bio at usfigureskating.org|archive-date=April 24, 2005}}</ref>

Michael Schumacher, the most titled F1 driver, won five F1 World Championships during the decade and finally retired in 2006, yet eventually confirming his come-back to F1 for 2010. Lance Armstrong won all the Tour de France between 1999 and 2005, also an all-time record, but was later stripped of all his titles when evidence emerged of his use of performance-enhancing drugs. Swiss tennis player Roger Federer won 16 Grand Slam titles to become the most titled player.

The decade saw the continued rise of several of the most notable and popular quarterbacks in NFL history, including Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Brett Favre, Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Donovan McNabb, Kurt Warner, Eli Manning, Steve McNair, Tony Romo and others.

'''Timeline of sporting events'''

In May 2004, Arsenal became the only top-tier team to go through an entire league season (2003/4) unbeaten when they won the English Premier League and became 'The Invincibles'. This feat had also been achieved in the 19th century, when the league was in its infancy and there were far fewer matches in a season, but not in the modern era. Arsenal's unbeaten run extended to 49 matches in total, and into the subsequent season.

In September 2004, Chelsea footballer Adrian Mutu failed a drugs test for cocaine and was released on October 29, 2004. He also received a seven-month ban and a £20,000 fine from The Football Association.

The 2006 Italian football scandal, also known as "''Calciopoli''", involved Italy's top professional football leagues, Serie A and Serie B. The scandal was uncovered in May 2006 by Italian police, implicating league champions Juventus, and other major teams including A.C. Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio and Reggina when a number of telephone interceptions showed a thick network of relations between team managers and referee organisations. Juventus were the champions of Serie A at the time. The teams have been accused of rigging games by selecting favourable referees.

The 2006 FIFA World Cup Final in Berlin, [[Biography:Zinedine Zidane|Zinedine Zidane]] widely considered by experts and fans as one of the greatest football players of all time, was sent off in the 110th minute of the game, which was to be the last match of his career. After headbutting Marco Materazzi in the chest, Zidane did not participate in the penalty shootout, which Italy won 5–3. It was later discovered through interviews that Materazzi had insulted Zidane's mother and sister that last moment which is what led to Zidane's heightened anger and reaction.

January 11, 2007 – When English footballer David Beckham joined the Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy, he was given the highest player salary in the league's history; with his playing contract with the Galaxy over the next three years being worth US$6.5&nbsp;million per year.<ref name="galaxy-millions">{{cite news|title=Beckham rejected Milan and Inter to take Galaxy millions|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/beckham-rejected-milan-and-inter-to-take-galaxy-millions-431736.html|work=The Independent|date=January 12, 2007|access-date=September 9, 2008|location=London|first=Sam|last=Wallace|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308193915/http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/beckham-rejected-milan-and-inter-to-take-galaxy-millions-431736.html|archive-date=March 8, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mlsplayers.org/files/8_31_07_salary_info_alpha.pdf|title=2007 MLS Player Salaries: August 31, 2007: Alphabetical|access-date=February 25, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724203535/http://www.mlsplayers.org/files/8_31_07_salary_info_alpha.pdf|archive-date=July 24, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mlsplayers.org/files/9_7_08_salary_info_alpha.pdf|title=2008 MLS Player Salaries: October 7, 2008: Alphabetical|access-date=February 25, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724203456/http://www.mlsplayers.org/files/9_7_08_salary_info_alpha.pdf|archive-date=July 24, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mlsplayers.org/files/september_15_2009_salary_information__alphabetical.pdf |title=2009 MLS Player Salaries: September 15, 2009: Alphabetical|access-date=February 25, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724203636/http://www.mlsplayers.org/files/september_15_2009_salary_information__alphabetical.pdf|archive-date=July 24, 2013 }}</ref>

October 2007 – US world champion track and field athlete Marion Jones admitted that she took performance-enhancing drugs as far back as the 2000 Summer Olympics, and that she had lied about it to a grand jury investigating performance-enhancer creations.

November 29, 2007 – Portsmouth football manager Harry Redknapp angrily denied any wrongdoing after being arrested by police investigating alleged corruption in football: "If you are telling me this is how you treat anyone, it is not the society I grew up in."<ref>{{cite news|last=Crook|first=Alex|title=Harry Redknapp hits out at police raid on home|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/2327092/Harry-Redknapp-hits-out-at-police-raid-on-home.html |access-date=February 25, 2013|location=London|date=November 30, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140122123625/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/2327092/Harry-Redknapp-hits-out-at-police-raid-on-home.html|archive-date=January 22, 2014}}</ref>

The 2008 Wimbledon final between Roger Federer of Switzerland and Rafael Nadal of Spain, has been lauded as the greatest match ever by many long-time tennis analysts.<ref name="greatestmatchever">{{cite news|first=Bruce|last=Jenkins|title=The Greatest Match Ever|work=San Francisco Chronicle|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/06/SPP711KSLR.DTL|date=July 7, 2008|access-date=February 14, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304234833/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2008%2F07%2F06%2FSPP711KSLR.DTL|archive-date=March 4, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="McEnroe-greatestmatch">{{cite news| first = Richard| last = Alleyne| title = Wimbledon 2008: John McEnroe hails Rafael Nadal victory as greatest final ever| work = The Daily Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/wimbledon/2305019/Wimbledon-2008-John-McEnroe-hails-Rafael-Nadal-victory-as-greatest-final-ever.html|date=July 7, 2008| access-date=February 14, 2009| location=London| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140215035202/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/wimbledon/2305019/Wimbledon-2008-John-McEnroe-hails-Rafael-Nadal-victory-as-greatest-final-ever.html|archive-date=February 15, 2014}}</ref><ref name="wertheim-greatestmatch">{{cite news|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/jon_wertheim/07/09/wertheim.mailbag/index.html|title=Without a doubt, it's the greatest|last=Wertheim|first=Jon|date=July 9, 2008|work=Tennis Mailbag|publisher=Sports Illustrated|access-date=February 14, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130813175621/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/jon_wertheim/07/09/wertheim.mailbag/index.html|archive-date=August 13, 2013}}</ref><ref name="tignor-greatestmatch">{{cite web|url=http://tennisworld.typepad.com/thewrap/2008/07/w-report-cards.html|title=W: Report Cards|last=Tignor|first=Steve|work=Concrete Elbow|publisher=Tennis.com|date=July 8, 2008|access-date=February 14, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130819130701/http://tennisworld.typepad.com/thewrap/2008/07/w-report-cards.html|archive-date=August 19, 2013|url-status=live }}</ref>

British Formula One racing driver Lewis Hamilton, was disqualified from the 2009 Australian Grand Prix for providing "misleading evidence" during the stewards' hearing. He later privately apologised to FIA race director Charlie Whiting for having lied to the stewards.

In 2009, the World football transfer record was set by Spanish football club Real Madrid when it purchased [[Company:Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]]'s Cristiano Ronaldo for £80&nbsp;million (€93&nbsp;million). Manchester United veteran Sir Bobby Charlton said the world-record offer shocked him:

{{blockquote|1="It's a lot of money, it's crazy really. If you want to be in the race, you have to pay the price, it seems sometimes a little bit vulgar."<ref>{{cite news|title=Ronaldo price vulgar – Charlton|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/8107965.stm|work=BBC|access-date=February 21, 2013|date=June 18, 2009}}</ref>}}'''Controversies in sports'''

A number of concerns and controversies over the 2008 Summer Olympics surfaced before, during, and after the 2008 Summer Olympics, and which received major media coverage. Leading up to the Olympics, there were concerns about human rights in China, such that many high-profile individuals, such as politicians and celebrities, announced intentions to boycott the games to protest China's role in the Darfur conflict, and Myanmar, its stance towards Tibet, or other aspects of its human rights record. In a 2008 ''{{wipe|Time (magazine)}}'' article entitled "Why Nobody's Boycotting Beijing", Vivienne Walt wrote:
'Leaders in power are more mindful of China's colossal clout in an increasingly shaky world economy, and therefore of the importance of keeping good relations with its government.'<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Walt |first=Vivienne |date=July 16, 2008 |title=Why Nobody's Boycotting Beijing |url=http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1823561,00.html |magazine=Time |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130822212632/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0%2C8599%2C1823561%2C00.html |archive-date=August 22, 2013 |access-date=February 11, 2013}}</ref>

Ron Atkinson, is an English former football player and manager. In recent years he has become one of Britain's best-known football pundits.
Ron Atkinson's media work came to an abrupt halt on April 21, 2004, when he was urged to resign from ITV by Brian Barwick after he broadcast a racial remark live on air about the [[Biography:Black people|black]] Chelsea player Marcel Desailly; believing the microphone to be switched off, he said, ''"...he'' [Desailly] ''is what is known in some schools as a lazy nigger"''.<ref>{{cite news |date=February 24, 2010 |title=Ron Atkinson calls Marcel Desailly a 'lazy nigger' on live TV |publisher=YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olu8HWhcUeU |access-date=January 27, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101113827/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olu8HWhcUeU |archive-date=November 1, 2013}}</ref>

Steroids also spread the sports world throughout the decade, mainly used in Major League Baseball. Players involved included Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Alex Rodriguez.

The sport of fox hunting is controversial, particularly in the UK, where it was banned in Scotland in 2002, and in England and Wales in November 2004 (law enforced from February 2005), though shooting foxes as vermin remained legal around the world.

==See also==
* List of decades
* Millennials (when older members of that generation had entered adulthood).

===Timeline===
The following articles contain brief timelines which list the most prominent events of the decade:

===2000s===
{{hlist|2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009}}

==Footnotes==
{{notelist}}

{{Reflist|group="note"}}

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Further reading==
* London, Herbert I. ''The Transformational Decade: Snapshots of a Decade from 9/11 to the Obama Presidency'' (Lanham: University Press of America, 2012) 177 pp.

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20101213030215/http://www.vogue.co.uk/celebrity-photos/101206-the-noughties-.aspx The fashions, trends and people that defined the decade, VOGUE.COM UK]
* [https://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/slideshow?articleId=USRTXRYG2#a=1 100 Top Pictures of the Decade] – slideshow by {{wipe|Reuters}}
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8409040.stm "A portrait of the decade"], BBC, December 14, 2009
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130821023851/http://www.mrpopculture.com/the-2000s 2000–2009 Video Timeline]

{{DEFAULTSORT:2000s (Decade)}}
[[Category:Contemporary history]]

{{Sourceattribution|2000s}}