View source for History:21st century

{{Short description|Time period between 1 January 2001 and 31 December 2100}}

The '''21st''' '''century''' is the current [[Physics:Century|century]] in the ''[[Religion:Anno Domini|Anno Domini]]'' or [[Common Era]], in accordance with the [[Gregorian calendar]]. It began on 1 January 2001 and will end on 31 December 2100. It is the first century of the 3rd millennium.

The rise of a [[Finance:World economy|global economy]] and [[Social:Third World|Third World]] [[Finance:Consumerism|consumerism]] marked the beginning of the century, along with increased private enterprise and deepening concern over [[Social:Terrorism|terrorism]] after [[Religion:September 11 attacks|the 9/11 terrorist attacks]].<ref>{{Cite news|title = Majority of Americans distrust the government|url = https://www.reuters.com/article/us-americans-government-poll-idUSTRE63I0FB20100419|newspaper = Reuters|date = 19 April 2010|access-date = 1 June 2015|archive-date = 24 December 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151224195447/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-americans-government-poll-idUSTRE63I0FB20100419|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title = Rational Extremism: Understanding Terrorism in the Twenty-first Century according to Kathii Erick Gitonga|first = David A.|last = Lake|url = https://quote.ucsd.edu/lake/files/2014/06/Rational-Extremism.pdf|website = quote.ucsd.edu|access-date = 1 June 2015|archive-date = 9 August 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170809063333/https://quote.ucsd.edu/lake/files/2014/06/Rational-Extremism.pdf|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title = Working with Private Industry {{!}} Research Pages {{!}} The Stimson Center {{!}} Pragmatic Steps for Global Security|url = http://www.stimson.org/research-pages/working-with-private-industry/|website = www.stimson.org|access-date = 1 June 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160203085826/http://www.stimson.org/research-pages/working-with-private-industry/|archive-date = 3 February 2016}}</ref> The NATO interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq in the early [[History:2000s|2000s]], and the overthrow of several regimes during the [[Social:Arab Spring|Arab Spring]] in the early [[History:2010s|2010s]], led to mixed outcomes in the [[Place:Arab world|Arab world]], resulting in several civil wars and political instability.<ref>{{Cite news|title = Arab Spring yields different outcomes in Bahrain, Egypt and Libya|url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/arab-spring-yields-different-outcomes-in-bahrain-egypt-and-libya/2011/12/15/gIQAY6h57O_story.html|newspaper = The Washington Post|date = 20 December 2011|access-date = 19 March 2020|issn = 0190-8286|first = Marc|last = Fisher|archive-date = 26 October 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201026022134/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/arab-spring-yields-different-outcomes-in-bahrain-egypt-and-libya/2011/12/15/gIQAY6h57O_story.html|url-status = live}}</ref> The {{wipe|United States}} has remained the sole global [[Social:Superpower|superpower]] while {{wipe|China}} is now considered an emerging superpower. The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine became the largest conventional military offensive in [[Earth:Europe|Europe]] since [[Social:World War II|World War II]], resulting in a refugee crisis and disruptions to [[Finance:International trade|global trade]].

In 2022, 45% of the world's population lived in "some form of democracy", although only 8% lived in "full democracies."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2018/02/01/the-best-and-worst-countries-for-democracy-infographic/|title=The Best And Worst Countries For Democracy [Infographic]|first=Niall|last=McCarthy|website=Forbes|access-date=22 August 2020|archive-date=11 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111191401/https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2018/02/01/the-best-and-worst-countries-for-democracy-infographic/|url-status=live}}</ref> The {{wipe|United Nations}} estimates that by 2050, two thirds of the world's population will be [[Earth:Urbanization|urbanized]].

The [[Finance:World economy|world economy]] expanded at high rates from $42 trillion in 2000 to $94 trillion in 2021, though many economies rose at greater levels, some gradually contracted.{{Efn|See, for instance, the Lost Decades in Japan.}} The [[Social:European Union|European Union]] greatly expanded in the 21st century, adding 13 member states, but the {{wipe|United Kingdom}} withdrew. Most EU member states introduced a common currency, the [[Finance:Euro|Euro]]. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was also greatly expanded, adding 11 member states.

Effects of [[Earth:Global warming|global warming]] and rising sea levels exacerbated the ecological crises, with eight islands disappearing between 2007 and 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2146594-eight-low-lying-pacific-islands-swallowed-whole-by-rising-seas/|title=Eight low-lying Pacific islands swallowed whole by rising seas|first=Alice|last=Klein|website=New Scientist|access-date=22 September 2019|archive-date=25 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225031535/https://www.newscientist.com/article/2146594-eight-low-lying-pacific-islands-swallowed-whole-by-rising-seas/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/township-in-solomon-islands-is-1st-in-pacific-to-relocate-due-to-climate-change/|title=Township in Solomon Islands Is 1st in Pacific to Relocate Due to Climate Change|website=Scientific American|access-date=22 September 2019|archive-date=11 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111193413/http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/township-in-solomon-islands-is-1st-in-pacific-to-relocate-due-to-climate-change/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.environment.gov.au/|title=Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment|website=Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment|access-date=24 February 2021|archive-date=11 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190511213226/http://environment.gov.au/|url-status=live}}</ref>

From January 2020 to May 2023, the COVID-19 pandemic began to rapidly spread worldwide, killing over 15 million people around the globe,<ref>{{Cite web |date=26 July 2023 |title=WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard |url=https://covid19.who.int/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230726181851/https://covid19.who.int/ |archive-date=26 July 2023 |access-date=26 July 2023 |website=WHO}}</ref> and causing severe global economic disruption, including the largest global recession since the [[Finance:Great Depression|Great Depression]].

Due to the sudden proliferation of internet-accessible mobile devices, such as [[Engineering:Smartphone|smartphone]]s becoming ubiquitous worldwide beginning in the early 2010s, more than half of the world's population obtained access to the [[Internet]] by 2018.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wearesocial.com/blog/2018/01/global-digital-report-2018|title=Digital in 2018: World's internet users pass the 4 billion mark|date=30 January 2018|website=We Are Social|access-date=2 August 2019|archive-date=24 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201224001435/https://wearesocial.com/blog/2018/01/global-digital-report-2018}}</ref> After the success of the [[Biology:Human Genome Project|Human Genome Project]], [[Biology:DNA sequencing|DNA sequencing]] services became available and affordable.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gent|first=Edd|date=2020-03-08|title=$100 Genome Sequencing Will Yield a Treasure Trove of Genetic Data|url=https://singularityhub.com/2020/03/08/100-genome-sequencing-will-yield-a-treasure-trove-of-genetic-data-and-maybe-a-dystopian-nightmare/|access-date=2020-08-25|website=Singularity Hub|language=en-US|archive-date=18 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201118194733/https://singularityhub.com/2020/03/08/100-genome-sequencing-will-yield-a-treasure-trove-of-genetic-data-and-maybe-a-dystopian-nightmare/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/story/whole-genome-sequencing-cost-200-dollars/|title=Now You Can Sequence Your Whole Genome for Just $200|first=Megan|last=Molteni|magazine=Wired|date=19 November 2018|via=www.wired.com|access-date=28 May 2019|archive-date=8 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108132943/https://www.wired.com/story/whole-genome-sequencing-cost-200-dollars/|url-status=live}}</ref>


==Pronunciation==

There is a lack of general agreement over how to pronounce specific years of the 21st century in English. Academics have pointed out that the early years of previous centuries were commonly pronounced as, for example, "eighteen oh five" (for 1805) and "nineteen oh five" (for 1905).<ref name="preferMC">{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article376957.ece|title=Login|access-date=21 February 2007|archive-date=10 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210233248/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/|url-status=live}}</ref> Generally, the [[History:2000s|early years of the 21st century]] were pronounced as in "two-thousand (and) five," with a change taking place around 2010, when pronunciations often shifted between the early-years form of "two-thousand and ten" and the traditionally more concise form of "twenty-ten."

The Vancouver Olympics, which took place in 2010, was being officially referred to by ''Vancouver 2010'' as "the twenty-ten Olympics".{{explain|date=October 2023}}

==Society==
[[File:Shanghai Skyline, Dec2014.jpg|thumb|[[Place:Shanghai|Shanghai]] has become a symbol of the recent economic boom of {{wipe|China}}.]]

Advances in technology such as [[Physics:Ultrasound|ultrasound]], prenatal genetic testing and [[Biology:Genetic engineering|genetic engineering]] are modifying the demographics and has the potential to change the genetic makeup of the human population. Because of sex-selective abortion, fewer girls have been born in the 21st century (and since the early 1980s) compared to past centuries, mostly because of son preference in East and South Asia. In 2014, only 47 percent of Indian births were of girls.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/Sex-ratio-at-birth-on-the-decline/article16729844.ece|title=Sex ratio at birth on the decline|first=Samarth|last=Bansal|newspaper=The Hindu|date=30 November 2016|via=www.thehindu.com|access-date=12 January 2019|archive-date=19 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919043407/https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/Sex-ratio-at-birth-on-the-decline/article16729844.ece|url-status=live}}</ref> This has led to an increase in bachelors in countries such as China and India. The first genetically modified children were born in November 2018 in {{wipe|China}}, beginning a new biological era for the human species and raising great controversy.

[[Medicine:Anxiety|Anxiety]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322877.php|title=Is anxiety increasing in the United States?|website=Medical News Today|date=5 September 2018|access-date=12 January 2019|archive-date=3 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200203082223/https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322877.php|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Medicine:Depression (mood)|depression]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression|title=Depression|website=who.int|access-date=12 January 2019|archive-date=26 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201226072232/https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression|url-status=live}}</ref> rates have risen in the {{wipe|United States}} and many other parts of the world. However, [[Medicine:Suicide|suicide]] rates have fallen in Europe and most of the rest of the world so far this century, declining 29% globally between 2000 and 2018, despite rising 18% in the {{wipe|United States}} in the same period. The decline in suicide has been most notable among Chinese and Indian women, the elderly, and middle-aged Russian men.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://theconversation.com/why-is-suicide-on-the-rise-in-the-us-but-falling-in-most-of-europe-98366|title=Why is suicide on the rise in the US – but falling in most of Europe?|first=Steven|last=Stack|website=The Conversation|date=28 June 2018 |access-date=25 March 2019|archive-date=12 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112033853/https://theconversation.com/why-is-suicide-on-the-rise-in-the-us-but-falling-in-most-of-europe-98366|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2018/11/30/why-the-global-suicide-rate-is-falling|title=Why the global suicide rate is falling|date=30 November 2018|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=12 January 2019|archive-date=19 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201219235840/https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2018/11/30/why-the-global-suicide-rate-is-falling|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Knowledge and information===
The entire [[Social:Writing|written works]] of humanity, from the beginning of [[History:Recorded history|recorded history]] to 2003, in all known [[Social:Language|language]]s, are estimated to be at five [[Exabyte|exabyte]]s of data.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2010/07/quote-of-the-day-google-ceo-compares-data-across-millennia/344989/|title=Quote of the Day: Google CEO Compares Data Across Millennia|first=Benjamin|last=Carlson|date=3 July 2010|website=The Atlantic|access-date=10 February 2019|archive-date=19 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919150658/https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2010/07/quote-of-the-day-google-ceo-compares-data-across-millennia/344989/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://social.techcrunch.com/2010/08/04/schmidt-data/|title=Eric Schmidt: Every 2 Days We Create As Much Information As We Did Up To 2003|date=4 August 2010 |access-date=24 February 2021|archive-date=10 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210233247/https://techcrunch.com/2010/08/04/schmidt-data/|url-status=live}}</ref> Since 2003, with the beginning of [[Social:Social media|social media]] and "[[Social:User-generated content|user-generated content]]", the same amount of data is created every two days.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://i.imgur.com/gpXRWoq.png |title=Archived copy |access-date=10 February 2019 |archive-date=10 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210233245/https://i.imgur.com/gpXRWoq.png |url-status=live }}</ref> The growth of human knowledge and information continues at an [[Exponential growth|exponential rate]].{{explain|date=December 2023}}

Telecommunications in the early 21st century are much more advanced and universal than they were in the late 20th century. Only a few percent of the world's population were [[Internet]] users and cellular phone owners in the late 1990s; as of 2023, 64.4% of the world's population is online, and as of 2019, an estimated 67% own a cell phone.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/274774/forecast-of-mobile-phone-users-worldwide/|title=Number of mobile phone users worldwide 2015–2020|website=Statista|access-date=12 January 2019|archive-date=26 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201226111553/https://www.statista.com/statistics/274774/forecast-of-mobile-phone-users-worldwide/|url-status=live}}</ref> In the 2010s, [[Artificial intelligence|artificial intelligence]], mainly in the form of [[Deep learning|deep learning]] and [[Machine learning|machine learning]], became more prevalent and is prominently used in [[Software:Gmail|Gmail]] and [[Company:Google|Google]]'s search engine, in banking, with the military and other areas. In 2020, 9% of the world's population still lacked access to electricity.<ref>{{cite web |title=Database |url=https://trackingsdg7.esmap.org/results?p=Access_to_Electricity&i=Electricity_access_rate,_Total_(%) |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230508135440/https://trackingsdg7.esmap.org/results?p=Access_to_Electricity&i=Electricity_access_rate,_Total_%28%25%29%252A |archive-date=8 May 2023 |access-date=8 May 2023 |website=Trackingsdg7.esmap.org}}</ref>

[[File:Triptychon Maha Kumbh Mela.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|India's Prayag Kumbh Mela is regarded as the world's largest religious festival.]]

In 2001, Dennis Tito became the first space tourist, beginning the era of commercial spaceflight. Entrepreneurs [[Biography:Elon Musk|Elon Musk]] and [[Biography:Richard Branson|Richard Branson]] are working towards commercial space exploration, colonization and tourism, while {{wipe|China}} and {{wipe|India}} have made substantial strides in their space programs. On 3 January 2019, China landed a robotic spacecraft on the [[Astronomy:Far side of the Moon|far side of the Moon]], the first to do so.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.history.com/news/china-plans-historic-landing-on-dark-side-of-the-moon|title=China Makes Historic Landing on 'Dark Side' of the Moon|first=Sarah|last=Pruitt|website=HISTORY|date=3 January 2019 |access-date=12 January 2019|archive-date=24 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124065205/https://www.history.com/news/china-plans-historic-landing-on-dark-side-of-the-moon|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Culture and politics===
War and violence have declined considerably compared to the 20th century, continuing the post-World War II trend called [[History:Long Peace|Long Peace]]. [[Medicine:Malnutrition|Malnourishment]] and poverty are still widespread globally, but fewer people live in the most extreme forms of poverty. In 1990, approximately one-in-four people were malnourished, and nearly 36% of the world's population lived in extreme poverty; by 2015, these numbers had dropped to approximately one-in-eight and 10%, respectively.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}

The [[Software:Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal|Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal]] drew international attention to the possible adverse effects of social media in influencing citizen's views, particularly regarding the 2016 United States presidential election.{{explain|date=September 2023}}

===Population and urbanization===
The world population was about 6.1 billion at the start of the 21st century and reached 8 billion by November 2022. It is estimated to reach nearly 8.6 billion by 2030,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/by-2030-world-will-have-8-6bn-people-1-5bn-of-them-in-india/articleshow/59279842.cms|title=By 2030, world will have 8.6bn people, 1.5bn of them in India|date=23 June 2017|newspaper=The Economic Times|access-date=12 January 2019|archive-date=3 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203115326/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/by-2030-world-will-have-8-6bn-people-1-5bn-of-them-in-india/articleshow/59279842.cms|url-status=live}}</ref> and 9.8 billion by 2050. According to the {{wipe|United Nations}} World Urbanization prospects, a 60% projection of the world's human population is to live in megacities and megalopolises by 2030, 70% by 2050, and 90% by 2080. It is expected by 2040, the investing of more than 5 times the current global [[Finance:Gross domestic product|gross domestic product]] is expected to be in urban infrastructure.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/publications/files/wup2014-highlights.pdf |title=World Population Prospects |access-date=13 October 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170202002014/https://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/Publications/Files/WUP2014-Highlights.pdf |archive-date=2 February 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Biology:Life expectancy|Life expectancy]] has increased as [[Social:Child mortality|child mortality]] continues to decline. A baby born in 2019, for example, will, on average (globally), live to 73 years—27 years longer than the global average of someone born in 1950.<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 May 2023 |title=GHE: Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy |url=https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/mortality-and-global-health-estimates/ghe-life-expectancy-and-healthy-life-expectancy |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322174132/https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/mortality-and-global-health-estimates/ghe-life-expectancy-and-healthy-life-expectancy |archive-date=22 March 2023 |access-date=9 May 2023 |website=www.who.int |language=en}}</ref> Ten million Britons (16% of the {{wipe|United Kingdom}} population) will, on average, live to 100 or older.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/10-million-brits-alive-today-will-live-see-100th-birthday-150028500.html|title=10 million Brits alive today will live to see their 100th birthday|website=uk.news.yahoo.com|date=12 March 2018 |access-date=12 January 2019|archive-date=19 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919072737/https://uk.news.yahoo.com/10-million-brits-alive-today-will-live-see-100th-birthday-150028500.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Earth:Climate change|Climate change]] remains a serious concern; UN Chief António Guterres, for instance, has described it as an "[[Unsolved:Global catastrophic risk|existential threat]]" to humanity.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/05/1009782|title=Climate change: An 'existential threat' to humanity, UN chief warns global summit|date=15 May 2018|website=UN News|access-date=12 January 2019|archive-date=23 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223154410/https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/05/1009782|url-status=live}}</ref> Furthermore, the [[Earth:Holocene extinction|Holocene extinction]] event, the sixth most significant extinction event in the Earth's history, continues with the widespread degradation of highly [[Biology:Biodiversity hotspot|biodiverse habitats]] as a by-product of human activity.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ceballos |first1=Gerardo |last2=Ehrlich |first2=Paul R. |title=The misunderstood sixth mass extinction |journal=Science |date=8 June 2018 |volume=360 |issue=6393 |pages=1080–1081 |doi=10.1126/science.aau0191 |pmid=29880679 |bibcode=2018Sci...360.1080C |s2cid=46984172 |oclc=7673137938}}</ref>

[[File:Isolierte-Völker.png|thumb|A map of uncontacted tribes, around the start of the 21st century]]

===Economics, education and retirement===
Economically and politically, the United States and Western Europe were dominant at the beginning of the century; by the [[History:2010s|2010s]], China became an emerging global superpower and, by some measures, the world's largest economy. In terms of [[Finance:Purchasing power parity|purchasing power parity]], India's economy became more significant than {{wipe|Japan}}'s around 2011.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/india-larger-than-japan-in-ppp-terms-says-wb-114043000075_1.html|title=India larger than Japan in PPP terms, says WB|first=B. S.|last=Reporter|newspaper=Business Standard India|date=30 April 2014|via=Business Standard|access-date=12 January 2019|archive-date=25 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025073751/https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/india-larger-than-japan-in-ppp-terms-says-wb-114043000075_1.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Software:Bitcoin|Bitcoin]] and other cryptocurrencies are decentralized currencies that are not controlled by any central bank. These currencies are increasing in popularity worldwide due to the expanding availability of the [[Internet|internet]] and are mainly used as a [[Finance:Store of value|store of value]].

There is an ongoing impact of [[Engineering:Technological unemployment|technological unemployment]] due to [[Engineering:Automation|automation]] and [[Finance:Business process reengineering|computerization]]: the rate at which jobs are disappearing—due to machines replacing them—is expected to escalate.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://danielmiessler.com/images/mfg1.jpg |title=US Real Manufacturing Output vs. Employment, 1947 to 2014 |access-date=4 March 2019 |archive-date=6 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306111459/https://danielmiessler.com/images/mfg1.jpg |url-status=live }}</ref> Automation alters the number of jobs and the skills demands of industries. As of 2019, the production output of [[Finance:First World|first world nation]]s' manufacturing sectors was doubled when compared to 1984 output; but it is now produced with one-third fewer workers and at significantly reduced [[Finance:Operating cost|operating cost]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DWLZgalWkAAUpYL.jpg&imgrefurl=https://twitter.com/jessphoenix2018/status/965290722067824645&docid=i0gYqb6m7ILAxM&tbnid=eHWWEy0Z6B0qYM:&vet=10ahUKEwiOlfiL--jgAhUFNKwKHR2GApUQMwh_KC4wLg..i&w=621&h=467&itg=1&bih=665&biw=1292&q=metropolitan+policy+program+automation&iact=mrc&uact=8|title=Google Image Result|website=google.com|access-date=10 February 2022|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308123239/https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.twimg.com%2Fmedia%2FDWLZgalWkAAUpYL.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fjessphoenix2018%2Fstatus%2F965290722067824645&docid=i0gYqb6m7ILAxM&tbnid=eHWWEy0Z6B0qYM%3A&vet=10ahUKEwiOlfiL--jgAhUFNKwKHR2GApUQMwh_KC4wLg..i&w=621&h=467&itg=1&bih=665&biw=1292&q=metropolitan+policy+program+automation&iact=mrc&uact=8|url-status=live}}</ref> Half of all jobs with requirements lower than a bachelor's degree are currently in the process of being replaced with partial- or full-automation.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://i1.wp.com/www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/fig7-automation-education.jpg?w=768&crop=0%2C0px%2C100%2C9999px&ssl=1 |title=Figure 7 |access-date=4 March 2019 |archive-date=24 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224205249/https://i1.wp.com/www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/fig7-automation-education.jpg?w=768&crop=0,0px,100,9999px&ssl=1 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Organization:World Economic Forum|World Economic Forum]] forecast that 65% of children entering [[Social:Primary school|primary school]] will end up in jobs or careers that currently do not yet exist.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/31/the-future-of-work-wont-be-about-degrees-it-will-be-about-skills.html|title=The future of work won't be about degrees, it will be about skills |type=Opinion |author=Stephane Kasriel |date=31 October 2018|work=CNBC |access-date=7 November 2018|archive-date=13 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201213061050/https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/31/the-future-of-work-wont-be-about-degrees-it-will-be-about-skills.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

A rise in the retirement age has been called for in view of an increase in [[Biology:Life expectancy|life expectancy]] and has been put in place in many jurisdictions.<ref>{{Cite news| url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-40057117| title=Call to raise retirement age to at least 70| work=BBC News| date=26 May 2017| last1=Johnston| first1=Chris| access-date=16 November 2019| archive-date=12 November 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112020146/https://www.bbc.com/news/business-40057117| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | author=Emily Jane Fox | url=https://money.cnn.com/2012/06/12/news/economy/retirement-age/index.htm | title=Retirement age must rise – OECD | access-date=16 November 2019 | archive-date=24 October 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024152330/https://money.cnn.com/2012/06/12/news/economy/retirement-age/index.htm | url-status=live }}</ref>

===Linguistic diversity===
As of 2009, [[Social:Ethnologue|Ethnologue]] catalogued 6,909 living human languages.<ref>[http://www.ethnologue.com/ "Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060406012854/http://www.ethnologue.com/ |date=6 April 2006 }}. Retrieved 28 June 2007, {{ISBN|1-55671-159-X}}</ref> The exact number of known living languages will vary from 5,000 to 10,000, generally depending on the precision of one's definition of "language", and in particular, on how one classifies dialects.

Estimates vary depending on many factors, but the general consensus is that there are between 6,000 and 7,000 languages currently spoken. Between 50 and 90% of those will have become extinct by the year 2100.<ref name="Handbook2">{{cite book|last1=Austin|first1=Peter K|title=Cambridge Handbook of Endangered Languages|last2=Sallabank|first2=Julia|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2011|isbn=978-0-521-88215-6|editor-last=Austin|editor-first=Peter K|chapter=Introduction|editor2-last=Sallabank|editor2-first=Julia}}</ref>

The top 20 languages spoken by more than 50 million speakers each, are spoken by 50% of the world's population. In contrast, many of the other languages are spoken by small communities, most of them with fewer than 10,000 speakers.<ref name="Handbook2" />

== Events ==
{{For timeline}}

===[[History:2000s|2000s]]===
[[File:Second Congo War Africa map en.png|thumb|Belligerents of the Second Congo War]]
[[File:George-W-Bush.jpeg|thumb|upright|George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States, from 2001 to 2009]]
[[File:National Park Service 9-11 Statue of Liberty and WTC fire.jpg|thumb|right|September 11 attacks]]
[[File:Flickr - europeanpeoplesparty - EPP Sumiit 15 May 2006 (3).jpg|thumb|Angela Merkel and José Manuel Barroso]]
[[File:Obama and Medvedev sign Prague Treaty 2010.jpeg|thumb|Barack Obama, the first African-American president of the {{wipe|United States}}, and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev after signing the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty]]
* 1998–2003 – The Second Congo War continued into the early 21st century. A 1999 ceasefire quickly broke down and a UN peacekeeping mission, MONUC, was unable to control the fighting. Troops from [[Biology:Rwanda|Rwanda]] and Uganda continued to support rebel groups against the Democratic Republic of the Congo and rifts also grew between Rwanda and Uganda as they accused each other of supporting rival rebel groups as well. Laurent Kabila, president of the DRC, was assassinated in January 2001 and his son, Joseph Kabila, took power. Throughout 2002 steps were made towards peace and Rwanda and Uganda both removed their troops from the country. On December 17, 2002, a massive treaty officially ended the war. However, the DRC only holds power in less than half of the country, with most of the eastern and northern portions still controlled by rebel groups, where there is still significant infighting. In addition, Rwanda still supports anti-DRC rebels and anti-Rwandan rebels continue to operate from the DRC. The war killed an estimated 3.9 million people, displaced nearly 5.5 million, and led to a widespread and ongoing famine that continues to result in deaths. Severe human rights violations continue to be reported.<ref>{{cite web|date=2007-05-01|title=Mortality in the Democratic Republic of Congo: An ongoing crisis|url=https://www.rescue.org/report/mortality-democratic-republic-congo-ongoing-crisis|access-date=2021-03-30|website=International Rescue Committee (IRC)|language=en|archive-date=17 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417081129/https://www.rescue.org/report/mortality-democratic-republic-congo-ongoing-crisis|url-status=live}}</ref>
* 2000–2005 – The Second Intifada, a major Palestinian uprising against [[Place:Israel|Israel]], is estimated to have led to the deaths of approximately 3,000 Palestinians and 1,000 Israelis.

====2001====
* January 20: George W. Bush is inaugurated as the 43rd president of the United States. He is the second president from the Bush family, after his father.
* April 1 – The Netherlands becomes the first country in the world to legalize [[Social:Same-sex marriage|same-sex marriage]].
* May 13 – Conservative media magnate Silvio Berlusconi wins the general election in Italy, becoming the country's Prime Minister. Berlusconi would go on to dominate Italian politics for the rest of the decade.
* June 1 – The [[Unsolved:Nepalese royal massacre|Nepalese royal massacre]] occurs at a house on the grounds of the Narayanhity Royal Palace, the residence of the Nepalese monarchy. Ten members of the family were killed during a party or monthly reunion dinner of the royal family in the house. The dead included King Birendra of Nepal and Queen Aishwarya.
* July 20–22 – More than 200,000 [[Finance:Anti-globalization movement|anti-globalization protesters]] march in Genoa, during the 27th G8 summit. Two demonstrators are killed by the Italian police. On July 21, a group of Carabinieri [[Social:2001 Raid on Armando Diaz|attacked the school Armando Diaz]], critically injuring many peaceful protesters. 
* September 11 – [[Religion:September 11 attacks|September 11 attacks]] – Nineteen [[Religion:Al-Qaeda|al-Qaeda]] terrorists [[History:Hijackers in the September 11 attacks|hijack]] four commercial airliners and [[Religion:September 11 attacks|crash two of them]] into the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon and one into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania of the United States on 11 September, killing nearly 3,000 people. The president George W. Bush subsequently declares the War on Terror.
* December 11 – After 15 years of negotiations, the People's Republic of China becomes a member of the [[Organization:World Trade Organization|World Trade Organization]] (WTO).
* 2001–2014 – The Northern Alliance and NATO-led ISAF invades Afghanistan on October 7, 2001, and overthrows the Al-Qaeda-supportive [[Religion:Taliban|Taliban]] government. Troops remained to install a democratic government, fight a slowly escalating insurgency, and to hunt for Al-Qaeda leader [[Biography:Osama bin Laden|Osama bin Laden]] who would be killed by American troops nearly 10 years later, on May 2, 2011. On December 24, 2014, NATO forces officially ended combat operations in Afghanistan, but forces remained until August 30, 2021, followed by a quick withdrawal of all troops.

====2002====
* January 1
** The Open Skies mutual surveillance treaty, initially signed in 1992, officially enters into force.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/russia-conduct-observation-flight-over-us-under-open-skies-treaty-1742081|title=Russia To Conduct Observation Flight Over US Under Open Skies Treaty|last=Bora|first=Kukil|date=2014-12-08|newspaper=International Business Times|access-date=2017-01-27}}</ref>
** The [[Finance:Euro|Euro]] is the official currency introduced in the Eurozone countries.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/1/newsid_4044000/4044891.stm|title=Celebrations as euro hits the streets|date=2002-01-01|website=BBC News|access-date=2017-01-27}}</ref> The former currencies of all the countries that use the Euro ceased to be legal tender on February 28.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2002/html/pr020228.en.html|title=The euro becomes the sole legal tender in all euro area countries|date=2002-02-28|website=European Central Bank|language=en|access-date=2017-01-27}}</ref>
* January 6 – ''The Boston Globe'' publishes results of an investigation leading to the criminal prosecutions of five Roman Catholic priests and bringing widespread attention to the sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy.<ref>{{cite news |title=Church allowed abuse by priest for years|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/special-reports/2002/01/06/church-allowed-abuse-priest-for-years/cSHfGkTIrAT25qKGvBuDNM/story.html |first1=Matt |last1=Carroll |first2=Sacha |last2=Pfeiffer |first3=Michael |last3=Rezendes |first4=Walter V. |last4=Robinson |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=2002-01-06 |access-date=2023-03-12}}</ref>
* January 17 – [[Earth:Mount Nyiragongo|Mount Nyiragongo]] erupts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, displacing an estimated 400,000 people.<ref>{{cite web |title=Case study - volcanic eruption in a developing country: Mt Nyiragongo - Volcanoes and volcanic eruptions - Edexcel - GCSE Geography Revision - Edexcel |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zpf9mnb/revision/7 |website=BBC Bitesize |access-date=22 March 2021}}</ref>
* January 18 – The Sierra Leone Civil War comes to a conclusion with the defeat of the Revolutionary United Front by government forces.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.blackpast.org/gah/sierra-leone-civil-war-1991-2002|title=The Sierra Leone Civil War (1991–2002) {{!}} The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed|last=Momodu|first=Samuel|website=Black Past|date=January 16, 2017|language=en|access-date=2017-01-27}}</ref>
* February 6 – Queen Elizabeth II of the Commonwealth realms celebrates her Golden Jubilee, marking 50 years since her accession to the thrones of the {{wipe|United Kingdom}}, {{wipe|Canada}}, {{wipe|Australia}} and [[Earth:New Zealand|New Zealand]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/queen-helps-cbc-tv-mark-50th-anniversary-1.323865|title=Queen helps CBC TV mark 50th anniversary|date=2002-10-11|website=CBC|access-date=2016-06-04}}</ref>
* February 8–24 – The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City, Utah.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.olympic.org/salt-lake-city-2002|title=Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympics - results & video highlights|date=2016-10-13|website=International Olympic Committee|access-date=2016-12-10}}</ref>
* February 12 – The trial of Slobodan Milošević, the former president of [[Place:Serbia and Montenegro|Yugoslavia]], begins at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in [[Place:The Hague|The Hague]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/11/opinion/the-trial-of-slobodan-milosevic.html|title=The Trial of Slobodan Milosevic|date=2002-02-11|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=2017-01-27}}</ref>
* February 14 – The State of Bahrain is declared a [[Social:Constitutional monarchy|constitutional monarchy]] and becomes the Kingdom of Bahrain.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2002-02-15 |title=Bahrain now a monarchy |url=https://www.deseret.com/2002/2/15/19637636/bahrain-now-a-monarchy |access-date=2022-12-12 |website=Deseret News |language=en}}</ref>
* February 19 – [[Organization:NASA|NASA]]'s ''[[Astronomy:2001 Mars Odyssey|2001 Mars Odyssey]]'' [[Engineering:Space probe|space probe]] begins to map the surface of [[Astronomy:Mars|Mars]] using its thermal emission imaging system.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wired.com/2009/02/feb-19-2002-odyssey-turns-its-cameras-on-mars/|title=Odyssey Turns Its Cameras on Mars|last=Long|first=Tony|date=2002-01-19|newspaper=Wired|language=en-US|access-date=2017-01-27}}</ref>
* February 20 – 2002 El Ayyat railway accident: A train fire in El Ayyat, Egypt kills at least 370 people.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 20, 2002 |title=Horror on Egypt fire train |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/africa/02/20/egypt.train/ |access-date=2022-12-12 |website=CNN}}</ref>
* February 22
** UNITA guerrilla leader Jonas Savimbi is killed in clashes against government troops led by Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos in Moxico Province, Angola.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1839252.stm|title=Savimbi 'died with gun in hand'|date=2002-02-25|newspaper=BBC News|access-date=2016-06-04}}</ref>
** The government of Sri Lanka and the Tamil Tigers agree to a ceasefire, temporarily ending the Sri Lankan Civil War.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dugger |first=Celia W. |date=2002-02-22 |title=Sri Lanka and Rebels Sign Cease-Fire Agreement |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/22/international/sri-lanka-and-rebels-sign-ceasefire-agreement.html |access-date=2022-12-11 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> It would last until the resumption of hostilities in 2008.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sirilal |first=Ranga |date=2008-01-02 |title=Sri Lanka ends ceasefire with Tamil Tigers |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-31216020080102 |access-date=2022-12-11}}</ref>
* February 27 – A mob [[Religion:Godhra train burning|attacks]] a train near Godhra, India, killing approximately 59 people.<ref>{{Cite news |last= |first= |date=2021-02-16 |title=Godhra train burning case accused held after 19 years |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/godhra-train-burning-case-accused-held-after-19-years/article33853611.ece |access-date=2022-12-11 |issn=0971-751X}}</ref> The state of Gujarat breaks out into riots, including the Gulbarg Society massacre on February 28 that kills approximately 69 people.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ghosh |first=Sohini |date=2022-07-01 |title=Gulberg Society case: 69 dead, 30 missing, all those convicted out on bail |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/gulberg-society-case-69-dead-30-missing-all-those-convicted-out-on-bail-8003685/ |access-date=2022-12-11 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref>
* May 20 – After a long period of occupation by Indonesia, East Timor's independence is recognized by Portugal and the {{wipe|United Nations}}.
* July 1 – The International Criminal Court (ICC) is established.
* September 10 – {{wipe|Switzerland}}, a [[Social:Neutral country|neutral country]], becomes a member of the {{wipe|United Nations}}.
* October 12 – [[Religion:Jemaah Islamiyah|Jemaah Islamiyah]], a violent Islamist group, claims responsibility for the detonation of three bombs in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian island of [[Place:Bali|Bali]]. The attack killed 202 people and left 209 people injured.
* November 15 – Hu Jintao becomes the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, making him the [[Social:Paramount leader|paramount leader]] of {{wipe|China}} after Jiang Zemin.

====2003====
* 2003–present – In February 2003, a conflict in Darfur, Sudan begins and escalates into full-scale war. By 2008 it was believed that up to 400,000 people had been killed and over 2.5 million displaced. In 2005, the ICC decided that Darfur war criminals would be tried, and on July 14, 2008, Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir was charged with 5 accounts of [[Social:Crimes against humanity|crimes against humanity]] and 2 accounts of war crimes, even though the ICC had no power to enforce such charges.
* 2003–2010 – The U.S.-led coalition invades Iraq on March 20, 2003, and overthrows the government of Saddam Hussein (who is executed by the Iraqi government on December 30, 2006). Coalition troops remain in the country to install a democratic government and fight an escalating insurgency. In addition to an insurgency against the American presence, Iraq also suffered from a civil war for several years. The war was soon seen as the central front of the War on Terror by many governments, despite growing international dissatisfaction with the war. The total death toll has been estimated at near 150,000 but these estimations are highly disputed, with one highly disputed study guessing even over 1 million.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://antiwar.com/casualties/|title=Estimated casualties in Iraq|access-date=6 October 2014|archive-date=7 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141007084135/http://antiwar.com/casualties/|url-status=live}}</ref> After the U.S.-led coalition initiated a troop surge in 2007, casualty numbers have decreased significantly. Combat ended, at least officially, in August 2010.
* 2003–2005 – A series of [[Social:Nonviolence|nonviolent]] [[Social:Revolution|revolution]]s known as the colour revolutions overthrow governments in [[Place:Georgia (country)|Georgia]], {{wipe|Ukraine}}, Kyrgyzstan, and [[Place:Lebanon|Lebanon]].
* December – Libyan leader [[Biography:Muammar Gaddafi|Muammar Gaddafi]] announces that Libya would voluntarily eliminate all weapons of mass destruction.

====2004====
* March 11 – Ten explosions occur at the Cercanías commuter train system of [[Place:Madrid|Madrid]], {{wipe|Spain}}, killing 191 people and injuring around 2,000.
* May 1 – The [[Social:European Union|European Union]] expands by 10 countries (including eight former communist countries, plus Malta and [[Place:Cyprus|Cyprus]]).
* June 5 – Former U.S. president Ronald Reagan dies at the age of 93, after suffering nearly a decade from [[Medicine:Alzheimer's disease|Alzheimer's disease]].
* September 1 – A group of Chechen rebels invade a school in Beslan, keeping thousands of hostages during three days. A series of shootings and bombings kills 334 people and injured 750.
* November 11 – Palestinian leader and Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization [[Biography:Yasser Arafat|Yasser Arafat]] dies in France, at the age of 75, from hemorrhagic stroke.
* November 18 – {{wipe|Massachusetts}} becomes the first U.S. state to legalize [[Social:Same-sex marriage|same-sex marriage]].
* December 26 – 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami leaves 227,898 dead.

====2005====
* January 1 – Jeanna Giese becomes the first person to ever survive [[Medicine:Rabies|rabies]] without a vaccination.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Razner|first=Sarah|title=15 years after she survived rabies, Jeanna Giese seeks to save others from it|url=https://www.fdlreporter.com/story/news/2019/09/12/fond-du-lac-rabies-survivor-jeanna-giese-seeks-save-others-virus/2284305001/|access-date=2021-01-14|website=The Reporter|language=en-US|archive-date=April 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419180124/https://www.fdlreporter.com/story/news/2019/09/12/fond-du-lac-rabies-survivor-jeanna-giese-seeks-save-others-virus/2284305001/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Lite|first=Jordan|title=Medical Mystery: Only One Person Has Survived Rabies without Vaccine--But How?|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/jeanna-giese-rabies-survivor/|access-date=2021-01-14|website=Scientific American|language=en|archive-date=December 10, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131210131741/http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=jeanna-giese-rabies-survivor|url-status=live}}</ref>
* January 5 – [[Astronomy:Eris (dwarf planet)|Eris]], the most massive known [[Astronomy:Dwarf planet|dwarf planet]] in the [[Astronomy:Solar System|Solar System]], is discovered by a team led by [[Biography:Michael E. Brown|Michael E. Brown]] using images originally taken on October 21, 2003, at the [[Organization:Palomar Observatory|Palomar Observatory]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://solarviews.com/eng/eris.htm|title=Dwarf Planet Eris|last=Hamilton|first=Calvin J.|website=Solar Views|access-date=July 3, 2016|archive-date=August 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160814052034/http://solarviews.com/eng/eris.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
* January 12 – [[Engineering:Deep Impact (spacecraft)|''Deep Impact'']] is launched from Cape Canaveral with the purpose of studying the [[Astronomy:Comet|comet]] [[Astronomy:Tempel 1|Tempel 1]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4162869.stm|title=Comet probe Deep Impact launches|publisher=BBC|date=2005-01-12|access-date=2009-10-14|archive-date=December 13, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061213152505/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4162869.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>
* January 14 – The [[Engineering:Huygens (spacecraft)|''Huygens'' spacecraft]] lands on [[Astronomy:Titan (moon)|Titan]], the largest moon of [[Astronomy:Saturn|Saturn]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/huygens_descent_comm_050114.html|title=Touchdown on Titan: Huygens Probe Hits its Mark|website=Space.com|access-date=2009-10-14|date=2005-01-14|first1=Tariq |last1=Malik |first2=Peter |last2=de Selding| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091010053614/http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/huygens_descent_comm_050114.html| archive-date=October 10, 2009| url-status= live}}</ref>
* January 20: The most intense [[Astronomy:Solar particle event|solar particle event]] in recorded history is observed.<ref>{{cite web |title=A New Kind of Solar Storm |url=https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2005/10jun_newstorm |website=NASA Science |access-date=1 January 2021 |archive-date=January 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126014020/https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2005/10jun_newstorm/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* April 19 – After the death of [[Biography:Pope John Paul II|Pope John Paul II]] on April 2, Joseph Ratzinger of Germany is elected as Pope Benedict XVI.
* July 7 – Four Islamic extremist suicide bombers set off three bombs in London; 56 people are killed, including the four suicide bombers.
* November 22 – [[Biography:Angela Merkel|Angela Merkel]] becomes the first elected female Chancellor of Germany.

====2006====
* July 12 – Hezbollah crosses the border of [[Place:Lebanon|Lebanon]] and captures two Israeli soldiers. Israel responds by sending troops across the border and bombing Hezbollah strongholds, while Hezbollah fires missiles on towns in northern Israel, approximately 6 each day. At the end of the war 1,200 Lebanese civilians, 500 Hezbollah fighters, 44 Israeli civilians and 121 Israeli soldiers die. A ceasefire is signed on August 14, after which Israeli troops withdrew from Lebanon.
* October 9 – North Korea conducts its first nuclear test.<ref>{{cite news |title=US confirms nuclear claim |work={{wipe|The New York Times}} |date=15 October 2006 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/16/world/asia/17koreacnd.html |first1=John |last1=O'Neil |first2=Norimitsu |last2=Onishi |access-date=21 February 2017 |archive-date=21 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201121110555/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/16/world/asia/17koreacnd.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This was preceded by years of political wrangling with the U.S. over the status of their nuclear program.

====2007====
* January 1 – Bulgaria and Romania join the [[Social:European Union|European Union]].
* January 25 – A civil war escalates in the Gaza Strip throughout June, which would result in the Hamas driving most Fatah-loyal forces out from the Strip. In reaction, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas dismisses Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and dissolves the Hamas-ruled parliament. Scattered conflict continues.
* July 25 – Pratibha Patil becomes the first woman to be elected President of India.
* December 13 – 27 EU member states sign the Treaty of Lisbon, with the treaty coming into effect on December 1, 2009.
* 2007–2008 – Crisis follows the Kenyan presidential election of 2007, leading to the formation of a coalition government, with Mwai Kibaki as president and Raila Odinga as prime minister.

====2008====
* February 16 – Kosovo unilaterally declares independence from Serbia. Serbia refuses to recognize it and considers Kosovo as part of its territory.
* August 1–12 – An armed conflict is fought between [[Place:Georgia (country)|Georgia]] and the Russian Federation together with Ossetian and Abkhazian separatists on the other. Russia officially recognizes independence of [[Place:Abkhazia|Abkhazia]] and [[Place:South Ossetia|South Ossetia]].
* November 4 – [[Biography:Barack Obama|Barack Obama]] is elected as the first African-American president of the United States. He is sworn into office in January 20, 2009.

====2009====
[[File:Reporter and Crowd outside UCLA - MJ Death.jpg|thumb|Reporter covering the death of Michael Jackson outside UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles]]
* June 13 – Protests erupt in [[Religion:Iran|Iran]], following the presidential election against Iranian President [[Biography:Mahmoud Ahmadinejad|Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]].
* June 25 – American pop star Michael Jackson dies at the age of 50. His death triggers an outpouring of worldwide grief; online reactions to the event cripple several major websites and services, as the abundance of people accessing the web addresses pushes [[Internet traffic|internet traffic]] to unprecedented and historic levels.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/06/26/michael.jackson.internet/|title=Jackson dies, almost takes Internet with him|website=CNN|date=June 26, 2009|access-date=January 30, 2024|archive-date=December 25, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221225202917/https://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/06/26/michael.jackson.internet/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===[[History:2010s|2010s]]===
[[File:Julia Gillard 2010.jpg|thumb|upright|Julia Gillard was sworn in as the first female Prime Minister of Australia in 2010.]]
[[File:White House celebrations, May 2 2011.jpg|thumb|Americans celebrating the death of Osama bin Laden in front of the White House]]
[[File:Światowe Dni Młodzieży - 28559360556.jpg|thumb|Pope Francis in Poland]]
[[File:Euromaidan Kiev 2014-01-23 11-04.JPG|thumb|{{wipe|Ukraine}}, Euromaidan, people protesting in favor of Ukraine's European way.]] thumb|Pro-Russian separatists in [[Donetsk, Ukraine]]
[[File:Slovenska vojska pri reševanju migrantske situacije z več zmogljivostmi 01.jpg|thumb|2015 European migrant crisis]]
[[File:After coup nightly demonstartion of president Erdogan supporters. Istanbul, Turkey, Eastern Europe and Western Asia. 22 July,2016.jpg|thumb|Turkish anti-coup rally in support of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 22 July 2016]]
[[File:Donald Trump swearing in ceremony.jpg|thumb|Inauguration of Donald Trump]]
[[File:Xi_Jinping_2019.jpg|thumb|upright|China's Xi Jinping has been the leader for life since 2018]]
[[File:March For Our Lives Parkland 2018.jpg|thumb|Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, parents, and others march in the March for Our Lives protest in Parkland, Florida in 2018]]
[[File:Whiteguard Volunteers HELP KERALA FLOOD 2018.jpg|thumb|2018 Kerala floods, {{wipe|India}}]]
[[File:NotreDame20190415QuaideMontebello (cropped).jpg|thumb|Notre-Dame fire]]

==== 2010 ====
* February 25 – Kamla Persad-Bissessar becomes the first female Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago.
* April 10 – Polish President Lech Kaczyński dies in an airplane crash near the city of Smolensk, Russia, along with his wife and 94 other people on board.
* June 11–July 11 – {{wipe|South Africa}} becomes the first country in [[Earth:Africa|Africa]] to host the FIFA World Cup.
* June 24 – Julia Gillard becomes the first female Prime Minister of Australia.
* October 3 – Dilma Rousseff is elected as the first female president of Brazil. She serves as the president until her impeachment and removal from office on August 31, 2016.
* November 13 – Burmese opposition leader and 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate [[Biography:Aung San Suu Kyi|Aung San Suu Kyi]] is released from house arrest, after being incarcerated since 1989.
* December 17 – The [[Social:Arab Spring|Arab Spring]], a revolutionary wave, begins in Tunisia, and eventually spreads across the [[Place:Middle East|Middle East]] and the [[Place:Arab world|Arab world]], with widespread protests, demonstrations, [[Social:Riot|riot]]s and civil wars for free elections and [[Philosophy:Human rights|human rights]].

==== 2011 ====
* March 11 – The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and subsequent Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in {{wipe|Japan}} leave 15,899 dead.
* April 29 – An estimated two billion people watch the wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey in London.
* May 2 – [[Religion:Al-Qaeda|Al-Qaeda]] leader [[Biography:Osama bin Laden|Osama bin Laden]], the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, is killed in a raid at his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan by the U.S. Navy's SEAL Team 6 (DEVGRU).
* July 10 – Britain's largest tabloid newspaper, the ''News of the World'', shuts down after 168 years in print due to the [[Social:News International phone hacking scandal|2009 phone hacking scandal]].
* July 14 – South Sudan, following the January 2011 independence referendum, becomes a member of the {{wipe|United Nations}}.
* July 22 – [[Biography:Anders Behring Breivik|Anders Behring Breivik]] perpetrates two terrorist attacks in {{wipe|Norway}}, the first being a bombing targeting government buildings in central [[Place:Oslo|Oslo]], the second being a mass shooting at a youth camp on the island of Utøya. It was the deadliest attack in Norway since the [[Social:World War II|Second World War]], with 77 people killed and 319 injuries.
* September 17 – The [[Social:Occupy movement|Occupy movement]], an international protest movement against [[Social:Social inequality|social]] and [[Social:Economic inequality|economic inequality]], takes shape. It is partially inspired by the Arab Spring and is one of the first significant global protest movements to occur in the age of [[Social:Social media|social media]].
* October 20 – Deposed dictator [[Biography:Muammar Gaddafi|Muammar Gaddafi]] is captured and killed by the National Liberation Army of Libya, during the Libyan Civil War.
* November 16 – Italy's long-term Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi resigns amid public protests, financial crisis and sexual scandals.
* December 15 – The Iraq War is formally declared over.
* December 17 – Kim Jong-il, [[Social:Supreme Leader (North Korean title)|supreme leader of North Korea]], dies. He is succeeded by his son [[Biography:Kim Jong-un|Kim Jong-un]].

====2012====
* September 11–12 – In Benghazi, Libya, an attack is coordinated against two United States government facilities, by members of the Islamic militant group Ansar al-Sharia.
* November 15 – [[Biography:Xi Jinping|Xi Jinping]] becomes the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, making him the [[Social:Paramount leader|paramount leader]] of {{wipe|China}} after Hu Jintao.
* December 10 – Séléka rebels seize power in the Central African Republic, ousting the President and government and beginning a civil war.
* December 19 – Park Geun-hye is elected President of South Korea, the first woman to hold the position.

====2013====
* January 11 – {{wipe|France}} intervenes with its army in the Northern Mali conflict, defeating the Islamists who had taken control of the country.
* February 28 – [[Biography:Pope Benedict XVI|Pope Benedict XVI]] resigns, becoming the first pope to do so since 1415. Benedict takes the title pope emeritus. At the subsequent papal conclave, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina is elected pope on March 13, becoming the first Latin American pope. Bergoglio takes the name of Pope Francis.
* March 5 – President of Venezuela Hugo Chávez dies due to prostate cancer and is succeeded by Nicolás Maduro.
* March 21 – Convicted Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan puts an end to the armed revolt against [[Place:Turkey|Turkey]].
* April 8 – {{wipe|United Kingdom}} politician and first female Prime Minister of the UK Margaret Thatcher dies at the age of 87, from a stroke.
* July 1 – Croatia becomes the 28th member of the [[Social:European Union|European Union]].
* September 14 – [[Place:Syria|Syria]] avoids an American intervention on its soil during the Syrian Civil War, accepting to [[Social:Destruction of Syria's chemical weapons|destroy]] all chemical weapons stocks owned.
* November – {{wipe|China}} declares an "Air Defense Identification Zone" in the East China Sea, including over the Senkaku Islands, a group of islands held by Japan, but claimed by both Japan and China, and the Socotra Rock, claimed by both China and South Korea.
* December 5 – {{wipe|South Africa}}n political and civil leader [[Biography:Nelson Mandela|Nelson Mandela]] dies at the age of 95, from natural causes.
* December 15 – The South Sudanese Civil War breaks out.
* [[Religion:Iran|Iran]] allows international inspections on its nuclear policy in exchange of the removal of the sanctions and the right to produce a small amount of low-grade enriched uranium, thus marking an apparent new policy towards the {{wipe|United Nations}} under Hassan Rohani's presidency.
* 2013–2014 – A political crisis in Thailand breaks out and the government declares martial law.

====2014====
* February 22 – Pro-Russian President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovich is ousted amidst the Euromaidan revolution. The Russian Federation annexes Crimea in response, and a "low intensity" war in Donbas breaks out between the Ukrainian government and Russian-backed separatists.
* May 26 – Narendra Modi becomes 14th Prime Minister of {{wipe|India}}, winning a clear majority in the election.
* July 8–August 26 – In [[Place:Israel|Israel]], tensions rise again between Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the State of Israel. Hamas fire hundreds of missiles into civilian cities in Israel, and the IDF retaliates and conducts airstrikes on the Gaza Strip for more than a month, with high casualties on both sides.
* July 17 – Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, a civilian commercial aircraft, is shot down in pro-Russian separatist-controlled territory in Eastern Ukraine.
* September 18 – Scotland votes to remain part of the {{wipe|United Kingdom}} during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.
* September–October – During the Syrian civil war, the [[Religion:Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]] rises and seizes territories in northern Iraq and Syria, near the border with Turkey. The {{wipe|United States}} lead a coalition of more than 30 countries to destroy ISIL. Meanwhile, {{wipe|Russia}} leads its own coalition, along with Syria, Iraq and Iran, and Russia's military action begins on September 30, 2015.
* October 31 – In Burkina Faso, President Blaise Compaoré resigns amidst widespread protests, ending 27 years of leadership.
* December 17 – United States President [[Biography:Barack Obama|Barack Obama]] and Cuban President Raúl Castro announce the beginning of a process of normalizing relations between Cuba and the United States, ending a 54-year stretch of hostility between the two nations. Meanwhile, on July 20, 2015, with full diplomatic relations, the embassies of both countries are opened after five decades.

==== 2015 ====
* January 7 – Two gunmen, brothers Saïd and Chérif Kouachi, commit a mass murder at the offices of ''[[Biography:Charlie Hebdo|Charlie Hebdo]]'' in [[Place:Paris|Paris]], killing 12 people. Following the attack, about two million people, including more than 40 world leaders, met in Paris for a rally of national unity, and 3.7 million people joined demonstrations across the country. The phrase ''Je suis Charlie'' became a common slogan of support at the rallies and in social media.
* March 6 – [[Organization:NASA|NASA]]'s ''[[Engineering:Dawn (spacecraft)|Dawn]]'' probe enters orbit around [[Astronomy:Ceres (dwarf planet)|Ceres]], becoming the first spacecraft to visit a [[Astronomy:Dwarf planet|dwarf planet]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nasa.gov/press/2015/march/nasa-spacecraft-becomes-first-to-orbit-a-dwarf-planet/index.html |title=NASA Spacecraft Becomes First to Orbit a Dwarf Planet |work=NASA |date=March 6, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-31754586 |title=Nasa's Dawn probe achieves orbit around Ceres |work=BBC |date=March 6, 2015}}</ref>
* March 23 – [[Place:Singapore|Singapore]]an politician and the 1st Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew dies at the age of 91.
* April 2 – 148 people are killed, the majority students, in a mass shooting at the Garissa University College in Kenya, perpetrated by the militant terrorist organization [[Religion:Al-Shabaab (militant group)|al-Shabaab]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/04/world/africa/kenyan-students-describe-shabab-attack-on-garissa-university-college.html |work=The New York Times |first=Jeffrey |last=Gettleman |title=Come Out and Live, Shabab Told Kenya Students. It Was a Lie |date=April 3, 2015 |access-date=March 1, 2017 |archive-date=June 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220613221407/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/04/world/africa/kenyan-students-describe-shabab-attack-on-garissa-university-college.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* April 25 – A magnitude 7.8 earthquake strikes Nepal and causes 8,857 deaths<ref>{{cite news |title=Nepal earthquake: Hundreds die, many feared trapped |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-32461019 |date=April 25, 2015 |work=BBC News |access-date=June 21, 2018 |archive-date=June 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629132532/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-32461019 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=2015-04-26|url=https://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-nepal-quake-aftershock-20150426-story.html|title=Nepal earthquake death toll tops 3,200|newspaper={{wipe|Los Angeles Times}}|access-date=2015-04-26|first=Bhrikuti|last=Rai|archive-date=March 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220327103019/https://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-nepal-quake-aftershock-20150426-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> in Nepal, 130 in {{wipe|India}},<ref name="ht52">{{cite news |work=Hindustan Times |date=April 25, 2015 |access-date=April 25, 2015 |title=Nepal earthquake: 52 dead, hundreds injured in India, huge damage in bordering areas |url=http://m.hindustantimes.com/india-news/earthquake-spells-destruction-in-india-20-feared-dead-houses-damaged/article1-1340918.aspx |archive-url=https://archive.today/20150426005807/http://m.hindustantimes.com/india-news/earthquake-spells-destruction-in-india-20-feared-dead-houses-damaged/article1-1340918.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 26, 2015}}</ref> 27 in {{wipe|China}}<ref name="KSL">{{cite web |agency=Associated Press |publisher=KSL |date=April 25, 2015 |access-date=April 25, 2015 |title=Nepal quake: Hundreds dead, history crumbles, Everest shaken |url=http://www.ksl.com/?nid=157&sid=34379730 |archive-date=June 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612163904/https://www.ksl.com/?nid=157&sid=34379730 |url-status=live }}</ref> and 4 in Bangladesh<ref name=USAToday>{{cite news|last1=Stanglin|first1=Doug|title=Hundreds dead as 7.8 magnitude quake rocks Nepal|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/04/25/nepal-earthquake/26354073|access-date=April 25, 2015|agency=USA Today|archive-date=April 25, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150425133937/http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/04/25/nepal-earthquake/26354073/|url-status=live}}</ref> with a total of 9,018 deaths.
* April 29 – The [[Organization:World Health Organization|World Health Organization]] (WHO) declares that [[Medicine:Rubella|rubella]] has been eradicated from the [[Earth:Americas|Americas]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-32523300 |title=Rubella (German measles) eradicated from Americas |work=BBC |date=April 29, 2015 |access-date=June 21, 2018 |archive-date=June 23, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180623233030/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-32523300 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* June 26 – The Supreme Court of the United States determines that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry in a landmark case ''Obergefell v. Hodges''.
* July 14 – [[Religion:Iran|Iran]] and the P5+1 (China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US + Germany) agree on final provisions of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in regards to the latter's nuclear program.
* October – The Chinese Communist Party announces the end of the one-child policy after 35 years.
* November 13 – [[Religion:Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|ISIL]] claims responsibility of the November 2015 Paris attacks, which killed 137 and left 416 injured.
* November 24 – [[Place:Turkey|Turkey]] shoots down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24M attack aircraft. This is the first case of a NATO member destroying a Russian aircraft since the attack on the Sui-ho Dam (during the Korean War).
* November 30–December 12 – During the [[Earth:2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference|UN summit on Climate Change]], 193 nations agree to reduce carbon emissions starting in 2020.
* During the 2015 European migrant crisis, around 1.3 million people, most notably refugees of the wars in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, flee to Europe to claim asylum, leading to considerable political upheaval in the [[Social:European Union|European Union]]. {{wipe|Germany}} ultimately takes in the majority of the asylum seekers.

====2016====
* June 5 – Hillary Clinton becomes the Democratic Party's nominee for president of the United States, making her the first woman to be nominated for president by a major party.
* June 12 – In Orlando, Florida, Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old security guard, kills 49 people and wounds 53 others in a terrorist attack inside Pulse, a gay nightclub.
* June 23 – The {{wipe|United Kingdom}} votes to leave the European Union in the June 2016 membership referendum.
* July 15–16 – A coup d'état is attempted in Turkey against state institutions, including but not limited to the government and President [[Biography:Recep Tayyip Erdoğan|Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]]. The attempt is carried out by a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces that organized themselves as the Peace at Home Council.
* September 2 – 1st President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov dies at age of 78, after 25 years in office.
* November 8 – Donald Trump is elected as the 45th president of the United States, defeating Hillary Clinton.
* December 19: Andrei Karlov, the Russian Ambassador to Turkey, is killed by Turkish police officer Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş.
* Cuban political and revolutionary leader Fidel Castro dies at the age of 90.
* Former President of Israel and 1994 Nobel Peace Prize laureate [[Biography:Shimon Peres|Shimon Peres]] dies at the age of 93, from a massive stroke.
* Bhumibol Adulyadej, the longest-reigning Thai monarch dies at the age of 88, from a long illness.

====2017====
* January 21–22 – In opposition to Donald Trump's inauguration, millions of people in the US and worldwide join the Women's March.
* January 27 – U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order restricting travel and immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. This order was blocked by the U.S. federal courts; a second, related order issued by Trump was also blocked by the federal courts. The block of second order was partially removed, by the Supreme Court, in June. The Supreme Court stated they would reconsider the order in October.
* April 6 – In response to a suspected chemical weapons attack on a rebel-held town, the U.S. military launches 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at Shayrat Airbase in Syria.
* May 23 – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declares martial law in Mindanao, following an attack in Marawi by the Maute group. This would last until October 23.
* August 17–18 – In the 2017 Barcelona attacks, a terrorist drives into more than 100 people in [[Place:Barcelona|Barcelona]], {{wipe|Spain}}, killing 13 and injuring many.
* October 27 – Catalonia declares independence from {{wipe|Spain}},<ref>{{cite news |date=27 October 2017 |title=Catalonia declares independence from Spain as political crisis deepens |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2017/10/27/europe/catalonia-independence-spain/index.html |work=CNN |access-date=27 October 2017 |archive-date=6 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171106105733/http://edition.cnn.com/2017/10/27/europe/catalonia-independence-spain/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> but the declaration is not recognized by the Spanish government or any other sovereign nation.<ref>{{cite news |date=27 October 2017 |title=Catalans declare independence as Madrid imposes direct rule |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41780116 |work=BBC |access-date=27 October 2017 |archive-date=4 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204112602/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41780116 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== 2018 ====
* February 6 – [[Company:SpaceX|SpaceX]] successfully conducts its maiden flight of its most powerful rocket to date, the [[Engineering:Falcon Heavy|Falcon Heavy]], from [[Astronomy:Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39|LC39A]] at John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-42969020|title=Elon Musk's Falcon Heavy rocket launches successfully|work=BBC News |date=February 6, 2018 |access-date=February 6, 2018}}</ref>
* February 9–25 – The 2018 Winter Olympics are held in Pyeongchang, {{wipe|South Korea}}.<ref name="olympic1">{{cite web|title=Pyeongchang 2018 Olympics - Next Winter Olympic Games in Korea|url=http://www.olympic.org/pyeongchang-2018-winter-olympics|publisher=Olympic.org|access-date=February 28, 2015}}</ref>
* February 10 – Kay Goldsworthy becomes the first female [[Religion:Archbishop|archbishop]] in the Anglican Communion on her installation in the Anglican Diocese of Perth, Western Australia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.anglicannews.org/news/2017/08/first-female-archbishop-elected-in-australia.aspx|title=First female Archbishop elected in Australia|website=Anglicannews.org|date=2017-08-30|access-date=2017-09-05}}</ref>
* March 19 – Paula-Mae Weekes becomes the first female President of Trinidad and Tobago.
* March 24 – In over 900 cities internationally, people participate in demonstrations against gun violence and mass shootings, calling for stronger gun control in the March for Our Lives, which was a student-led demonstration in response to the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida that took place in February 14.
* May 9 – The opposition-led Pakatan Harapan coalition, led by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, secures a parliamentary majority in the Malaysian Parliament, ending the 61-year rule of the Barisan Nasional coalition in Malaysia since independence in 1957.
* May 19 – The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is held at St George's Chapel, {{wipe|England}}, with an estimated global audience of 1.9 billion.
* June 12 – President Donald Trump and North Korean leader [[Biography:Kim Jong-un|Kim Jong-un]] attend a summit in [[Place:Singapore|Singapore]], the first meeting between the leaders of the two countries.
* October 28 – [[Biography:Jair Bolsonaro|Jair Bolsonaro]] is elected as the 38th president of {{wipe|Brazil}}, after having been stabbed during the election campaign and undergone three surgeries.
* The National People's Congress of {{wipe|China}} approves a constitutional change removing term limits for its leaders, granting [[Biography:Xi Jinping|Xi Jinping]] the status of "leader for life". Xi is the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party ([[Social:Paramount leader|de facto leader]]).

====2019====
* January 10 – Venezuela enters a presidential crisis after the disputed results of the 2018 Venezuelan presidential election leads to Juan Guaidó being declared the acting president, disputing Nicolás Maduro.
* February 27–28 – President Donald Trump and North Korean leader [[Biography:Kim Jong-un|Kim Jong-un]] meet for the 2019 North Korea–United States Hanoi Summit in Vietnam.
* March 15:
** The Christchurch mosque shootings: Australian terrorist Brenton Harrison Tarrant kills 51 people and injures 40 at two mosques in New Zealand.
** Over 2 million people in [[Place:Hong Kong|Hong Kong]] protest against proposed legislation regarding extradition to China.
* March 23 – Most of the territory formerly held by the [[Religion:Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|Islamic State]] in Syria collapses amidst the Syrian Civil War. After years of global push back, the extremist group transitions from a [[Earth:Proto-state|proto-state]] into an insurgency as it retains offshoots and influence in regions across the globe.
* April 11:
** [[Social:WikiLeaks|WikiLeaks]] co-founder Julian Assange is arrested after seven years in Ecuador's embassy in London.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-47891737|title=Julian Assange: Wikileaks co-founder arrested in London|date=April 11, 2019|work=BBC News|access-date=April 11, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/apr/11/julian-assange-arrested-at-ecuadorian-embassy-wikileaks|title=Julian Assange arrested at Ecuadorian embassy|date=April 11, 2019|newspaper={{wipe|The Guardian}}|access-date=April 11, 2019}}</ref>
** Amid mass protests, Omar al-Bashir is deposed as President of Sudan in a coup d'état, after nearly 30 years in office.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-47891470|title=Sudan military says it has seized power|date=April 11, 2019|work=BBC News|access-date=April 11, 2019}}</ref>
* April 15 – During Holy Week, a major fire engulfs Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, resulting in the roof and main spire collapsing.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/15/notre-dame-fire-paris-france-cathedral|title=Notre Dame fire: major incident at historic Paris landmark|date=April 15, 2019|newspaper={{wipe|The Guardian}}|access-date=April 15, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-47941794|title=Notre-Dame cathedral: Firefighters tackle blaze in Paris|date=April 15, 2019|work=BBC News|access-date=April 15, 2019}}</ref>
* April 21 – A series of Islamist bomb attacks occur at eight locations in Sri Lanka, including three churches, four hotels and one housing complex in [[Place:Colombo|Colombo]], on Easter Sunday, leaving 259 people dead and over 500 injured. It is the deadliest terrorist attack in the country since the Sri Lankan Civil War ended in 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/scores-hurt-in-sri-lanka-easter-church-bombings-20190421-p51fyn.html |title=Hundreds killed, 450 injured as explosions rock Catholic churches during Easter mass |date= April 22, 2019|website=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date= April 22, 2019}}</ref>
* April 28 – Victor Vescovo achieves the deepest dive of any human in history, as he reaches [[Earth:Challenger Deep|Challenger Deep]] within the Mariana Trench, at a depth of 10,928&nbsp;m (35,853&nbsp;ft).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fivedeeps.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/FDE-Challenger-Release-FINAL-5132019.pdf|title=Deepest Submarine Dive in History, Five Deeps Expedition Conquers Challenger Deep|date=May 13, 2019|access-date=May 13, 2019|publisher=Five Deeps}}</ref>
* April 30 – Emperor Akihito of {{wipe|Japan}} abdicates from his throne, the first abdication by a Japanese monarch in almost two centuries. The abdication ends the Heisei era of Japan and ushers in the Reiwa era with new emperor Naruhito ascending to the throne on May 1.
* July 16 – The European Parliament elects Ursula von der Leyen as the new president of the European Commission.
* December 10 – Sanna Marin, at the age of 34, becomes the world's youngest serving prime minister after being selected to lead {{wipe|Finland}}'s Social Democratic Party.
* December 18 – President Donald Trump is impeached by the United States House of Representatives.
* December 31 – The first known case of [[Medicine:COVID-19|COVID-19]] is reported in [[Place:Wuhan|Wuhan]], {{wipe|China}}; the disease would rapidly proliferate into a global pandemic throughout the next three months.<ref name="Novel Coronavirus—China">{{cite web |title=WHO {{!}} Novel Coronavirus—China |url=https://www.who.int/csr/don/12-january-2020-novel-coronavirus-china/en/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200114185815/https://www.who.int/csr/don/12-january-2020-novel-coronavirus-china/en/  |archive-date=14 January 2020 |website=WHO |access-date=9 April 2020}}</ref><ref name="5days">{{cite web|title=Covid-19: Five days that shaped the outbreak|first=Jane|last=McMullen|work=BBC News|publisher=BBC|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-55756452|date=25 January 2021|access-date=25 January 2021|archive-date=26 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126021655/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-55756452|url-status=live}}</ref>

===[[History:2020s|2020s]]===
[[File:George Floyd Miami Protest, June 7, 2020 17.jpg|thumb|George Floyd protests in Miami during the COVID-19 pandemic in June 2020.<ref>{{cite news |title=Did Floyd Protests Lead to a Virus Surge? Here's What We Know |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/01/nyregion/nyc-coronavirus-protests.html |work=The New York Times |date=1 July 2020 |access-date=8 July 2020 |archive-date=18 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201218060527/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/01/nyregion/nyc-coronavirus-protests.html |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
[[File:Joe Biden presidential portrait.jpg|thumb|Joe Biden, the 46th and current president of the United States.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Biden Wins Presidency, According To AP, Edging Trump In Turbulent Race|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/11/07/928803493/biden-wins-presidency-according-to-ap-edging-trump-in-turbulent-race|access-date=2020-11-07|newspaper=NPR|date=7 November 2020|language=en|last1=Detrow|first1=Scott|last2=Khalid|first2=Asma|archive-date=25 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225155245/https://www.npr.org/2020/11/07/928803493/biden-wins-presidency-according-to-ap-edging-trump-in-turbulent-race|url-status=live}}</ref>]]
[[File:2021 storming of the United States Capitol 09 (cropped).jpg|thumb|January 6 United States Capitol attack]]
[[File:Taliban Humvee in Kabul, August 2021 (cropped).png|thumb|Fall of Kabul]]
[[File:Destruction of Russian tanks by Ukrainian troops in Mariupol (4).jpg|thumb|2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]]
[[File:20220908-Buckingham Palace Elizabeth II death reactions (07).jpg|thumb|Crowds at Buckingham Palace following the death of Elizabeth II]]
[[File:Corpo de Bento XVI em câmara ardente.(2).png|thumb|Death and funeral of Pope Benedict XVI]]
[[File:Collage of 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake.jpg|thumb|2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake]]
[[File:3003 West Tasman Drive entrance 2, Santa Clara, California.jpg|thumb|Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank]]
[[File:Donald-J.-Trump-Indictment.pdf|thumb|The April 4 indictment document against Donald Trump]]
[[File:2023 Coronation Balcony.jpg|thumb|Coronation of Charles III and Camilla]]
[[File:Prigozhin rebellion Rostov tank with flowers in the muzzle June 24.jpg|thumb|Wagner Group rebellion]]
[[File:Buildings in Gaza Strip being levelled by Israeli missiles (cropped).png|thumb |2023 Israel–Hamas war]]

====2020====
* January 3 – A U.S. drone strike at Baghdad International Airport kills [[Religion:Iran|Iran]]ian general Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi paramilitary leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. Five days later, Iran carries out retaliatory missile strikes on U.S. bases in Iraq, while Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 is shot down by the IRGC after being mistaken for an American cruise missile.
* January 31 – The {{wipe|United Kingdom}} becomes the first member state to leave the [[Social:European Union|European Union]].
* March – Beginning of the worldwide pandemic of [[Biology:Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2|SARS-CoV-2]], the virus which causes [[Medicine:COVID-19|COVID-19]]. Widespread economic disruption, including a [[Finance:2020 stock market crash|stock market crash]], occurred during the pandemic.
* April 6 – The {{wipe|United States}} designates the Russian Imperial Movement as a terrorist organization and imposes sanctions on its leaders; it is the first [[Social:White supremacy|white supremacist]] group the U.S. has designated as a terrorist organization.<ref>{{cite web|date=April 6, 2020|title=In a first, US slaps sanctions on Russian white supremacists|url=https://apnews.com/4f5dfda48d9f13876af828757c85d852|access-date=June 3, 2020|website=AP NEWS}}</ref>
* May 26 – Protests break out following the [[Biography:Murder of George Floyd|murder of George Floyd]] across hundreds of cities in the United States and even smaller ones outside the US. Derek Chauvin, the officer responsible for Floyd's murder, would ultimately be convicted on two counts of murder and one of manslaughter in the wake of the protests.
* June 30 – {{wipe|China}} passes the controversial Hong Kong national security law, allowing China to crack down on opposition to Beijing at home or abroad.
* August 11 – Kamala Harris becomes the Democratic Party's nominee for vice-president of the United States, making her the first African-American, the first Asian-American and the third female vice presidential running mate on a major party ticket.
* August 18 – A mutiny in a military base by soldiers of the Malian Armed Forces develops into a coup d'état. President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta and Prime Minister Boubou Cissé, among other senior governmental and military officers, are forced to resign.
* September 4 – Kosovo and Serbia announce that they will normalize economic relations.
* November 3 – Joe Biden is elected as the 46th president of the United States, and Kamala Harris is elected as vice-president. Biden is the oldest person elected to a first term.
* November 15: President of Kyrgyzstan Sooronbay Jeenbekov resigns from office after weeks of massive protests in the wake of the October 2020 parliamentary election; opposition leader Sadyr Japarov assumes office as both the acting president and Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan.
* The [[Finance:Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership|Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)]] is signed by 15 [[Earth:Asia-Pacific|Asia-Pacific]] countries to form the world's largest free-trade bloc, covering a third of the world's population.
* Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and Abdelaziz al-Hilu, the leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM–N), sign an agreement to transition the country into a [[Philosophy:Secular state|secular state]].
* A United Nations Human Rights Council fact-finding mission formally accuses the Venezuelan government of [[Social:Crimes against humanity|crimes against humanity]], including cases of killings, torture, violence against political opposition and disappearances since 2014. President Nicolás Maduro and other senior Venezuelan officials are among those implicated in the charges.
* [[Place:Israel|Israel]], Sudan, Morocco, the [[Place:United Arab Emirates|United Arab Emirates]] and Bahrain sign agreements to formally normalise diplomatic relations.
* [[Place:Azerbaijan|Azerbaijan]] launches a successful military campaign against Armenian forces to take back the disputed [[Place:Nagorno-Karabakh|Nagorno-Karabakh]] region. [[Place:Turkey|Turkey]] sends Syrian mercenaries to assist in this endeavor, and {{wipe|Russia}} ends the conflict by deploying peacekeepers.
* North Korea demolishes the Inter-Korean Liaison Office in Kaesong, established in 2018 to improve relations.
* The Special Tribunal for Lebanon convicts ''in absentia'' Salim Ayyash, a senior member of Hezbollah, for the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri.
* Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the longest-serving prime minister in the history of Japan, announces his pending resignation from office, citing ill health, he was replaced by Yoshihide Suga and Fumio Kishida.
* The Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-Sabah dies at the age of 91. Crown Prince Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is named his successor.
* The EU launches legal action against the UK, accusing it of breaking international law by overriding sections of the Brexit withdrawal agreement.
* In the 2020 New Caledonian independence referendum, [[Earth:New Caledonia|New Caledonia]] votes against independence from France.

====2021====
* January 1 – The [[Finance:African Continental Free Trade Area|African Continental Free Trade Area]] comes into effect.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/1/1/after-months-of-covid-delays-african-free-trade-bloc-launches |title=After months of COVID delays, African free trade bloc launches |publisher=Al Jazeera |date=1 January 2021|access-date=3 January 2021}}</ref>
* January 6 – Pro-Trump rioters storm the US Capitol, disrupting the Congressional certification of United States President-elect Joe Biden. Trump is impeached a second time a week later for his role in the storming, making him the first US federal official to be impeached more than once and the first president to have his trial occur after his tenure expired.
* January 20 – Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are inaugurated as the 46th and 49th President and Vice President of the United States. Harris becomes the first Black, South Asian and female Vice President.
* January 22 – The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the first legally binding international agreement comprehensively to prohibit nuclear weapons, comes into effect.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/01/1082702|title=Guterres hails entry into force of treaty banning nuclear weapons|date=22 January 2021|website=UN News|access-date=December 7, 2023|archive-date=April 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424161740/https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/01/1082702|url-status=live}}</ref>
* January 26 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases exceeds 100 million worldwide.<ref>{{cite news|date=26 January 2021|title=COVID-19: 100 million coronavirus cases recorded worldwide – a year after virus first officially diagnosed|url=https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-100-million-coronavirus-cases-recorded-worldwide-a-year-after-virus-first-officially-diagnosed-12191487|work=Sky News|access-date=27 January 2021|archive-date=February 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210214220316/https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-100-million-coronavirus-cases-recorded-worldwide-a-year-after-virus-first-officially-diagnosed-12191487|url-status=live}}</ref>
* January 29 – COVID-19 pandemic: The European Union invokes [[Finance:Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol|Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol]] following a row over [[Medicine:COVID-19 vaccine|COVID-19 vaccine]] supplies before reversing the decision.<ref>{{cite news |title=What is Article 16 and why did the EU make a U-turn after triggering it? |url=https://news.sky.com/story/what-is-article-16-and-why-did-the-eu-make-a-u-turn-after-triggering-it-12202915 |date=31 January 2021 |access-date=2 February 2021 |agency=Sky News |archive-date=September 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926081208/https://news.sky.com/story/what-is-article-16-and-why-did-the-eu-make-a-u-turn-after-triggering-it-12202915 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* February 1 – A coup d'état in Myanmar removes [[Biography:Aung San Suu Kyi|Aung San Suu Kyi]] from power and restores military rule.<ref>{{cite web |title=Military takes control of Myanmar; Suu Kyi reported detained |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/reports-military-coup-myanmar-suu-kyi-detained-75602314 |website=ABC |access-date=1 February 2021 |date=1 February 2021 |archive-date=3 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303001114/https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/reports-military-coup-myanmar-suu-kyi-detained-75602314 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* February 18 – [[Organization:NASA|NASA]]'s [[Astronomy:Mars 2020|Mars 2020]] mission (containing the ''[[Engineering:Perseverance (rover)|Perseverance]]'' rover and ''[[Astronomy:Mars Helicopter Ingenuity|Ingenuity]]'' helicopter drone) lands on [[Astronomy:Mars|Mars]] at [[Astronomy:Jezero (crater)|Jezero Crater]], after seven months of travel.<ref>{{cite web|last=mars.nasa.gov|title=Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover|url=https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/|access-date=2021-02-18|website=mars.nasa.gov|language=en|archive-date=4 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604025605/https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* April 30–June 13 – A crush during a pilgrimage on Lag BaOmer, renewed violence during the 2021 Israel-Palestine crisis and continuing problems with the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel precede the 2021 Israeli presidential election. Amidst the election, Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid agree to a rotation government, first headed by Bennett, in order to oust Benjamin Netanyahu as Prime Minister as the month of crises is the culmination of scandals and corruption, including financial criminal charges, during Netanyahu's record long tenure.
* June 5 – The [[Organization:G7|G7]] agrees on a global [[Finance:Minimum corporate tax rate|minimum corporate tax rate]] of 15% intended to prevent [[Finance:Tax avoidance|tax avoidance]] by some of the world's biggest multinationals.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2021-06-05|title=G7: Rich nations back deal to tax multinationals|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-57368247|access-date=2021-06-05}}</ref>
* June 7 – The ''[[Engineering:Juno (spacecraft)|Juno]]'' spacecraft performs its only flyby of [[Astronomy:Jupiter|Jupiter]]'s moon [[Astronomy:Ganymede (moon)|Ganymede]], the first flyby of the moon by any spacecraft in over 20 years.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Agle |first1=D.C. |last2=Fox |first2=Karen |last3=Johnson |first3=Alana |last4=Schmid |first4=Deb |title=NASA's Juno to Get a Close Look at Jupiter's Moon Ganymede |url=https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/nasa-s-juno-to-get-a-close-look-at-jupiter-s-moon-ganymede |website=[[Organization:NASA|NASA]] |access-date=3 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603202011/https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/nasa-s-juno-to-get-a-close-look-at-jupiter-s-moon-ganymede/ |archive-date=3 June 2021 |date=3 June 2021 |quote=On Monday, June 7 [...] NASA's Juno spacecraft will come within 645 miles (1,038 kilometers) of the surface of Jupiter's largest moon, Ganymede. The flyby will be the closest a spacecraft has come to the solar system's largest natural satellite since NASA's Galileo spacecraft made its penultimate close approach back on May 20, 2000. |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Berger |first1=Eric |title=NASA extends Juno, turning spacecraft into an Io, Europa, and Ganymede explorer |url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/01/nasa-extends-missions-to-jupiter-and-mars-expect-lots-of-jovian-moon-flybys/ |website=[[Ars Technica]] |access-date=3 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603202029/https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/01/nasa-extends-missions-to-jupiter-and-mars-expect-lots-of-jovian-moon-flybys/ |archive-date=3 June 2021 |date=12 January 2021 |quote=As part of a research plan submitted by Scott Bolton, Juno's principal investigator, the spacecraft will fly to within 1,000km of the surface of Ganymede... |url-status=live}}</ref>
* July 7 – President of Haiti, Jovenel Moïse, is assassinated in a midnight attack by unknown mercenaries.
* August 15 – The Taliban regain control of Kabul after US forces and the [[Place:Islamic Republic of Afghanistan|republican government]] flee Afghanistan, marking the end of the War in Afghanistan after nearly 20 years.<ref>{{cite news |date=16 August 2021 |title=Afghanistan conflict: Kabul falls to Taliban as president flees |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58223231 |work=BBC News |access-date=16 August 2021 |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816071218/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58223231 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* November 30 – Barbados becomes a republic by replacing Elizabeth II as Queen with Sandra Mason as president in the role of head of state.
* December 25 – [[Organization:NASA|NASA]], [[Organization:European Space Agency|ESA]], the [[Organization:Canadian Space Agency|Canadian Space Agency]] and the [[Organization:Space Telescope Science Institute|Space Telescope Science Institute]] launch the [[Astronomy:James Webb Space Telescope|James Webb Space Telescope]], the successor of the [[Astronomy:Hubble Space Telescope|Hubble Space Telescope]].

====2022====
* February 4 – China and Russia issue a joint statement opposing further NATO expansion, expressing "serious concerns" about the [[Organization:AUKUS|AUKUS]] security pact, and pledging to cooperate with each other on a range of issues.<ref>{{Cite news|date=5 February 2022|title=China joins Russia in opposing Nato expansion|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-60257080|access-date=7 February 2022|archive-date=7 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220207051810/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-60257080|url-status=live}}</ref>
* February 4–20 – The 2022 Winter Olympics are held in [[Place:Beijing|Beijing]], China, making it the first city ever to host both the Summer Olympics and Winter Olympics.<ref>{{Cite web|title=2022 Olympics - Next Winter Olympic Games {{!}} Beijing 2022|url=https://www.olympic.org/beijing-2022|date=May 28, 2020|website=International Olympic Committee|access-date=May 29, 2020|archive-date=27 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227173804/https://www.olympic.org/beijing-2022|url-status=live}}</ref>
* February 24 – After a prolonged military buildup, Russia launches an invasion of Ukraine.
* June 24 – The Supreme Court [[Organization:Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization|rules]] that the Constitution of the United States does not confer a right to abortion, thus overruling the 1973 case ''Roe v. Wade'', and its related 1992 case ''Planned Parenthood v. Casey''. Protests erupt across nearly every major city in the United States.
**July 8 – Former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe is assassinated while giving a public speech in the city of [[Place:Nara, Nara|Nara]], Japan.
* September 8 – Elizabeth II, the longest reigning British monarch and longest reigning female monarch dies, and is succeeded by Charles III, her eldest child.
* October 29 – At least 158 people are killed and another 197 injured in a crowd crush during Halloween festivities in Seoul, South Korea.
* October 30 – Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is elected as the 39th president of {{wipe|Brazil}}, after defeating incumbent [[Biography:Jair Bolsonaro|Jair Bolsonaro]], becoming the first Brazilian president to be elected for a third term.
* November 24 – Long-time opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is appointed by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Abdullah as Prime Minister of Malaysia.
* December 7 – The Congress of Peru removes President Pedro Castillo from office and arrests him after he tries to dissolve congress in a coup attempt, Vice President Dina Boluarte succeeds him, leading to large protests against Boluarte and in favor of Castillo to erupt.
* December 19 – At the [[Biology:2022 United Nations Biodiversity Conference|UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15)]], nearly 200 countries agree a landmark deal to protect a third of the planet for nature by 2030.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/19/cop15-historic-deal-signed-to-halt-biodiversity-loss-by-2030-aoe | title=Cop15: historic deal struck to halt biodiversity loss by 2030 | work=The Guardian |date=19 December 2022|access-date=19 December 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-64019324 | title=COP15: Nations reach 'historic' deal to protect nature | work=BBC News |date=19 December 2022|access-date=19 December 2022 }}</ref>
* December 29 – Brazilian football legend Pelé dies at the age of 82.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Brazilian football legend Pele dies at age 82 |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/29/brazilian-football-legend-pele-dies-aged-82 |access-date=2023-05-10 |website=www.aljazeera.com |language=en}}</ref>
* December 31 – [[Biography:Pope Benedict XVI|Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI]], who served from 2005 until his resignation in 2013, dies at the age of 95.

====2023====
* January 1 – Croatia adopts the [[Finance:Euro|euro]] and joins the Schengen Area, becoming the 20th member state of the Eurozone and the 27th member of the Schengen Area. This is the first enlargement of the Eurozone since Lithuania's entry in 2015, and the first enlargement of the Schengen Area since [[Finance:Liechtenstein|Liechtenstein]]'s entry in 2011.<ref>{{cite web |date=July 12, 2022 |title=Croatia set to join the euro area on 1 January 2023: Council adopts final required legal acts |url=https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2022/07/12/croatia-set-to-join-the-euro-area-on-1-january-2023-council-adopts-final-required-legal-acts/ |access-date=July 16, 2022 |website=European Council/Council of the European Union |archive-date=July 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220725212627/https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2022/07/12/croatia-set-to-join-the-euro-area-on-1-january-2023-council-adopts-final-required-legal-acts/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="currency">{{cite web |last=Buckley |first=Julia |title=This popular European country just got a new currency |url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/croatia-joins-euro-zone-schengen/index.html |access-date=2023-01-03 |website=CNN |date=January 2, 2023  |archive-date=January 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230103001950/https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/croatia-joins-euro-zone-schengen/index.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
* January 3 – Starting from this date, many countries impose travel restrictions on travel from China due to the relaxation of the country's zero-COVID policy.<ref>{{cite web |date=2023-01-12 |title=COVID restrictions ramp up as international travel from China resumes |url=https://www.euronews.com/travel/2023/01/12/china-resumes-international-travel-which-countries-are-introducing-new-covid-restrictions |access-date=2023-01-16 |website=euronews |archive-date=January 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116223816/https://www.euronews.com/travel/2023/01/12/china-resumes-international-travel-which-countries-are-introducing-new-covid-restrictions |url-status=live}}</ref>
* January 8 – Supporters of former Brazilian president [[Biography:Jair Bolsonaro|Jair Bolsonaro]] storm the Brazilian National Congress, the Supreme Federal Court and the Presidential Palace of Planalto.
* February 1 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady announces his retirement from the NFL.
* February 3: The US announces it is tracking alleged Chinese spy balloons over the Americas, with one drifting from Yukon to South Carolina before being shot down the next day, and a second hovering over Colombia and Brazil. This event is followed by subsequent [[Unsolved:List of high-altitude object events in 2023|detections and shootdowns of high-altitude objects]] elsewhere.
* February 6 – Two earthquakes strike southern [[Place:Turkey|Turkey]], the first 7.8 ({{M|ww|link=y}}) in Gaziantep Province and the other 7.5 {{M|ww}} in Kahramanmaraş Province, causing widespread damage and at least 58,000 deaths in [[Place:Turkey|Turkey]] and [[Place:Syria|Syria]], with more than 120,000 injured.<ref>{{cite news |date=2023-02-06 |title=Earthquake Kills More Than 110 People in Turkey, Syria |language=en |work=Bloomberg.com |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-06/magnitude-7-7-earthquake-strikes-in-turkey-gfz |access-date=2023-02-06 |archive-date=6 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206014835/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-06/magnitude-7-7-earthquake-strikes-in-turkey-gfz |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2023-02-06 |title=Powerful quake kills at least 360 people in Turkey, Syria |url=https://apnews.com/article/earthquake-shakes-turkey-b927808f6a5c54bdb669120faa40b7bc |access-date=2023-02-06 |website=AP NEWS |language=en |archive-date=6 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206020324/https://apnews.com/article/earthquake-shakes-turkey-b927808f6a5c54bdb669120faa40b7bc |url-status=live}}</ref>
* February 7 – LeBron James breaks the all time NBA scoring record, scoring 38,388 points. The record was previously held by Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
* February 21 – Vladimir Putin announces that Russia is suspending its participation in New START, a nuclear arms reduction treaty with the US.
* February 27 – The United Kingdom and the European Union reach a new agreement surrounding modifications to the Northern Ireland Protocol.
* March 4 –  UN member states agree on a legal framework for the High Seas Treaty, which aims to protect 30% of the world's oceans by 2030.
* March 10:
** The National People's Congress unanimously re-elects [[Biography:Xi Jinping|Xi Jinping]] as the President of the People's Republic of China to an unprecedented third term.
** [[Religion:Iran|Iran]] and Saudi Arabia agree to resume diplomatic relations which were severed in 2016 at talks meditated by {{wipe|China}}.
* March 17 – The International Criminal Court issues an arrest warrant for Russian president Vladimir Putin, the first against a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.
* March 19 – In a deal brokered by the Swiss government, investment bank [[Company:UBS|UBS]] [[Finance:Acquisition of Credit Suisse by UBS|agrees to buy]] [[Company:Credit Suisse|Credit Suisse]] for {{CHF|link=yes|ISO=yes}} 3 billion ({{USD|3.2 billion}}) in an all-stock deal.
* March 20 – The [[Organization:Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]] (IPCC) releases the synthesis report of its [[Earth:IPCC Sixth Assessment Report|Sixth Assessment Report]] on [[Earth:Climate change|climate change]].
* March 23 – World Athletics, the global governing body for athletics, bans trans women who have gone through male puberty from competing in female events.
* March 26:
** Honduras switches its formal diplomatic recognition of "China" from the Republic of China to the {{wipe|China}}.
** Large-scale spontaneous protests erupt across [[Place:Israel|Israel]] in the wake of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu firing his defence minister who spoke against the government's judicial overhaul plan.
* March 29: {{wipe|Brazil}} and {{wipe|China}} sign an agreement to trade in their own currencies, ceasing the usage of the {{wipe|United States dollar}} as an intermediary.
* March 30:
** Former U.S. president Donald Trump is indicted by a {{wipe|New York City}} grand jury, the first such indictment of a former President in U.S. history.
** The International Court of Justice rules that the {{wipe|United States}} violated its Treaty of Amity with [[Religion:Iran|Iran]] when it allowed its domestic courts to freeze assets held by Iranian companies.
* April 4 – {{wipe|Finland}} becomes the 31st member of NATO, doubling the Western alliance's border with Russia.
* April 14 – [[Astronomy:Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer|Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer]] (JUICE) is launched by the [[Organization:European Space Agency|European Space Agency]] (ESA) to search for life in the [[Astronomy:Moons of Jupiter|Jovian system]], with an expected arrival date of 2031.
* April 15:
** Nuclear power in Germany ends after the closure of the final power plants and nuclear being a power source for the country for over 50 years.
** Fighting breaks out across Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The RSF captures Khartoum International Airport, and the presidential palace in [[Place:Khartoum|Khartoum]].
* May 1 – San Francisco-based [[Company:First Republic Bank|First Republic Bank]] fails and is auctioned off by the US FDIC to [[Company:JPMorgan Chase|JPMorgan Chase]] for $10.7 billion The collapse surpasses March's collapse of Silicon Valley Bank to become the second largest in US history.
* May 5 – [[Organization:World Health Organization|World Health Organization]] declares end of the COVID-19 pandemic global health emergency.
* May 6: The coronation of Charles III and Camilla as King and Queen of the {{wipe|United Kingdom}} and the other Commonwealth realms is held in Westminster Abbey, [[Place:London|London]].
* May 7 – [[Place:Syria|Syria]] is readmitted into the Arab League after being suspended since 2011.
* May 9 – A Manhattan-based federal civil jury finds that former President Donald Trump sexually abused and defamed writer E. Jean Carroll in 1996, awarding her $5 million in damages.
* May 12 – The Title 42 expulsion policy expires at midnight, creating a question about whether a new immigration policy would be formed as a replacement. This comes as a surge of migrants gather at the U.S southern border.
* May 25 – {{wipe|Russia}} and {{wipe|Belarus}} sign an agreement in [[Place:Minsk|Minsk]] allowing the stationing of Russian tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory.
* June 6: Nova Kakhovka dam in the Russian-controlled region of Kherson is destroyed, threatening the region with devastating floodwaters.
* June 8 – Former U.S. president Donald Trump is indicted by Jack Smith's special counsel over mishandling of classified documents found at the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago.
* June 12 – Eritrea rejoins the [[Organization:Intergovernmental Authority on Development|Intergovernmental Authority on Development]] [[Organization:Trade bloc|trade bloc]] after suspending its membership in 2007.
* June 14: Scientists report the creation of the first synthetic [[Biology:Human embryonic development|human embryo]] from [[Biology:Stem cell|stem cell]]s, without the need for [[Biology:Sperm|sperm]] or [[Biology:Egg|egg]] cells.
* June 18 – All five crew members of ''Titan'', a deep-sea [[Engineering:Submersible|submersible]] exploring the wreck of the ''Titanic'', are killed following a catastrophic implosion of the vessel.
* June 19: The United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopts the High Seas Treaty, the first treaty aimed towards marine conservation in international waters.
* June 23 – The Wagner group launches a rebellion against the Russian government.
* June 27:
** Riots break out across France after the murder of teenager of Algerian descent Nahel Merzoukh by a police officer.
** The Supreme Court rules 6-3 in ''Moore v. Harper'' against the implementation of the independent state legislature theory.
* June 29 – The Supreme Court rules that [[Social:Affirmative action|affirmative action]] in university admissions violates the Equal Protection Clause in the 14th Amendment. The court rules 6-3 in both ''Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina'' and ''Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard''.
* June 30 – The United Nations Security Council votes unanimously to end MINUSMA, its peacekeeping mission in Mali.
* July 4 – [[Religion:Iran|Iran]] joins the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, becoming the organization's ninth member.
* July 5 – [[Company:Meta Platforms|Meta Platforms]] launches Threads as a direct competitor to [[Company:Twitter|Twitter]].
* July 10:The European Commission and the U.S. government sign a new [[Data communication|data communication]] agreement aimed at resolving [[Social:Legal certainty|legal uncertainties]] that European and American companies face when transferring [[Personal data|personal data]].
* July 11 – Leslie Van Houten, a former member of the [[Organization:Manson Family|Manson Family]], is released on [[Social:Parole|parole]] after serving more than fifty years in prison.
* July 14 – SAG-AFTRA announces it will begin an ongoing strike against the major film and TV studios in protest of low compensation, ownership of work, and generative AI.
* August 1:
** Former U.S. president Donald Trump is indicted for a third time by a grand jury for his attempts to overturn the 2020 election and the subsequent January 6 attack.
** The world's [[Earth:Ocean temperature|oceans]] reach a new record high temperature of 20.96&nbsp;°C, exceeding the previous record in 2016. July is also confirmed as having been the hottest month on record for globally averaged [[Physics:Temperature measurement#Surface air temperature|surface air temperatures]] by a considerable margin (0.3&nbsp;°C).
* August 8 – 13,000 acres of land are burned and 53 people are killed when a series of wildfires break out on the island of Maui in Hawaii.
* August 11 – The {{wipe|United States}} recorded its highest number of [[Medicine:Suicide|suicide]]s in 2022, with 49,449 people taking their own lives, making it the deadliest suicide rate in the country since [[Social:World War II|World War II]].
* August 14 – Former U.S. president Donald Trump is indicted in Atlanta on 13 counts including racketeering for his attempts to overturn President Biden's victory in Georgia during the 2020 election. Indictments are also announced against 18 Trump associates.
* August 18 – The {{wipe|United States}}, {{wipe|Japan}}, and {{wipe|South Korea}} agree to sign a trilateral pact.
* August 23:
** India's [[Astronomy:Chandrayaan-3|Chandrayaan-3]] becomes the first spacecraft to land near the [[Astronomy:Lunar south pole|south pole]] of the [[Astronomy:Moon|Moon]].
** Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and founder Dmitry Utkin are killed when their plane crashes outside of Moscow, killing eight others.
* August 30 – In the hours following the announcement of incumbent president Ali Bongo Ondimba's reelection as President of Gabon after the 2023 presidential election, the military launches a successful coup d'état and creates the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions to govern the country, ending the rule of the Bongo family after 56 years in power.
* September 2 – The [[Astronomy:ISRO|Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)]] successfully launches [[Astronomy:Aditya-L1|Aditya-L1]], India's first solar observation mission.
* September 8 – A 6.9 magnitude earthquake strikes Marrakesh-Safi province in western Morocco, killing at least 2,862 people and damaging historic buildings.
* September 9:
** At the 18th G20 summit in [[Place:New Delhi|New Delhi]], the African Union is announced as the 21st permanent member of the [[Organization:G20|G20]].
** Coco Gauff wins the women's singles in the US Open, making her the first teenager to win the title since Serena Williams in 1999.
* September 10 – Storm Daniel, a [[Earth:Mediterranean tropical-like cyclone|Mediterranean tropical-like cyclone]] makes landfall in [[Place:Libya|Libya]], killing at least 5,000 people, with Libyan authorities announcing between 10,000 and 100,000 missing. In the city of Derna in [[Place:Libya|Libya]], two dams collapsed, resulting in a quarter of the city being destroyed.
* September 14 – The European Central Bank (ECB) raises eurozone interest rates to an all-time high of 4%, amid ongoing inflationary pressures across the continent.
* September 15 – The United Auto Workers (UAW) begin a strike against the big three American automakers of [[Company:Ford Motor Company|Ford]], [[Company:General Motors|General Motors]], and [[Company:Stellantis|Stellantis]].
* September 19 – [[Place:Azerbaijan|Azerbaijan]] launches a military offensive against the [[Place:Armenia|Armenia]]-backed [[Place:Republic of Artsakh|Republic of Artsakh]].
* September 20 – Archaeologists in Zambia find the world's oldest wooden structure, dating back to 476,000 years.
* September 21 – Rupert Murdoch announces his retirement and passes his businesses on to his son Lachlan. Murdoch led News Corp and Fox, and formerly Sky Group.
* September 24: French President Emmanuel Macron announces that France will end its military presence in Niger and will remove its ambassador from the country.
* September 25: The United States recognizes the Cook Islands and Niue as sovereign states, establishing formal relations between both Pacific island countries.
* September 28 – President of Artsakh Samvel Shahramanyan signs a decree that will dissolve all state institutions of Artsakh by 1 January 2024, bringing an end to the breakaway state.
* September 29 – Sixty-year-old Duane Davis, a former gang leader, is arrested and charged with the 1996 murder of famed rapper Tupac Shakur.
* October 3 – Kevin McCarthy is ousted as Speaker of the House via a motion introduced by [[Biography:Matt Gaetz|Matt Gaetz]], the first time that a US House speaker is removed by the body.
* October 7:
** Hamas militants launch a large-scale attack from the Gaza Strip, infiltrating southern [[Place:Israel|Israel]] and prompting a full military response from the Israel Defense Forces.
** A doublet earthquake occurs in Herat Province in Afghanistan, killing 2,000 people and injuring over 9,000, with tremors felt in [[Religion:Iran|Iran]] and Turkmenistan. The earthquake is the deadliest in the country since 1998.
* October 8 – Israel's Security Cabinet formally [[Social:Declaration of war|declares war]] for the first time since the Yom Kippur War in 1973 on Hamas.
* October 9 – Israel launches multiple air strikes on the Lebanon border, after rockets are fired by Hezbollah and attempts are made to project the group's power into Israel-occupied positions.
* October 15: [[Company:Rite Aid|Rite Aid]] files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after losing $3.45 billion attributed to lawsuits related to the opioid epidemic.
** Twenty-one species in the United States are declared extinct by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. These are one [[Biology:Mammal|mammal]], ten birds, two [[Biology:Fish|fish]], and eight mussels.
* October 17 – An explosion occurs at the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital. Displaced Palestinians were taking refuge at the hospital, resulting in a number of fatalities and injuries.
* October 18:
** The U.S. Treasury Department announces an ease of certain oil, gas, and gold sanctions on Venezuela following the Venezuelan government and [[Social:Opposition (politics)|opposition]]'s agreement to conduct elections.
* October 21 – [[Company:Chevron Corporation|Chevron]] announces it will acquire [[Company:Hess Corporation|Hess Corporation]] for $50 billion.
* October 25: Hurricane Otis, an [[Earth:Pacific hurricane|eastern Pacific tropical cyclone]], makes landfall in Mexico near Acapulco, leaving at least 48 dead. It is the most powerful hurricane to make landfall in Mexico, with the highest winds reaching 165 mph, surpassing Hurricane Patricia's landfall in 2015.
* October 30 – The UAW reaches a tentative deal with [[Company:General Motors|General Motors]] after making tentative agreements with [[Company:Stellantis|Stellantis]] and [[Company:Ford Motor Company|Ford]], officially ending the strike.
* November 1:
** The first AI Safety Summit takes place in the United Kingdom, with 28 countries signing a "world first agreement" on how to manage the riskiest forms of [[Artificial intelligence|artificial intelligence]].
** The Texas Rangers win the World Series after defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games. This is their first World Series win.
* November 2: [[Company:FTX|FTX]] founder Sam Bankman-Fried is convicted by a jury on all seven fraud-related counts.
** The Beatles release "Now and Then", the band's last ever song, featuring restored vocals by [[Biography:John Lennon|John Lennon]] (1940–1980), as well as guitar tracks by George Harrison (1943–2001).
* November 6: [[Company:WeWork|WeWork]], once the most valuable U.S. startup, files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with liabilities of up to $50 billion.
* November 9:
** U.S. surgeons at NYU Langone Health announce the [[Medicine:Eye transplantation#2023 NYU Langone Health attempt|world's first whole eye transplant]].
** SAG-AFTRA ends its strike at 12:01 a.m. PDT following a tentative deal reached the day prior.
* November 14–17 – President Biden hosts the APEC summit in San Francisco which Chinese president [[Biography:Xi Jinping|Xi Jinping]] attends, marking the first time since 2017 that Xi has set foot in the United States.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Martina |first1=Michael |last2=Brunnstrom |first2=David |date=2023-11-15 |title=China's Xi in US for high-stakes Biden summit, APEC |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/veiled-swipe-china-blinken-tells-apec-us-believes-free-region-2023-11-14/ |access-date=2023-11-20}}</ref> Both countries at the conclusion of the summit agree to re-open suspended channels of military communications and to cooperate in their fight against [[Earth:Climate change|climate change]].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Hawkins |first1=Amy |last2=correspondent |first2=Amy Hawkins Senior China |date=2023-11-15 |title=China and US pledge to fight climate crisis ahead of Xi-Biden summit |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/14/china-xi-jinping-us-visit-joe-biden-apec |access-date=2023-11-20 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-17 |title=Pandas and partnership: Was Xi's US trip a success? |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20231117-pandas-and-partnership-was-xi-s-us-trip-a-success |access-date=2023-11-20 |website=France 24 |language=en}}</ref>
* November 22 – Israel and Hamas agree to a four-day ceasefire, the first pause in fighting since 7 October, during which many Israeli hostages will be released, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
* November 24 – Somalia is admitted as the eighth member of the [[Organization:East African Community|East African Community]], having applied for membership in 2012.
* November 30 – Brazil announces it will join [[Organization:OPEC|OPEC+]] at a meeting of the organization to discuss oil output strategy in 2024. Brazil is the largest oil producer in [[Earth:South America|South America]], producing 4.6 million barrels per day of oil and gas.
* December 3: Venezuela votes to annex the disputed territory of Guayana Esequiba currently under the control of neighboring Guyana and incorporate the territory into Venezuela as a new state.
* December 6 – [[Company:Google DeepMind|Google DeepMind]] releases the [[Software:Gemini (language model)|Gemini Language Model]]. Gemini will act as a [[Organization:Foundation models|foundational model]] integrated into Google's existing tools, including [[Software:Google Search|search]] and [[Software:Bard (chatbot)|Bard]].
* December 12 – At the [[Earth:2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference|COP28]] climate summit in Dubai, a consensus is reached for countries to "transition away" from fossil fuels, the first such agreement in the conference's 30-year history.
* December 16 – Emir of Kuwait Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah dies at the age of 86 and is succeeded by his half-brother Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.
* December 18:
** In the Red Sea, one of the world's most important routes for cargo and fuel shipments, a deteriorating security situation is reported due to attacks on vessels by Houthi rebels. A number of shipping companies announce a temporary suspension of their operations, including oil giant [[Company:BP|BP]].
** At least 127 people are killed and at least 20 are missing in an earthquake in northwest {{wipe|China}}.
* December 21:
** The European Court of Justice rules that threats by FIFA and UEFA to sanction football clubs that wish to join the European Super League are unlawful.
** The deadliest mass shooting in the [[Place:Czech Republic|Czech Republic]]'s history occurs at a Prague university, with 15 killed and 25 others wounded.
* December 29 – Russian invasion of Ukraine: Russia launches the largest wave of drones and [[Engineering:Missile|missile]]s on {{wipe|Ukraine}} cities since the start of the war in a overnight assault, killing at least 39 people and injuring at least 160 others.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-aerial-attack-missiles-drones-fe3fb596cdea0035573a6a677f17070c|title=Russia launches the biggest aerial barrage of the war and kills 30 civilians, Ukraine says|website=AP News|date=December 29, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/12/29/7435141/|title=Ukraine's Interior Ministry reports 30 dead and over 160 wounded in Russian morning attack|date=December 29, 2023|website=Ukrainian Pravda}}</ref> 
* December 31 – Queen Margrethe II of {{wipe|Denmark}} announces her abdication effective 14 January 2024, after 52 years on the throne.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-12-31 |title=Princess Mary to become Queen of Denmark as monarch announces surprise abdication |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-01/denmark-queen-margrethe-announces-abdication/103276384 |access-date=2024-01-01}}</ref>

====2024====
* January 1:
** [[Place:Egypt|Egypt]], Ethiopia, [[Religion:Iran|Iran]], Saudi Arabia, and the [[Place:United Arab Emirates|United Arab Emirates]] become [[Organization:BRICS|BRICS]] members.
** The [[Place:Republic of Artsakh|Republic of Artsakh]] is formally dissolved as [[Place:Nagorno-Karabakh|Nagorno-Karabakh]] unifies with [[Place:Azerbaijan|Azerbaijan]].
** A 7.5 [[Earth:Seismic magnitude scales#Mww|M<small>ww</small>]] earthquake strikes the western coast of {{wipe|Japan}}, killing at least 100 people and injuring 392 others. A further five are killed the next day when a Coast Guard aircraft carrying [[Social:Humanitarian aid|humanitarian aid]] collides with a Japan Airlines passenger jet, destroying both aircraft. All 379 people aboard the passenger jet are evacuated safely.
** Ethiopia announces an agreement with Somaliland to use the port of Berbera. Ethiopia also says that it will eventually recognize Somaliland's independence, becoming the first country to do so.
** Disney's copyright protection on Steamboat Willie and the original Mickey Mouse expires as they [[Social:2024 in public domain|enter the public domain]].
* January 2:
** President of Harvard University [[Biography:Claudine Gay|Claudine Gay]] announces her resignation following a contentious house hearing on antisemitism and allegations of [[Social:Plagiarism|plagiarism]] in her earlier academic career.
* January 3: An Islamic State double bombing kills 89 people during a memorial event commemorating the assassination of Qasem Soleimani in Kerman, Iran.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2024-01-03 |title=At least 103 dead in bomb blasts near Iran general Qasem Soleimani's tomb - state TV |language=en-GB |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67872281 |access-date=2024-01-03}}</ref>
* January 8: [[Company:Astrobotic Technology|Astrobotic Technology]] alongside [[Organization:NASA|NASA]] [[Astronomy:Peregrine Mission One|launch]] the first commercial Lunar Lander. Seven hours after launch, an anomaly prevents stable orientation due to propulsion issues, resulting in critical fuel loss and the abandonment of the moon landing.
* Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa declares a [[Social:State of emergency|state of emergency]] following the escape of Los Choneros drug cartel leader José Adolfo Macías Villamar, from prison.
* January 11:
** Riots break out in [[Place:Port Moresby|Port Moresby]] and [[Place:Lae|Lae]], Papua New Guinea, after an alleged rounding error causes pay cuts in police officers and soldiers.
** A U.S.-led coalition launches air strikes at Houthi militant locations in Yemen, marking a retaliation to the Houthi’s [[Social:Red Sea crisis|attacks on ships in the Red Sea]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/01/11/us-strike-yemen-houthis-red-sea/ |title=U.S.-led coalition strikes Iran-aligned Houthi militants in Yemen|newspaper={{wipe|The Washington Post}} }}</ref>

==Politics, wars and states==

[[File:Victory Day Parade 2005-26.jpg|thumb|Russian President Vladimir Putin with George W. Bush and other Western leaders in Moscow, 9 May 2005]]
[[File:Genova-G8 2001-Incidenti a Corso Torino.jpg|thumbnail|Protesters try to stop members of the [[Organization:G8|G8]] from attending the summit during the 27th G8 summit in Genoa, Italy by burning vehicles on the main route to the summit.]]

===New countries and territorial changes===
Some territories and states have gained independence during the 21st century. This is a list of sovereign states that have gained independence in the 21st century and have been recognized by the {{wipe|United Nations}}.[[File:Kosova independence Vienna 17-02-2008 b.jpg|thumb|Celebration of the Declaration of Independence of Kosovo]]
* {{Flagicon|East Timor}} '''East Timor''' (Timor-Leste)<ref>Grolier- the new book of knowledge, section "E"</ref> on 20 May 2002.
* {{Flagicon|Montenegro}} '''Montenegro''' on 3 June 2006.
* {{Flagicon|Serbia}} '''Serbia''' on 3 June 2006.
* {{Flagicon|South Sudan}} '''South Sudan''' on 9 July 2011.

These nations gained sovereignty through government reform.
* {{Flagicon|Comoros}} '''Union of the Comoros''' on 23 December 2001.

The Union of the Comoros replaced the Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros
* {{Flagicon|Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan}} '''Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan''' on 13 July 2002.

The Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan replaced the [[Place:Islamic State of Afghanistan|Islamic State of Afghanistan]].
* {{Flagicon|Serbia and Montenegro}} '''[[Place:Serbia and Montenegro|State Union of Serbia and Montenegro]]''' on 4 February 2003.

The [[Place:Serbia and Montenegro|State Union of Serbia and Montenegro]] replaced the [[Place:Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]].
* {{Flagicon|Afghanistan|2004}} '''[[Place:Islamic Republic of Afghanistan|Islamic Republic of Afghanistan]]''' on 7 December 2004.

The [[Place:Islamic Republic of Afghanistan|Islamic Republic of Afghanistan]] replaced the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan
* {{Flagicon|Nepal}} '''Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal''' on 28 May 2008.

The Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal replaced the [[History:Kingdom of Nepal|Kingdom of Nepal]].
* {{Flagicon|Libya}} '''National Transitional Council of Libya''' on 20 October 2011.

The National Transitional Council of Libya replaced the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.
* {{Flagicon|Libya}} '''State of Libya''' on 8 August 2012.

The State of Libya replaced the National Transitional Council of Libya.
* {{Flagicon|Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan}} '''[[Place:Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan|Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]]''' on 15 August 2021.

The [[Place:Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan|Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] replaced the [[Place:Islamic Republic of Afghanistan|Islamic Republic of Afghanistan]].

These territories have declared independence and secured relative autonomy but they have only been recognized by some UN member states:
* {{Flagicon|Kosovo}} '''Kosovo''' on 17 February 2008. (partially recognized)
* {{Flagicon|South Ossetia}} '''[[Place:South Ossetia|South Ossetia]]''' on 26 August 2008. (partially recognized)
* {{Flagicon|Abkhazia}} '''[[Place:Abkhazia|Abkhazia]]''' on 26 August 2008. (partially recognized)

These territories have declared independence and secured relative autonomy but they have been recognized by no one:
* {{Flagicon|ISIS}} '''[[Religion:Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]]''' in June 2014. Had taken over much of Iraq, Syria and Libya. It is considered a terrorist organization and no longer holds any significant territorial control.
* {{Flagicon|Catalonia}} '''Republic of Catalonia''' on 27 October 2017. The Catalan Parliament proclaimed the Catalan Republic, but the {{wipe|Spain}} did not recognise this and for a time imposed direct rule. (See [[Social:2017 Catalan independence referendum|2017 Catalan independence referendum]] and 2017–2018 Spanish constitutional crisis)
* {{Flagicon|South Yemen}} '''Southern Transitional Council''' in March 2017. Claimed the majority of the southern part of Yemen and the restoration of [[Place:South Yemen|South Yemen]].

These territories were annexed from a sovereign country, the action has only been recognized by some UN member states:
* {{Flagicon|Crimea}} '''Crimea''' annexed from Ukraine into the Russian Federation on 18 March 2014.

These territories were ceded to another country:
* {{Flagicon|Bangladesh}} {{Flagicon|India}} '''India–Bangladesh enclaves''', traded between the two countries in 2015.
* {{Flagicon|Artsakh}} '''Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh''' and the '''Lachin corridor''', surrendered by [[Place:Armenia|Armenia]] to [[Place:Azerbaijan|Azerbaijan]] at the end of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War.

==Science and technology==
===Space exploration===
[[File:PIA16239 High-Resolution Self-Portrait by Curiosity Rover Arm Camera.jpg|thumb|upright|NASA successfully lands the ''Curiosity'' rover on the surface of Mars.]]
[[File:15-011a-NewHorizons-PlutoFlyby-ArtistConcept-14July2015-20150115.jpg|thumb|upright|Artist's impression of ''New Horizons''{{'}} close encounter with the Pluto–Charon system.]]
* 2001 – Dennis Tito becomes the first [[Astronomy:Space tourism|space tourist]] by paying $19 million to board the [[Astronomy:International Space Station|International Space Station]].
* 2003 – [[Engineering:Space Shuttle Columbia disaster|Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disaster]] on 1 February.
* 2003 – The Chinese space program launches its first [[Astronomy:Human spaceflight|crewed space flight]], ''[[Astronomy:Shenzhou 5|Shenzhou 5]]'', on 15 October. This made China the third country in the world to have indigenous crewed space capability.
* 2004 – [[Astronomy:Mars Exploration Rover|Mars Exploration Rover]]s land on [[Astronomy:Mars|Mars]]; ''[[Engineering:Opportunity (rover)|Opportunity]]'' discovers evidence that an area of [[Astronomy:Mars|Mars]] was once covered in water.
* 2004 – ''SpaceShipOne'' makes the first privately funded [[Astronomy:Human spaceflight|human spaceflight]], on 21 June.
* 2005 – The ''[[Engineering:Huygens (spacecraft)|Huygens]]'' probe lands on [[Astronomy:Titan (moon)|Titan]], the largest of Saturn's moons, on 14 January.
* 2006 – The ''[[Astronomy:New Horizons|New Horizons]]'' probe is launched to Pluto, on 19 January.
* 2006 – [[Astronomy:Pluto|Pluto]] is reclassified from a [[Astronomy:Planet|planet]] to a [[Astronomy:Dwarf planet|dwarf planet]], leaving the solar system with eight planets.
* 2007 – China launches its first lunar mission with the [[Astronomy:Chang'e 1|Chang'e 1]], on 24 October.
* 2008 – India launches its first lunar mission [[Astronomy:Chandrayaan-1|Chandrayaan-1]] which included a [[Earth:Remote sensing|remote sensing]] orbiter and impactor on 22 October 2008. It made India the third nation to place its flag on Moon.
* 2008 – Chinese space program launches its third crewed space flight carrying its first three-person crew and conducts its first spacewalk that makes China the third nation after Russia and USA to do that, ''[[Astronomy:Shenzhou 7|Shenzhou 7]]'', on 25 September.
* 2008 – ''[[Engineering:Phoenix (spacecraft)|Phoenix]]'' discovers water ice on Mars.
* 2009 – [[Organization:Iranian Space Agency|Iran]] launches its first [[Astronomy:Satellite|satellite]], ''Omid'', on 2 February.
* 2011 – [[Organization:NASA|NASA]] retires the last Space Shuttle, ''Atlantis'', marking an end to its three-decade shuttle program.
* 2012 – [[Company:SpaceX|SpaceX]] successfully delivers cargo to the [[Astronomy:International Space Station|International Space Station]].
* 2012 – NASA successfully lands the [[Engineering:Curiosity (rover)|''Curiosity'' rover]] on the surface of [[Astronomy:Mars|Mars]], on 6 August.
* 2014 – India's [[Astronomy:Mars Orbiter Mission|Mars Orbiter Mission]], the nation's first attempt to send a spacecraft to Mars, successfully entered orbit on 24 September, making India the fourth nation in the world to reach that goal.
* 2014 – The [[Organization:European Space Agency|European Space Agency]] robotic spacecraft [[Engineering:Philae (spacecraft)|''Philae'']] landed successfully on the comet 67P, the first cometary landing ever.
* 2015 – On 14 July, NASA's ''[[Astronomy:New Horizons|New Horizons]]'' spacecraft became the first to fly by Pluto, on a mission to photograph and collect data on its planetary system. No other spacecraft has yet performed such a mission so far from Earth.
* 2015 – On 28 September, NASA announces that liquid water has been found on [[Astronomy:Mars|Mars]].<ref>{{cite web |title=NASA News Conference: Evidence of Liquid Water on Today's Mars. |url=http://www.nasa.gov/topics/journeytomars/index.html |date=28 September 2015 |work=[[Organization:NASA|NASA]] |access-date=16 July 2021 |archive-date=18 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718143624/https://www.nasa.gov/topics/journeytomars/index.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
* 2015 – [[Company:SpaceX|SpaceX]] launches and lands a [[Engineering:Falcon 9|Falcon 9]] into orbital space on 21 December, becoming the first reusable rocket to do so.
* 2016 – [[Company:SpaceX|SpaceX]] lands the first orbital rocket, a CRS-8, on a drone platform at sea on 8 April.
* 2016 – On 4 July, NASA's [[Engineering:Juno (spacecraft)|''Juno'']] space probe maneuvered into a polar orbit to study the planet [[Astronomy:Jupiter|Jupiter]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/juno/overview/index.html|title=Juno Overview|last=Greicius|first=Tony|date=13 March 2015|access-date=23 July 2016|archive-date=7 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180907181255/https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/juno/overview/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
* 2016 – On 26 July, Solar Impulse 2 becomes the first solar-powered aircraft to circumnavigate the world.
* 2016 – On 24 August, an Earth-sized exoplanet is discovered around [[Astronomy:Proxima Centauri|Proxima Centauri]], 4.2 light years away, which is potentially habitable.
* 2016 – On 8 September, NASA's [[Astronomy:OSIRIS-REx|''ORIRIS-Rex'']] space probe is launched as the first asteroid sample return mission to collect samples from Bennu.
* 2019 – On 3 January, Chinese probe [[Astronomy:Chang'e 4|Chang'e 4]] becomes the first human-made object to land on the [[Astronomy:Far side of the Moon|far side of the Moon]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-lands-probe-on-dark-side-of-the-moon-11546493599 |title=China Lands Probe on the 'Dark Side' of the Moon |last=Moss |first=Trefor |date=2019-01-03 |work=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=2019-01-03 |archive-date=12 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412020545/https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-lands-probe-on-dark-side-of-the-moon-11546493599 |url-status=live}}</ref>
* 2019 – NASA concludes the 15-year [[Engineering:Opportunity (rover)|''Opportunity'' rover]] mission after being unable to wake the rover from hibernation.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ryan |first1=Jackson |title=NASA's history-making Mars rover Opportunity declared dead |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/nasa-history-making-mars-rover-opportunity-declared-dead/ |access-date=14 February 2019 |publisher=CNET |date=13 February 2019 |archive-date=11 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411223630/https://www.cnet.com/news/nasa-history-making-mars-rover-opportunity-declared-dead/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
* 2019 – [[Place:Israel|Israel]] launched its first [[Engineering:Spacecraft|spacecraft]], ''[[Astronomy:Beresheet|Beresheet]]'', towards the [[Astronomy:Moon|Moon]] on 7 April; after two months of journey, the spacecraft failed to land and crashed on the surface of the Moon, making Israel the seventh country to orbit the Moon.
* 2019 – The first image of the [[Astronomy:Supermassive black hole|supermassive black hole]] inside galaxy [[Astronomy:Messier 87|Messier 87]] was captured by the [[Astronomy:Event Horizon Telescope|Event Horizon Telescope]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Grossman |first1=Lisa |last2=Conover |first2=Emily |title=The first picture of a black hole opens a new era of astrophysics |url=https://www.sciencenews.org/article/black-hole-first-picture-event-horizon-telescope |access-date=11 April 2019 |publisher=Science News |date=10 April 2019 |archive-date=27 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190427192956/https://www.sciencenews.org/article/black-hole-first-picture-event-horizon-telescope |url-status=live}}</ref>
* 2021 – [[Organization:NASA|NASA]]'s ''Perseverance'' rover, carrying the ''Ingenuity'' helicopter, successfully lands on [[Astronomy:Mars|Mars]].
* 2021 – NASA's [[Astronomy:James Webb Space Telescope|James Webb Space Telescope]] is successfully launched into orbit.
* 2022 – The first image of the [[Astronomy:Supermassive black hole|supermassive black hole]] inside [[Astronomy:Milky Way|Milky Way]] was captured by the [[Astronomy:Event Horizon Telescope|Event Horizon Telescope]].
* 2022 – The first image from the James Webb Space Telescope is published.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Garner |first1=Rob |title=NASA's Webb Delivers Deepest Infrared Image of Universe Yet |url=https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2022/nasa-s-webb-delivers-deepest-infrared-image-of-universe-yet |website=NASA |access-date=12 July 2022 |date=11 July 2022 |archive-date=12 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220712000119/https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2022/nasa-s-webb-delivers-deepest-infrared-image-of-universe-yet/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
* 2022 – NASA successfully launches the [[Engineering:Artemis 1|Artemis 1]] Moon mission on the SLS spacecraft after multiple delays.
* 2023 – India successfully touched down near the south pole of the Moon with Chandrayaan-3's lander on August 23, making it only the fourth country to achieve the feat of reaching lunar surface after the US, China and the erstwhile Soviet Union.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.isro.gov.in/Chandrayaan3.html | title=Chandrayaan-3 }}</ref>

===Physics===
* 2003 – [[Astronomy:Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe|WMAP]] observations of the [[Astronomy:Cosmic microwave background|cosmic microwave background]].
* 2010 – The [[Physics:Large Hadron Collider|Large Hadron Collider]]'s first high energy collisions took place in March 2010.
* 2012 – Physicists discover the [[Physics:Higgs boson|Higgs boson]] based on collisions at the Large Hadron Collider, on 4 July. It is the latest particle to be discovered in the [[Physics:Standard Model|Standard Model]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-18702455|title=Higgs boson-like particle discovery claimed at LHC|work=BBC News|date=4 July 2012|access-date=6 October 2014|archive-date=16 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116171540/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-18702455|url-status=live}}</ref>
* 2016 – On 11 February, [[Astronomy:LIGO|LIGO]] announces the discovery of bursts of gravitational waves generated by cosmic collisions of [[Astronomy:Black hole|black hole]]s on, and was previously predicted by [[Biography:Albert Einstein|Albert Einstein]] 100 years ago.
* 2022 – on 13 December, the US Department of Energy announces that scientists at the [[Organization:National Ignition Facility|National Ignition Facility]] have achieved the first positive [[Physics:Fusion energy gain factor|energy gain]] from a [[Physics:Fusion power|fusion reactor]] in history.<ref name="21st">{{cite web |title=The 21st Century and the 3rd Millennium |url=http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/millennium.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191002112920/https://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/millennium.php |archive-date=2019-10-02 |access-date=2018-11-06 |website=aa.usno.navy.mil |language=en}}</ref>

===Mathematics===
* 2002 – [[Biography:Grigori Perelman|Grigori Perelman]] posted the first of a series of eprints to the [[ArXiv|arXiv]], in which he proved the [[Poincaré conjecture]], the first of the Millennium Prize Problems to be solved.
* 2013 – [[Biography:Yitang Zhang|Yitang Zhang]] publishes a paper in the ''[[Annals of Mathematics]]'' that established the first finite bound on the least [[Prime gap|gap between consecutive primes]] that is attained infinitely often.

===Biotechnology and medicine===
* 2003 – Completion of the [[Biology:Human Genome Project|Human Genome Project]]
* 2005 – The first successful partial [[Medicine:Face transplant|face transplant]] is performed in France.
* 2006 – Australian of the Year Dr Ian Frazer develops a [[Biology:Vaccine|vaccine]] for [[Medicine:Cervical cancer|cervical cancer]].
* 2007 – Visual prosthetic (bionic eye) Argus II.
* 2008 – Japanese scientists create a form of artificial [[Biology:DNA|DNA]].
* 2008 – Laurent Lantieri performs the first full face transplant.
* 2012 – The first successful complete face transplant is performed in Turkey.
* 2012 – Doubts raised over [[Biology:Statin|Statin]] medication.
* 2013 – First kidney grown in vitro in the U.S.
* 2013 – First human liver grown from stem cells in Japan.

===Telecommunications===
[[File:Steve Jobs talks about the iPhone (2197013436).jpg|thumb|[[Biography:Steve Jobs|Steve Jobs]] discussing the iPhone, an early smartphone, in 2008]]
The [[History:Digital Revolution|Digital Revolution]] continued into the early 21st century with mobile phone usage and [[Global Internet usage]] growing massively, becoming available to many more people, with more applications and faster speeds.
{|
|-
| style="width:400px;"|{{Worldwide Internet users}}
|}

Social networking emerged in the mid-2000s, as a popular social communication, largely replacing much of the function of [[Email|email]], message boards and [[Social:Instant messaging|instant messaging]] services. [[Company:Twitter|Twitter]], [[Company:Facebook|Facebook]], [[Company:YouTube|YouTube]], [[Software:Instagram|Instagram]], [[Software:Snapchat|Snapchat]] and WeChat are all major examples of social media to gain widespread popularity. The use of [[Webcam|webcam]]s and [[Engineering:Front-facing camera|front-facing camera]]s on PCs and related devices, and services such as [[Software:Skype|Skype]], [[Software:Zoom|Zoom]], and [[Software:FaceTime|FaceTime]] have made video calling and video conferencing widespread. Their use hugely increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.

==Civil unrest==
[[File:Crisis 20 diciembre 2001.jpg|thumb|December 2001 riots in Argentina, also known as "Argentinazo".]]
[[File:Demonstrations in Tbilisi, Georgia. 7 November 2007.jpg|thumb|2007 Georgian demonstrations against the government of president Mikheil Saakashvili.]]
[[File:Tahrir Square during Friday of Departure.png|thumb|Tahrir Square Protest during the Arab Spring in Egypt.]]
[[File:Madrid - Acampada Sol - 110520 230541.jpg|thumb|Peaceful protests in Madrid. In August 2011, Spain's unemployment reached 21.2% (46.2% for youths).]]
[[File:Ferguson Day 6, Picture 44.png|thumb|Protests in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014, after the shooting of Michael Brown.]]
[[File:Hong Kong IMG 20190616 171444 (48073669892).jpg|thumb|2019–20 Hong Kong protests ]]
[[File:Marcha Mas Grande De Chile 2019 Plaza Baquedano Drone.jpg|thumb|"La marcha más grande de Chile" during the 2019–2020 Chilean protests.]]
{{Columns-list|colwidth=22em|
* 2001 G8 Genoa summit protests
* December 2001 riots in Argentina
* 2002 Gujarat riots
* Protests against the Iraq War
* Bolivian gas conflict
* 2003 Maldives civil unrest
* 2005 Belize unrest
* [[Social:Protests against Faure Gnassingbé|Protests against Faure Gnassingbé]]
* 2005 Belfast riots
* 2005 civil unrest in France
* Jeans Revolution
* 2006–2008 Lebanese protests
* Saffron Revolution
* 2007 Georgian demonstrations
* 2008 Armenian presidential election protests
* 2008 Tibetan unrest
* 2008 riot in Mongolia
* 2009 Icelandic financial crisis protests
* 2009 G-20 London summit protests
* April 2009 Moldovan parliamentary election protests
* 2009–2010 Iranian election protests
* July 2009 Ürümqi riots
* 2010 Thai political protests
* Kyrgyz Revolution of 2010
* 2010 Kingston unrest
* 2010 G-20 Toronto summit protests
* 2010 Mozambican protests
* 2010 UK student protests
* 2010–2012 Greek protests
* [[Social:Arab Spring|Arab Spring]]
* Tunisian revolution
* 2011 Egyptian revolution
* 2011 Egyptian Post-Revolution protests
* Impact of the Arab Spring
* 2011 Magallanes protests
* 2011 Iranian protests
* 2011 Libyan civil war
* Syrian civil war
* 2011 Northern Ireland riots
* 2011 Malawian protests
* 2011 United Kingdom anti-austerity protests
* Anti-austerity movement in Portugal
* Spanish "Indignants"
* 2011 England riots
* 2011–13 Chilean student protests
* 2011 Israeli social justice protests
* Worldwide "Occupy" Protests
* 2011–2013 Russian protests
* Bersih 3.0 rally
* Yo Soy 132
* Belfast City Hall flag protests
* 2012–2013 Iraqi protests
* 2013 Myanmar anti-Muslim riots
* [[Social:Gezi Park protests|Gezi Park protests]]
* 2013 protests in Brazil
* June 2013 Egyptian protests
* 2013–2014 Cambodian protests
* 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots
* 2013–2014 Thai political crisis
* Euromaidan
* 2013 Italian social protests
* 2013 Little India riots
* 2014 Ukrainian Revolution
* 2014 unrest in Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Venezuelan protests (2014–present)
* 2014 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka
* 2014 Pakistan anti-government protest
* 2014 Ferguson unrest
* 2014 Hong Kong protests
* 2015 Baltimore protests
* Burundian unrest (2015–2018)
* 2015–18 Iraqi protests
* 2015 Lebanese protests
* Protests against Donald Trump
* [[Social:FeesMustFall|FeesMustFall]]
* Nuit debout
* 2016 Gabonese protests
* 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt
* 2016–17 South Korean protests
* Dakota Access Pipeline protests
* 2016 Manipur unrest
* 2016–17 Cameroonian protests
* 2017–2019 Romanian protests
* 2017 Belarusian protests
* 2017–2018 Russian protests
* 2017–2018 Spanish constitutional crisis
* Unite the Right rally
* 2017–2018 Honduran protests
* 2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka
* 2018–2019 Nicaraguan protests
* 2018 Bangladesh road-safety protests
* Yellow vests movement
* Serbian protests (2018–present)
* Sudanese Revolution
* 2018 Armenian revolution
* 2018–2023 Haitian crisis
* 2019–2020 Algerian protests
* 2019–20 Hong Kong protests
* 2019 Venezuelan uprising attempt
* 2019 Papua protests
* 2019 Egyptian protests
* 2019–2020 Iraqi protests
* 2019 Ecuadorian protests
* 2019–2020 Chilean protests
* 2019 Catalan protests
* 2019–2020 Guinean protests
* 2019–20 Lebanese protests
* 2019 Bolivian protests
* 2019 Indonesian protests and riots
* 2019–20 Iranian protests
* 2019 Maltese protests
* 2019-2020 Colombian protests
* Citizenship Amendment Act protests
* 2020–2021 Thai protests
* 2020–2021 protests against Benjamin Netanyahu
* 2020–2021 United States racial unrest
* 2020 Belarusian protests
* 2020–2021 Serbian protests
* 2020–2021 Bulgarian protests
* 2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest
* End SARS protests
* 2020 Polish protests
* 2020 Peruvian protests
* 2020–2021 United States election protests
* 2020–2021 Armenian protests
* 2020 Guatemalan protests
* 2021 Dutch curfew riots
* 2021 Russian protests
* 2021 Myanmar protests
* 2021 Senegalese protests
* 2021 Paraguayan protests
* 2021 Colombian protests
* 2021 South African unrest
* 2022 Kazakh protests
* 2022 Sri Lankan protests
* 2022 Ecuadorian protests
* Anti-MONUSCO protests
* Mahsa Amini protests
* 2022–2023 Brazilian election protests
* 2022–2023 Peruvian protests
* 2023 Israeli judicial reform protests
* 2023 French pension reform strikes
* 2023 Pakistani protests
* 2023 South African National Shutdown
* 2023 Manipur violence
* 2023 Senegalese protests
* Nahel Merzouk protests
* 2024 Papua New Guinean unrest}}

==Disasters==
===Natural disasters===
[[File:2004-tsunami.jpg|thumb|The tsunami striking Ao Nang in Thailand on 26 December 2004.]]
[[File:KatrinaNewOrleansFlooded edit2.jpg|thumb|upright|New Orleans, Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. ]]

'''2000s'''
* 2001 Gujarat earthquake – An earthquake in Gujarat, India on 26 January 2001, killed approximately 20,000 people.
* January 2001 El Salvador earthquake – A 7.9 earthquake in El Salvador shook the whole country on 13 January 2001, causing a major devastating landslide, hundreds dead, thousands injured and many homeless. A month later, on 13 February 2001, the country suffered a second earthquake – 6.7
* 2003 European heat wave – Approximately up to 70,000 people were killed across Europe in a summer long heat wave.
* 2003 Bam earthquake – An earthquake in Bam, [[Religion:Iran|Iran]] on 27 December 2003, killed more than 26,000.
* 2004 Hurricane Jeanne – Over 3,000 people are killed by Hurricane Jeanne in Haiti in September 2004.
* 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami – On 26 December 2004, a massive undersea earthquake resulted in a massive tsunami striking southeast Asia killing approximately 230,000.
* 2005 Hurricane Katrina – The hurricane killed 1,836 in southeast Louisiana and Mississippi (mostly in New Orleans) and South Florida. A significant portion of the city, most of which sits below sea level, was submerged. Damages reached US$81.5 billion, making Katrina the costliest tropical cyclone ever recorded in the U.S.
* 2005 Kashmir earthquake – An earthquake in Kashmir on 8 October 2005, killed at least 74,500 in India and {{wipe|Pakistan}}.
* 2008 Cyclone Nargis – lead to catastrophic storm surge, leading to a death toll in excess of 100,000 and making millions homeless.
* 2008 Sichuan earthquake – An earthquake between 7.9 and 8.0-magnitude struck Sichuan, China, on 12 May 2008, killing 68,712, with 17,921 missing.
* 2009 Black Saturday bushfires – The Black Saturday bushfires were a series of bushfires that ignited or were burning across the Australian state of Victoria, Australia on and around Saturday, 7 February 2009. The fires occurred during extreme bushfire-weather conditions and resulted in Australia's highest ever loss of life from a bushfire; 173 people died and 414 were injured.
* 2009 L'Aquila earthquake – A 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes near L'Aquila (Italy) on 6 April 2009, one of the worst in Italian history. 308 were pronounced dead and more than 65,000 were made homeless.
* 2009 flu pandemic – A worldwide outbreak of [[Biology:Influenza A virus subtype H1N1|Influenza A virus subtype H1N1]] spread around the world forming a pandemic by June 2009.

'''2010s'''
[[File:Haiti Earthquake building damage.jpg|thumb|Damaged buildings in [[Place:Port-au-Prince|Port-au-Prince]] as a result of the 2010 Haiti earthquake]]

[[File:Hurricane Maria destruction along Roseau road.jpg|thumb|Hurricane Maria destruction in Dominica in 2017.]]
* 2010 Haiti earthquake – At least 230,000 are killed in Haiti after a massive earthquake on 12 January 2010. Three million people were made homeless.
* 2010 Chile earthquake – A massive earthquake, magnitude 8.8, strikes the central Chilean coast on 27 February 2010.
* 2010 Yushu earthquake – A large 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck the Yushu region of China in Qinghai near Tibet, on 14 April 2010, killing over 2,200 people.
* 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull – A massive ash cloud is formed by the eruption of the Icelandic volcano [[Earth:Eyjafjallajökull|Eyjafjallajökull]], on 14 April 2010, grounding flights across northwest Europe. Scientists began recording volcanic activity there in 2009 which increased through March 2010 culminating in the second phase eruption in April.
* 2010 Pakistan floods – Began in July 2010 after record heavy [[Earth:Monsoon|monsoon]] rains. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of {{wipe|Pakistan}} was worst affected. At least 1,600 people were killed, thousands were rendered homeless, and more than thirteen million people were affected.<ref name="Bodeen">{{cite news|last=Bodeen|first=Christopher|title=Asia flooding plunges millions into misery|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jLQ5AssQ1MzPfWcFQRV8ZeJhjctQD9HFBA400|access-date=8 August 2010|newspaper=The Associated Press|date=8 August 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100904101109/https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jLQ5AssQ1MzPfWcFQRV8ZeJhjctQD9HFBA400| archive-date= 4 September 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="nyt">Masood, Salman and Adam B. Ellick. [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/world/asia/02pstan.html Floods in Pakistan Kill at Least 700] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201226225549/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/world/asia/02pstan.html |date=26 December 2020}}. NYTimes.<!--On Sunday officials reduced the number of dead to 730, saying earlier reports on Sunday, reaching as high at 1,100, were not credible.--></ref><ref name="bbc20100731">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-10827712|title=UN voices Pakistan flood fears as death toll soars|date=31 July 2010|publisher=BBC|access-date=31 July 2010|archive-date=2 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802024340/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-south-asia-10827712/un-voices-pakistan-flood-fears-as-death-toll-soars|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="nyt20100730">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/31/world/asia/31pstan.html|title=400 Killed in Flooding in Pakistan, Officials Say|last=Khan|first=Ismail|work=The New York Times|access-date=30 July 2010|date=30 July 2010|archive-date=31 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231052540/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/31/world/asia/31pstan.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100801/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan_floods |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100812140521/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100801/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan_floods  |archive-date=12 August 2010 |title=Thousands trapped by Pakistan floods; 900 dead |access-date=6 October 2014}}</ref> Estimates from rescue service officials suggest the death toll may reach 3,000 victims.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-31/pakistan-death-toll-from-flash-floods-in-northwest-rises-to-539-edhi-says.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006211630/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-31/pakistan-death-toll-from-flash-floods-in-northwest-rises-to-539-edhi-says.html |archive-date=6 October 2014 |title=Deaths From Pakistan Floods May Reach 3,000, Rescue Service Official Says |date=31 July 2010 |work=Bloomberg |access-date=6 October 2014 }}</ref>
* 2011 Queensland floods – Began in December 2010 primarily in Queensland. The flood causes thousands of people to evacuate. At least 200,000 people were affected by the flood. The flood continued throughout January 2011 in Queensland, and the estimated reduction in Australia's GDP is about A$30 billion.
* Cyclone Yasi – A category 5 (Australian Scale) cyclone hits North Queensland with winds as strong as 290&nbsp;km/h (197 miles/hr) and devastates the residents of North Queensland.
* February 2011 Christchurch earthquake – 185 people died in New Zealand after a 6.3-magnitude earthquake hit Christchurch on 22 February 2011, making it New Zealand's second-deadliest natural disaster after the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake.
* 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami – On 11 March 2011, a catastrophic undersea earthquake of magnitude 9.0 occurred offshore of eastern {{wipe|Japan}}, the greatest in the country's history and created a massive tsunami which killed 15,894; it also triggered the Fukushima I nuclear accidents. The overall cost for the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accidents reached up to US$235 billion, making it the costliest natural disaster on record.
* 2011 Super Outbreak – Regarded as the deadliest tornado outbreak ever recorded and dubbed the '''2011 Super Outbreak''', a catastrophic tornado outbreak on 25–28 April affected the Southern United States and killed over 330 people, most of whom were in or from Alabama. Damages are expected to be near or over $10 billion.
* 2011 Joplin tornado – On 22 May 2011, a devastating EF5 tornado struck Joplin, Missouri resulting in 159 casualties, making it the deadliest tornado to hit the United States since 1947.
* Tropical Storm Washi – Locally known as Sendong, it caused catastrophic flooding in the {{wipe|Philippines}} island of Mindanao on the night of 16 December 2011. The hardest hits were in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City. Almost 1000 people perished, most of whom were sleeping, and President Benigno Aquino III declared a state of calamity four days later.
* Hurricane Sandy – 24–30 October 2012 – kills at least 185 people in the Caribbean, Bahamas, {{wipe|United States}} and {{wipe|Canada}}. Considerable [[Physics:Storm surge|storm surge]] damage causes major disruption to the eastern seaboard of the United States.<ref><span class="plainlinks">[http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/30/us/tropical-weather-sandy/index.html CNN] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021123600/http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/30/us/tropical-weather-sandy/index.html |date=21 October 2020}}</span> Report: Superstorm Sandy. Retrieved 30 October 2012.</ref><ref><span class="plainlinks">[http://fox8.com/2012/10/29/sandy-wreaks-havoc-across-northeast-at-least-10-dead/ Cleveland News] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180820113442/https://fox8.com/2012/10/29/sandy-wreaks-havoc-across-northeast-at-least-10-dead/ |date=20 August 2018 }}</span> Superstorm Sandy. Retrieved 30 October 2012.</ref><ref><span class="plainlinks">[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/9642268/Sandy-New-York-subway-system-flooded-in-worst-ever-disaster.html Telegraph.co.uk] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128115433/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/9642268/Sandy-New-York-subway-system-flooded-in-worst-ever-disaster.html |date=28 November 2020 }}</span> News Report. 30 October 2012.</ref>
* 2013 Bohol earthquake - An earthquake of magnitude 7.2 that killed 22 people and destroyed a total worth of ₱2.25 billion,
* Typhoon Haiyan 2013 – kills more than 6,000 people in central {{wipe|Philippines}}. Considered to be one of the strongest storms ever, it brought major damage and loss of life to the Philippines, especially the islands of Leyte and Samar. A worldwide humanitarian effort began in the aftermath of the typhoon.
* 2014 Southeast Europe floods – kill at least 80 people in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. Floodwaters caused over 2,000 landslides across the Balkan region, spreading damage across many towns and villages.
* April 2015 Nepal earthquake – An earthquake of 7.8 magnitude kills almost 9,000 people, injures another 22,000 and leaves nearly 3 million people homeless in Central Nepal. The earthquake was so strong it was felt in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
* 2016 Taiwan earthquake – An earthquake of 6.4 magnitude kills 117 people, injures 550, and 4 people were left missing. The earthquake resulted in 3 executives of the Weiguan developer being arrested under charges of professional negligence resulting in death.
* August 2016 Central Italy earthquake – A 6.2 magnitude [[Earth:Earthquake|earthquake]] killed 299 people and severely damaged Amatrice, Accumoli and Arquata del Tronto.

'''2020s'''
* Unprecedented flooding displaces millions and threatens famine in Sudan and South Sudan in 2020–2021.<ref>{{cite news |title='Our children die in our hands': Floods ravage South Sudan |url=https://apnews.com/article/climate-south-sudan-hunger-health-floods-88c41779363cc8098299dcfc4bdae399 |access-date=2 January 2021 |work=Associated Press |date=1 January 2021 |archive-date=1 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210101101226/https://apnews.com/article/climate-south-sudan-hunger-health-floods-88c41779363cc8098299dcfc4bdae399 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Floods-hit Sudan facing 'unprecedented challenges', UN warns |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/9/25/over-800000-affected-in-sudan-flooding-un#:~:text=Over%20800%2C000%20have%20been%20affected,floods%20in%20Sudan%20in%20decades.&text=The%20number%20of%20people%20affected,died%2C%20according%20to%20the%20Government. |access-date=2 January 2021 |work=aljazeera.com |publisher=Al Jazeera English |date=25 September 2020 |language=en |archive-date=8 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201208194430/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/9/25/over-800000-affected-in-sudan-flooding-un#:~:text=Over%20800%2C000%20have%20been%20affected,floods%20in%20Sudan%20in%20decades.&text=The%20number%20of%20people%20affected,died%2C%20according%20to%20the%20Government. |url-status=live}}</ref>
* On 12 January 2020, the Taal Volcano [[Earth:2020–2022 Taal Volcano eruptions|erupted]] for the first time in 43 years.
* The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, the most active regional season on record with 30 total named storms, results in over 400 fatalities across parts of the United States, Central America and the Caribbean.
* At least 20 people are killed in 2021 Henan floods in China after heavy rainfall (at least 20c per hour) exacerbated by the approach of Typhoon In-fa breaks existing records.
* The 2021 European floods kill over 188 people and devastate Belgium, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Croatia, Switzerland, Italy and Luxemburg. Floods in Germany prove to be the deadliest since the North Sea Flood of 1962.
* On 27 July 2022, a magnitude-7.0 earthquake hit Luzon, causing 11 deaths and ₱1.88 billion of property damage.
* In September 2022, Hurricane Ian hit the west coast of Florida as a Category 4 Atlantic hurricane, becoming the deadliest hurricane to hit Florida since the 1935 Labor Day hurricane.

===Human-made disasters===
[[File:Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling unit on fire 2010.jpg|thumb|Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling unit in the Gulf of Mexico on fire in 2010]]
* On 27 July 2002, a [[Engineering:Sukhoi Su-27|Sukhoi Su-27]] fighter crashes at an air show in {{wipe|Ukraine}}, killing 77 and injuring more than 100, making it the worst air show disaster in history.
* On 1 February 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|disintegrates during reentry]] over {{wipe|Texas}}, killing all seven astronauts on board.
* The Black Saturday bushfires – the deadliest bushfires in Australian history took place across the {{wipe|Australia}}n state of Victoria on 7 February 2009, during extreme bushfire-weather conditions, resulting in 173 people killed, more than 500 injured, and around 7,500 homeless. The fires came after Melbourne recorded the highest-ever temperature (46.4&nbsp;°C, 115&nbsp;°F) of any capital city in Australia. The majority of the fires were ignited by either fallen or clashing power lines or deliberately lit.
* On 10 April 2010, Polish President Lech Kaczyński, his wife and 94 other people, including dozens of government officials, are killed in a plane crash.
* On 20 April 2010, an explosion on the ''Deepwater Horizon'' offshore [[Engineering:Drilling rig|drilling rig]], operating in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana, left eleven crewmen dead and resulted in a fire that sank the rig and caused a massive-scale [[Earth:Oil spill|oil spill]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126468782 |title=BP Will Pay For Gulf Oil Spill Disaster, CEO Says|publisher = NPR|date=3 May 2010 |access-date=3 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100504210425/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126468782| archive-date= 4 May 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> that may become one of the worst environmental disasters in {{wipe|United States}} history.<ref>[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126410895 "Choppy Seas Hinder Effort To Contain Oil Spill"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200913120926/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126410895 |date=13 September 2020}}, ''National Public Radio'', 30 April 2010</ref> On 18 June 2010, oceanographer John Kessler said that the crude gushing from the well contains 40 percent methane, compared to about 5 percent found in typical oil deposits. Methane is a natural gas that could potentially suffocate marine life and create "dead zones" where oxygen is so depleted that nothing lives. "This is the most vigorous methane eruption in modern human history," Kessler said.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/37778190 |title=Oil spill full of methane, adding new concerns |publisher=msnbc |date=18 June 2010 |access-date=20 June 2010 |archive-date=23 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923231316/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/37778190 |url-status=live}}</ref> On 20 June an internal BP document was released by Congress revealing that BP estimated the flow could be as much as {{convert|100000|oilbbl|USgal m3|abbr=off}} per day under the circumstances that existed since 20 April blowout.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-oil-spill-markey-idUSTRE65J1WI20100620 |title=Document Shows BP Estimates Spill up to 100,000 Bpd |work=ABC News |date=20 June 2010 |access-date=20 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100624004525/http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=10964694 |archive-date=24 June 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://globalwarming.house.gov/files/WEB/flowrateBP.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100704200718/http://globalwarming.house.gov/files/WEB/flowrateBP.pdf |archive-date=4 July 2010 |title=Seafloor Exit  |access-date=14 May 2013}}</ref>

==Pandemics and epidemics==
[[File:WHO in PPE.jpg|thumb|Western African Ebola virus epidemic]]
[[File:US timeline. Number of overdose deaths from all drugs.jpg|thumb|U.S. yearly overdose deaths. More than 70,630 Americans died from [[Medicine:Drug overdose|drug overdose]]s in 2019.]]
* 2002–2004 – [[Medicine:SARS|Severe acute respiratory syndrome]] (SARS) spreads to many countries in the [[Medicine:2002–2004 SARS outbreak|2002–2004 SARS outbreak]].
* 2009 – [[Biology:Influenza A virus subtype H1N1|Influenza A virus subtype H1N1]] spreads around the world, becoming a [[Biology:2009 swine flu pandemic|global pandemic]].
* 2014 – [[Biology:Ebola virus|Ebola virus]] spreads in west Africa, prompting the then-largest epidemic, with more than 20,000 cases. The first cases outside Africa are reported.
* 2019–present – A worldwide pandemic caused by the [[Biology:SARS-CoV-2|SARS-CoV-2 virus]] takes place. It leads to widespread social and economic disruption and, by early 2023, more than 6.9 million deaths.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Abraham|first1=Roshan|last2=Maan|first2=Anurag|date=11 January 2021|title=Global coronavirus cases surpass 90 million in battle on new variant|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-global-cases/global-coronavirus-cases-surpass-90-million-in-battle-on-new-variant-idUSKBN29G0GB|access-date=11 January 2021|work=Reuters|archive-date=11 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111074212/https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-global-cases/global-coronavirus-cases-surpass-90-million-in-battle-on-new-variant-idUSKBN29G0GB|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Ritchie, Hannah; Mathieu, Edouard; Rodés-Guirao, Lucas; Appel, Cameron; Giattino, Charlie; Ortiz-Ospina, Esteban; Hasell, Joe; Macdonald, Bobbie; Beltekian, Diana; Dattani, Saloni; Roser, Max (2020–2021). "Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19)". Our World in Data. Retrieved 15 January 2022.</ref>

==Economics and industry==
* The [[Finance:2007–2008 financial crisis|late-2000s financial crisis]] caused the Great Recession, which lasted into the early 2010s.
* In the early 2010s the [[Finance:European debt crisis|European debt crisis]] caused major effects on [[Social:European Union|European politics]] and contributing to power shifts and the introduction of [[Finance:Austerity|austerity]] policies in different countries.
* Developing countries make up for 97% of the world's growth, and industrialization leads to the rapid rise of [[Finance:BRIC|BRIC]] economies and the weakening of American [[Social:Hegemony|hegemony]] in the global economy.
* The recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic forced many governments and economic sectors to heavily invest and restructure, especially through widespread introduction of remote work.
* Economic restructuring was pursued in many economies due to global [[Earth:Climate change|climate change]].

==Sports==
Association football is the most popular sport worldwide with the FIFA World Cup being the most viewed football event. Other sports such as rugby, cricket, baseball, basketball, ice hockey, tennis, and golf are popular globally. In cricket, the emergence of the Twenty20 format and the creation of the Indian Premier League led to changes in the nature of the sport. American swimmer Michael Phelps won an Olympic record setting 8 Gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

[[File:Beijing Birds Nest Olympics track .jpg|thumb|The Beijing Bird's Nest Stadium during the 2008 Summer Olympics.]]

=== Olympics ===
* The 2002 Winter Olympics were held in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
* The 2004 Summer Olympics were held in Athens, Greece
* The 2006 Winter Olympics were held in Turin, Italy
* The 2008 Summer Olympics were held in Beijing, China
* The 2010 Winter Olympics were held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
* The 2012 Summer Olympics were held in London, United Kingdom
* The 2014 Winter Olympics were held in Sochi, Russia
* The 2016 Summer Olympics were held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
* The 2018 Winter Olympics were held in Pyeongchang, South Korea
* The 2020 Summer Olympics were held in Tokyo, Japan
* The 2022 Winter Olympics were held in Beijing, China
* The 2024 Summer Olympics will be held in Paris, France
* The 2026 Winter Olympics will be held in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy
* The 2028 Summer Olympics will be held in Los Angeles, California, United States
* The 2032 Summer Olympics will be held in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

=== Association football (Men) ===
* The 2002 FIFA World Cup – host {{wipe|South Korea}} and {{wipe|Japan}} – was won by Brazil
* The 2006 FIFA World Cup – host {{wipe|Germany}} – was won by Italy
* The 2010 FIFA World Cup – host {{wipe|South Africa}} – was won by Spain
* The 2014 FIFA World Cup – host {{wipe|Brazil}} – was won by Germany
* The 2018 FIFA World Cup – host {{wipe|Russia}} – was won by France
* The 2022 FIFA World Cup – host Qatar – was won by Argentina

=== Association football (Women) ===
* The 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup – host {{wipe|United States}} – was won by Germany
* The 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup – host {{wipe|China}} – was won by Germany
* The 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup – host {{wipe|Germany}} – was won by Japan
* The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup – host {{wipe|Canada}} – was won by United States
* The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup – host {{wipe|France}} – was won by United States
* The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup – host {{wipe|Australia}} and [[Earth:New Zealand|New Zealand]] – was won by Spain

=== Cricket ===
* The 2003 Cricket World Cup – host {{wipe|South Africa}}, Zimbabwe and Kenya – was won by Australia
* The 2007 Cricket World Cup – host [[Place:West Indies|West Indies]] – was won by Australia
* The 2011 Cricket World Cup – host {{wipe|India}}, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh – was won by India
* The 2015 Cricket World Cup – host {{wipe|Australia}} and [[Earth:New Zealand|New Zealand]] – was won by Australia
* The 2019 Cricket World Cup – host {{wipe|England}} and Wales – was won by England
* The 2023 Cricket World Cup – host {{wipe|India}} – was won by Australia

=== Gridiron football ===
[[File:Tom Brady 2016.JPG|thumb|upright|Quarterback Tom Brady played in 10 Super Bowls, the most ever.]]
* In the National Football League, the New England Patriots were the dominant franchise of the first two decades of the 21st century, winning six Super Bowls between their first, in 2001, and their most recent, in 2018 and appearing in an additional three others. Head Coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady led the team during the stretch, with Brady also leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to an additional Super Bowl following the 2020 season. Other teams with multiple Super Bowl appearances over that time period include the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, Kansas City Chiefs, Seattle Seahawks, and Carolina Panthers. Besides Brady, who also won three Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player Award (MVP), other highly recognized players include quarterback Peyton Manning, who won five MVP awards, the most in history, and quarterback Aaron Rodgers who won three MVPs, who in 2011 set the NFL record for season passer rating. Successful offensive players at other positions include wide receiver Randy Moss, who set the record for most receiving touchdowns in a season with 23 in 2007, wide receiver Michael Thomas, who set the NFL record for most receptions in a season with 149 in 2019, tight end Rob Gronkowski, who became the first tight end to lead the league in receiving touchdowns in 2011, and running back Adrian Peterson, who set the all-time NFL record for rushing yards in a game with 296 in 2007, his rookie year. Key defensive players of the century include safety Ed Reed, who led the league in interceptions three times, linebacker Ray Lewis, who set the career tackles record when he retired in 2012, and linebacker J. J. Watt, who is the only player to record more than 20 quarterback sacks in two different seasons.
* In American college football, the sport saw the creation of the College Football Playoff, the first playoff for NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, the highest level of college football in the U.S. The series was dominated by two teams, the Clemson Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide, at least one of which has played in every Playoff since its inception in 2014 and between them have won all but one of said championships. Prior to 2014, the method of determining the champion was done via the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), a single championship game that attempted to match the top two teams in the country using a series of polls and computer rankings to choose the top two teams. In the BCS era, the top teams were Alabama, which won three BCS Championships, and Florida State, LSU, and Oklahoma, which won two BCS Championships each. Nick Saban, who led both LSU and Alabama to one and seven national championships respectively, was the most dominant coach of his era, while quarterbacks dominated the Heisman Trophy, winning 16 of 20 during the first two decades of the 21st century. Several controversies over the payment of athletes dominated the sport, with Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush being forced to return his award over receiving improper benefits while maintaining amateur status, while officials and media continued to debate the possibility of paying athletes at all levels of college athletics.
* In Canadian football, the league opened the 21st century facing an uncertain financial future, suffering from the failures of the experiment of trying to field Canadian football teams in the United States and having to contract a large number of teams at the end of the 20th century. The league fluctuated between eight and nine teams as two different Ottawa-based franchises failed during the first decade of the 21st century. The league found stability during the 2010s, and showed surprising parity between the teams, with all nine teams appearing in at least one Grey Cup during the 2000s and 2010s, and with only the Montreal Alouettes winning back-to-back titles during those two decades, in 2009 and 2010. Quarterback Anthony Calvillo of the Alouettes was the face of the league during his career, winning three Most Outstanding Player Awards and setting several passing records in the process.

{{Clear}}

=== Golf ===
[[File:Tiger Woods in May 2019.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|Tiger Woods was the most successful male golfer of the first two decades of the 21st century.]]
* The 2002 Ryder Cup was won by Europe 15 and a half to USA's 12 and a half.
* The 2004 Ryder Cup was won by Europe 18 and a half to USA's 9 and a half.
* The 2006 Ryder Cup was won by Europe again 18 and a half to USA's 9 and a half.
* The 2008 Ryder Cup was won by USA 16 and a half to Europe's 11 and a half.
* The 2010 Ryder Cup was won by Europe 14 and a half to USA's 13 and a half.
* The 2012 Ryder Cup was won by Europe 14 and a half to USA's 13 and a half.
* The 2014 Ryder Cup was won by Europe 16 and a half to USA's 11 and a half.
* The 2016 Ryder Cup was won by USA 17 to Europe's 11.
* The 2018 Ryder Cup was won by Europe 17 and a half to USA's 10 and a half.
* The 2021 Ryder Cup was won by USA 19 to Europe's 9.

=== Motorsport ===
[[File:Sydney SuperSprint 2016 Race 18 Start.jpg|thumb|The start of a race during the 2016 Supercars Championship in Australia]]
* Dale Earnhardt died after a last-lap crash during the Daytona 500 in February 2001.
* Michael Schumacher broke many records in the first few years of the century, including the record for most races won (91), most World Championships (7), and most pole positions (68) by the time he retired in 2006. In 2010, he announced his comeback to Formula One after three years out of the sport, retiring again in 2012.
* Sebastian Vettel broke numerous records on his way to becoming Formula One's youngest ever world champion, in 2010 at age 23, and then the youngest ever double world champion, in 2011 at age 24.
* Sébastien Loeb became the most successful rally driver ever, winning the World Rally Championship a record 9 consecutive times between 2004 and 2012. He also set new records for the most wins, podium finishes and points scored.
* Casey Stoner won his second MotoGP world title (2007 and 2011), and announced his retirement from the sport at just 27 years of age, citing disagreement with the direction of the sport and a desire to spend more time with his family. His retirement became effective at the end of the 2012 MotoGP season. Stoner has won every MotoGP-branded race at least once.
* Craig Lowndes became the first driver to reach 100 race wins in the V8 Supercars Championship.
* Lewis Hamilton broke the record for most career pole positions in Formula One in 2019, and the record for most career wins in 2020.

=== Rugby Union ===
* 2003 Rugby World Cup – host {{wipe|Australia}} – was won by England
* 2007 Rugby World Cup – host {{wipe|France}} – was won by South Africa
* 2011 Rugby World Cup – host [[Earth:New Zealand|New Zealand]] – was won by New Zealand
* 2015 Rugby World Cup – host {{wipe|England}} – was won by New Zealand
* 2019 Rugby World Cup – host {{wipe|Japan}} – was won by South Africa

=== Tennis (Men) ===
* Roger Federer won 20 Grand Slam titles (6 Australian Opens, 1 French Open, 8 Wimbledons, and 5 US Opens) to surpass Pete Sampras' record of 14.
* Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic each completed a Career Grand Slam, winning the singles championships in the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open; Nadal also won the Olympic Singles gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics to complete a Golden Career Slam.
* At the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, John Isner and Nicolas Mahut completed the longest tennis match ever. Isner won 6–4, 3–6, 6–7(7), 7–6(3), 70–68.
* In 2019, Rafael Nadal became the first male player to win a single Grand Slam tournament (French Open) 12 times.

=== Tennis (Women) ===
* Serena Williams won 23 Grand Slam titles (7 Australian Opens, 3 French Opens, 7 Wimbledons, and 6 US Opens) in the 21st century, to add to her 1999 US Open title. Including a 2017 Australian Open win whilst 8 weeks pregnant
* Maria Sharapova became the first female Russian player to reach No.1 on 22 August 2005. She also retired in 2020.
* China's Li Na won the 2011 French Open, becoming the first player, male or female, from that country to win a Grand Slam.
* Belarusian Victoria Azarenka won the 2012 Australian Open, becoming the first player, male or female, from that country to win a Grand Slam, and also hold the No.1 ranking (taking over from Caroline Wozniacki).

==Arts and entertainment==
=== Arts ===
{{main|Philosophy:Contemporary art}}
* ''Art:21 - Art in the 21st Century'' (2001–2018), a PBS series

===Music===
[[File:Taylor Swift Eras Tour - Arlington TX 20230331 - Look What You Made Me Do 1.jpg|thumb|The Eras Tour of Taylor Swift]]
At the beginning of the century, the [[Engineering:Compact disc|compact disc]] (CD) was the standard form of music media, but alternative forms of music media started to take it place such as music downloading and online streaming. A [[Engineering:Vinyl revival|resurgence]] in sales of vinyl records in the 2010s was driven by record collectors and [[Engineering:Audiophile|audiophile]]s who prefer the sound of analog vinyl records to digital recordings. In 2020, for the first time since the 1980s, vinyl surpassed CDs as the primary form of physical media for consumers of music, though both were still surpassed by online streaming, which by the 2020s became the predominant way that people consumed music.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dean |first1=Grace |title=Americans are spending more on vinyl records than CDs for the first time since the 1980s |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/americans-spending-vinyl-records-cds-2020-data-2020-9#:~:text=LP%20and%20EP%20sales%20totalled,Association%20of%20America%20(RIAA). |website=Business Insider |publisher=Insider Inc. |access-date=26 January 2021 |date=14 September 2020 |archive-date=23 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123123918/https://www.businessinsider.com/americans-spending-vinyl-records-cds-2020-data-2020-9#:~:text=LP%20and%20EP%20sales%20totalled,Association%20of%20America%20(RIAA). |url-status=live}}</ref> As of 2020, the most active music streaming services were [[Company:YouTube|YouTube]] (1 billion monthly music users, 20 million premium subscribers), [[Company:Tencent Music|Tencent Music]] (657 million monthly users, 42.7 million premium subscribers), 130 million premium subscribers), [[Company:SoundCloud|SoundCloud]] (175 million monthly users), Gaana (152 million monthly users), [[Software:JioSaavn|JioSaavn]] (104 million monthly users), [[Software:Spotify|Spotify]] (286 million monthly users), [[Software:Pandora (streaming service)|Pandora]] (60.9 million monthly users), and [[Software:Apple Music|Apple Music]] (60 million subscribers).<ref>{{cite web |title=How many users do Spotify, Apple Music and other big music streaming services have? |url=https://musically.com/2020/02/19/spotify-apple-how-many-users-big-music-streaming-services/ |website=Music Ally |access-date=26 January 2021 |date=19 February 2020 |archive-date=12 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112200637/https://musically.com/2020/02/19/spotify-apple-how-many-users-big-music-streaming-services/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Television===
As with music, the story of the first two decades of the 21st century was the growth of [[Streaming television|streaming television]] services in competition with older forms of television, such as [[Engineering:Terrestrial television|Terrestrial television]], [[Engineering:Cable television|cable television]], and [[Engineering:Satellite television|satellite television]]. The first major company to dominate the streaming service market was [[Company:Netflix|Netflix]], which began as a [[Engineering:DVD|DVD]]-delivery service in the late 1990s, transitioned into an online media streaming platform initially focused on delivering content produced by studios, then began to produce its own content, beginning with the popular and critically acclaimed series ''House of Cards'' in 2013. Netflix's success encouraged the creation of numerous other streaming services, such as [[Software:Hulu|Hulu]], YouTube Premium, [[Software:Amazon Prime Video|Amazon Prime Video]], and [[Software:Disney+|Disney+]], which within a year of its launch overtook Netflix as the most downloaded television streaming application.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kissel |first1=Chris |title=The 10 Most Popular Streaming TV Services of 2020 |url=https://www.moneytalksnews.com/the-10-most-popular-streaming-tv-services-of-2020/ |website=Money Talks News |access-date=26 January 2021 |date=22 January 2021 |archive-date=25 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125200653/https://www.moneytalksnews.com/the-10-most-popular-streaming-tv-services-of-2020/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Issues and concerns==
[[File:GlobalPeakOilForecast.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Global Peak Oil forecast. Virtually all economic sectors rely heavily on petroleum.]]
* '''[[Earth:Climate change|Climate change]].''' Climate scientists have reached a consensus that the earth is undergoing significant anthropogenic, i.e. human-induced, global warming.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change| doi=10.1126/science.1103618|pmid=15576594|volume=306|issue=5702|journal=Science|page=1686|year=2004|last1=Oreskes|first1=Naomi|doi-access=free}}</ref> Global warming risks considerable [[Biology:Biodiversity loss|losses in biodiversity]] and [[Biology:Ecosystem services|ecosystem services]], unless considerable sociopolitical changes are introduced, particularly in patterns of mass consumption and transportation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/09/rising-seas/if-ice-melted-map|title=What the World Would Look Like if All the Ice Melted|date=1 September 2013|access-date=21 March 2018|archive-date=11 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170111213849/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/09/rising-seas/if-ice-melted-map|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Dhaka street crowds.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Place:Dhaka|Dhaka]], Bangladesh in 2006. Almost 97% of future population growth is expected to occur in developing countries.<ref>[https://www.prb.org/resources/in-2011-world-population-surpasses-7-billion World population projected to reach 7 billion in 2011] {{cbignore|bot=medic}}". PRB. October 25 2011.</ref>]]
* '''[[Social:Population|Population]].''' The world's population demographics will shift considerably, with the population of [[Earth:Europe|Europe]] and [[Place:East Asia|East Asia]] predicted to decline considerably and the population of [[Earth:Africa|Africa]], and to a lesser extent [[Place:South Asia|South Asia]], to grow considerably, unless there are policy changes. The {{wipe|United Nations}} estimates world population will reach 9.7 billion by 2050.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/sites/www.un.org.development.desa.pd/files/wpp2022_summary_of_results.pdf|title=World Population Prospects 2022|website=UN|access-date=6 August 2023}}</ref> Most growth will take place in the world's poorer countries, which may slow down the reduction of poverty and combined with the effects of [[Earth:Global warming|global warming]], may lead to large migrations.
** '''Overconsumption''' and '''[[Unsolved:Human overpopulation|overpopulation]].''' Such growth raises questions of ecological [[Earth:Sustainability|sustainability]] and creates many economic and political disruptions. In response, many countries have adopted policies which either force or encourage their citizens to have fewer children, and others have limited immigration. Debate exists over what the ultimate carrying capacity of the planet may be; whether or not population growth containment policies are necessary; to what degree growth can safely occur thanks to increased economic and ecological efficiency; and how distribution mechanisms should accommodate demographic shifts. Many developed countries (most notably Japan) will experience population decline, and the population debate is strongly tied with discussions about the distribution of wealth.
* '''Poverty.''' Poverty remains the root cause of many of the world's other ills, including famine, [[Disease|disease]], and insufficient education. Poverty contains many self-reinforcing elements (e.g. it can make education unaffordable, which results in continuing poverty) that aid groups hope to rectify. Progress has been made in reducing poverty, especially in China and India, but increasingly in Africa as well. [[Finance:Microcredit|Microcredit]] lending has started to prove useful as an anti-poverty tool.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}}

[[File:World nuclear weapons.png|thumb|right|In early 2019, more than 90% of world's 13,865 nuclear weapons were owned by Russia and the United States.<ref>{{cite news |title=Global Nuclear Arsenal Declines, But Future Cuts Uncertain Amid U.S.-Russia Tensions |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/nuclear-weapons-russia-start-inf-warheads/30003088.html |work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=17 June 2019 |access-date=23 July 2019 |archive-date=2 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702194556/https://www.rferl.org/a/nuclear-weapons-russia-start-inf-warheads/30003088.html |url-status=live }}</ref> ]]
* '''[[Social:War|War]].''' Conflicts continue around the world, such as the Syrian Civil War, the [[Social:Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)|Yemeni Civil War]] and the Russo-Ukrainian War. Violence continues in the Arab–Israeli conflict. Concern remains about nuclear war and nuclear proliferation and the availability of weapons of mass destruction to rogue groups.
** '''War on drugs.''' The legal, social, and military battle by governments against drug cartels show little results in ending drug trading and consumption, and an increase in the lives taken. After 2006 in the Mexican Drug War, more than 100,000 human lives have been lost. Some jurisdictions have enacted a degree of legalization or decriminalization of some kinds of drugs, notably several U.S. states legalizing marijuana for recreational or medical use.
* '''[[Social:Intellectual property|Intellectual property]].''' The increasing popularity of digital formats for entertainment media such as movies and music, and the ease of copying and distributing it via the [[Internet]] and [[Peer-to-peer|peer-to-peer]] networks, has raised concerns in the media industry about [[Copyright infringement|copyright infringement]]. Much debate is proceeding about the proper bounds between protection of [[Copyright|copyright]], [[Social:Trademark|trademark]] and [[Social:Patent|patent]] rights versus [[Social:Fair use|fair use]] and the [[Social:Public domain|public domain]], where some argue that such laws have shifted greatly towards intellectual property owners and away from the interests of the general public, while others say that such legal change is needed to deal with a perceived threat of new technologies against the rights of authors and artists (or, as others put it, against the outmoded business models of the entertainment industry). [[Domain name]] "cybersquatting" and access to patented drugs and generics to combat epidemics in third-world countries are other IP concerns.
* '''[[Engineering:Technology|Technology]]'''. [[Cybernetics|Communications and control]] technology continues to augment the intelligence of individual humans, collections of humans, and machines. Some, notably [[Biography:Ray Kurzweil|Ray Kurzweil]], have predicted that by the middle of the century there will be a [[Philosophy:Technological singularity|technological singularity]] if [[Artificial intelligence|artificial intelligence]] that outsmarts humans is created. Economists have expressed concerns over [[Engineering:Technological unemployment|technological unemployment]] due to [[Engineering:Automation|automation]].

[[File:World laws pertaining to homosexual relationships and expression.svg|thumb|{{legend|#025|Marriage open to same-sex couples}}{{legend|#800000|Death penalty for homosexuality}}]]
* '''[[Social:Civil and political rights|Civil and political rights]]''', including women's rights, LGBT rights, [[Social:Racial equality|racial equality]] and the rights of disabled and individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities are still a work in progress. Women are unable to realize or outright denied their rights in many countries, including {{wipe|India}}, {{wipe|China}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.du.edu/korbel/hrhw/researchdigest/china/WomenChina.pdf |title=Chinese Women and Economic Human Rights
|first=Lisa |last=Fry |publisher=Josef Korbel School of International Studies [[Organization:University of Denver|University of Denver]] |access-date=10 February 2022  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004041354/https://www.du.edu/korbel/hrhw/researchdigest/china/WomenChina.pdf |archive-date=4 October 2012}}</ref> and Saudi Arabia, and [[Medicine:Sexual violence|sexual violence]] against women is still an enormous problem. Sex-selective abortion has reduced the number of women born worldwide since 1990, mostly because of son preference in {{wipe|China}}, {{wipe|India}}, {{wipe|Pakistan}}, Vietnam, {{wipe|South Korea}} and other countries. In many countries attitudes towards [[Social:Homosexuality|homosexuality]] have become more tolerant. [[Social:Same-sex marriage|Same-sex marriage]] was legalized in several jurisdictions during the first two decades of the century, but outlawed by constitutional amendment in other places. Meanwhile, some countries such as Uganda and {{wipe|Russia}} moved to toughen their laws against any sort of [[Social:Homosexuality|homosexual]] behavior or expression. Political battles over pro- or anti-gay legislation provoked much activism in the streets and on the Internet. [[Social:Hate group|Hate group]]s remain a serious problem, and ethnic minorities have a lower status in many countries, including the United States. Neurological conditions such as ADHD are becoming more understood and recognized.
* '''[[Social:Globalization|Globalization]].''' Advances in telecommunications and transportation, the expansion of [[Philosophy:Capitalism|capitalism]] and [[Social:Democratization|democracy]]{{disputed inline|discuss=Talk:21st century#democratization|date=April 2019}} since the late 1980s, and [[Social:Free trade|free trade]] agreements have resulted in unprecedented global economic and cultural integration. Most economists believe [[Social:Free trade|free trade]] leads to economic growth and benefits most people, including small businesses.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/aug/13/is-free-trade-always-the-answer|title=Is free trade always the answer?|first=Richard|last=Partington|newspaper=The Guardian |date=13 August 2018|via=www.theguardian.com|access-date=12 January 2019|archive-date=9 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109023851/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/aug/13/is-free-trade-always-the-answer|url-status=live}}</ref> In recent years, however, there has been a backlash against globalization and a return to protectionist attitudes among some leaders and nations, most notably United States President Donald Trump and the United Kingdom's decision to leave the European Union.
* '''[[Disease]].''' Heart disease and neonatal conditions kill millions annually.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death|title=The top 10 causes of death|website=www.who.int}}</ref> Antibiotic resistance is a growing concern. Other diseases, such as [[Medicine:COVID-19|COVID-19]] and flu variations, may be causes for concern.

==Astronomical events==
* 2004: [[Astronomy:2004 transit of Venus|Transit of Venus]].
* 23 December 2007: grand conjunction, a galactic conjunction which happens every 26,000 years.
* 2009: [[Astronomy:Triple conjunction|Triple conjunction]] [[Astronomy:Jupiter|Jupiter]]–[[Astronomy:Neptune|Neptune]].
* Solar eclipse of July 22, 2009, total of 6 min 38.8 s, saros 136.
* Solar eclipse of January 15, 2010, annular of 11 min 08 s, saros 141. The longest of the century, and also of the entire millennium.
* 2012: [[Astronomy:2012 transit of Venus|Transit of Venus]].
* 11 November 2019: [[Astronomy:Transit of Mercury|Transit of Mercury]].
* Solar eclipse of June 21, 2020, annular of 38 s, saros 137

==See also==
* [[History:Timelines of modern history|Timelines of modern history]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

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

==Further reading==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* Allitt, Patrick N. ''America after the Cold War: The First 30 Years'' (2020).
* Andersson, Jenny. ''The future of the world: Futurology, futurists, and the struggle for the post cold war imagination'' (Oxford UP, 2018).
* Ahram, Ariel I. ''War and Conflict in the Middle East and North Africa'' (John Wiley & Sons, 2020).
* Asare, Prince, and Richard Barfi. "The Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on the Global Economy: Emphasis on Poverty Alleviation and Economic Growth." ''Economics'' 8.1 (2021): 32-43 [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Prince_Vitenu-Sackey/publication/348162269_The_Impact_of_Covid-19_Pandemic_on_the_Global_Economy_Emphasis_on_Poverty_Alleviation_and_Economic_Growth/links/5ff1611c45851553a0151517/The-Impact-of-Covid-19-Pandemic-on-the-Global-Economy-Emphasis-on-Poverty-Alleviation-and-Economic-Growth.pdf online].
* Aziz, Nusrate, and M. Niaz Asadullah. "Military spending, armed conflict and economic growth in developing countries in the post–Cold War era." ''Journal of Economic Studies'' 44.1 (2017): 47–68.
* Brands, Hal. ''Making the unipolar moment: U.S. foreign policy and the rise of the post-Cold War order'' (2016).
* Brügger, Niels, ed, ''Web25: Histories from the first 25 years of the world wide web'' (Peter Lang, 2017).
* Cameron, Fraser. ''US foreign policy after the cold war: global hegemon or reluctant sheriff?'' (Psychology Press, 2005).
* Cassani, Andrea, and Luca Tomini. ''Autocratization in post-cold war political regimes'' (Springer, 2018).
* Clapton, William ed. ''Risk and Hierarchy in International Society: Liberal Interventionism in the Post-Cold War Era'' (Palgrave Macmillan UK. 2014)
* Dai, Jinhua, and Lisa Rofel, eds. ''After the Post–Cold War: The Future of Chinese History'' (Duke UP, 2018).
* Duong, Thanh. ''Hegemonic globalisation: U.S. centrality and global strategy in the emerging world order'' (Routledge, 2017).
* ''[[Finance:The Economist|The Economist]]''. ''The World in 2020'' (2019)
* ''[[Finance:The Economist|The Economist]]''. ''The Pocket World in 2021'' (2020) [https://www.amazon.com/Pocket-World-in-Figures-2021/dp/1788164970/ excerpt]
* Gertler, Mark, and Simon Gilchrist. "What happened: Financial factors in the great recession." ''Journal of Economic Perspectives'' 32.3 (2018): 3-30. [https://scholar.google.com/scholar?output=instlink&q=info:9I1bXGbxqbcJ:scholar.google.com/&as_ylo=2017&scillfp=12543900128079003130&oi=lle online]
* Harrison, Ewam. ''The Post-Cold War International System: Strategies, Institutions and Reflexivity'' (2004).
* Henriksen, Thomas H. ''Cycles in US Foreign Policy Since the Cold War'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017) [https://www.amazon.com/Cycles-Foreign-Policy-American-Century/dp/3319748521/ excerpt].
* Howe, Joshua P. ''Behind the curve: science and the politics of global warming'' (U of Washington Press, 2014).
* Jackson, Robert J. and Philip Towle. ''Temptations of Power: The United States in Global Politics after 9/11'' (2007)
* Lamy, Steven L., et al. ''Introduction to global politics'' (4th ed. Oxford UP, 2017)
* Mandelbaum, Michael ''The Rise and Fall of Peace on Earth'' (Oxford UP, 2019) why so much peace 1989–2015. [https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Fall-Peace-Earth/dp/0197533167/ excerpt]
* Maull, Hanns W., ed. ''The rise and decline of the post-Cold War international order'' (Oxford UP, 2018).
* Pekkanen, Saadia M., John Ravenhill, and Rosemary Foot, eds. ''Oxford handbook of the international relations of Asia'' (Oxford UP, 2014), comprehensive coverage.
* Ravenhill, John, ed. ''Global political economy'' (5th ed. Oxford UP, 2017) [https://www.amazon.com/Global-Political-Economy-John-Ravenhill/dp/0198737467/ excerpt]
* Reid-Henry, Simon. ''Empire of Democracy: The Remaking of the West Since the Cold War'' (2019) [https://www.amazon.com/Empire-Democracy-Remaking-West-Since/dp/1451684967/ excerpt]
* {{cite book |last=Rosenberg |first=Jerry M. |title=The Concise Encyclopedia of The Great Recession 2007–2012 |year=2012 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |edition=2nd |isbn= 978-0-8108-8340-6|url=https://archive.org/details/conciseencyclope0000rose |url-access=registration }}
* Rubin, Robert, and Jacob Weisberg. ''In an uncertain world: tough choices from Wall Street to Washington'' (2015).
* Rudolph, Peter. "The Sino-American World Conflict" (German Institute for International and Security Affairs. SWP Research Paper #3, February 2020). doi: 10.18449/2020RP03 [https://www.swp-berlin.org/10.18449/2020RP03/ online]
* Schenk, Catherine R. ''International economic relations since 1945'' (2nd ed. 2021).
* Smith, Rhona K.M. et al. ''International Human Rights'' (4th ed. 2018)
* Smith, Rhona KM. ''Texts and materials on international human rights'' (4th ed. Routledge, 2020).
* Strong, Jason. ''The 2010s: Looking Back At A Dramatic Decade'' (2019) [https://www.amazon.com/2010s-Looking-Back-Dramatic-decade/dp/1999222725/ online]
* Taylor-Gooby, Peter, Benjamin Leruth, and Heejung Chung, eds. ''After austerity: Welfare state transformation in Europe after the great recession'' (Oxford UP, 2017).
* {{cite book |last=Tooze |first=Adam |title=Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World |location=New York |publisher=Viking |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-670-02493-3}}
* Tooze, Adam. ''Shutdown: How Covid Shook the World's Economy'' (2021).
* United Nations. ''World Economic Situation and Prospects 2020'' (2020) [https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/document_gem/global-economic-monitoring-unit/world-economic-situation-and-prospects-wesp-report/world-economic-situation-and-prospects-wesp-full-report/ online annual reports]
* United Nations. ''World Economic and Social Survey 2010 - Retooling Global Development'' (2010) [https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/publication/world-economic-and-social-survey-5/ online]
{{refend}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20101228211112/http://www.stateoftheworld.reuters.com/ Reuters – The State of the World] The story of the 21st century
* [http://www.longbets.org/ Long Bets] Foundation to promote long-term thinking
* [https://www.centuryseasons.org.in/ Century Seasons]
* [http://www.longnow.org/ Long Now] Long-term cultural institution
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060328235050/http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa006&articleID=00031010-F7DA-1304-B72683414B7F0000 Scientific American Magazine (September 2005 Issue) The Climax of Humanity]
* [http://www.mapreport.com/century/index.html MapReport] 21st Century Event World Map

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