21st century

20XX redirects here. For other uses of both "20XX" and "21st century", see 21st century (disambiguation).

The 21st century is the current century of the Christian Era or Common Era in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. It began on January 1, 2001 and will end on December 31, 2100.

Turn of the 21st century (2001–present)

In contemporary history, the 21st century began with the United States as the sole superpower in the absence of the Soviet Union, with five other entities, China, India, the European Union, Brazil and the Russian Federation as potential superpowers in the coming decades. As the Cold War was over and terrorism said to be on the rise, the United States and its allies turned their attention to the Middle East.

Digital technology, in its early stages of mainstream use in the 1980s and 1990s, became widely accepted by most of the world, though concerns about stress and antisociality from the overuse of mobile phones, the Internet and related technologies remains controversial.

In 2008, 3.3 billion people globally, or nearly half the world's population used cell phones, and in 2005, over a billion people worldwide used the Internet.

Pronunciation

Regarding pronunciation of 21st-century years, academics suggest that since former years such as 1805 and 1905 were commonly pronounced as "eighteen oh" or "nineteen oh" five, the year 2005 should naturally have been pronounced as "twenty oh-five". A less common variation would have been "twenty nought-five".

The year 2010 "twenty ten" is suggested by many, with the "two thousand x" pronunciation reserved only for the "two thousands" decade of 2000s and the Vancouver Olympics, taking place in 2010, is being officially referred to by Vancouver 2010 as "the twenty-ten olympics", while 2011 and 2013 are popular as well. The latest timeframes for change are usually placed at 2020.

According to The Stanley Kubrick archives, in the press release for his film 2001: A Space Odyssey, film director Stanley Kubrick included specific instructions for journalists to refer to the movie as "two thousand and one" instead of the commonplace pronunciation of "twenty-oh-one". Kubrick said he did this in the hope that if the film became popular, it would influence the pronunciation of that year.

Significant events

Politics, war, and genocide

Politics in this century have so far been divisive, in the United States and to a lesser degree the whole Western World between the ideologies of liberalism and conservatism; more precisely, the Democratic Party vs the Republican Party.

Genocide still remains a problem in the century with the concern of the situation in Darfur and the growing concern in Sri Lanka. Low estimates on the deaths in Darfur stand around 200,000 deaths with 2.5 million in displacement, there has been much outcry against the perpetrators, the Sudanese government, and the very weak international response. Also controversies from past genocides remain commonplace in the minds of victims and average people alike.

• 1998–2002 – 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 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 2002 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.
• 2001 – George W. Bush becomes the second president of the United States to be the son of a former president, when he is inaugurated on January 20, 2001.
• 2001 – Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked 4 commercial airliners and crashed 3 of them into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in the United States on September 11, killing nearly 3,000 people. The United States subsequently declared a War on Terrorism.
• 2001–present – The U.S. and NATO invaded Afghanistan on October 7, 2001 and overthrew the Al-Qaeda-supportive Taliban government. Troops remained to install a democratic government, fight a slowly escalating insurgency, and to hunt for Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
• 2002 – The International Criminal Court (ICC) was established on July 1.
• 2002 – A series of bombings carried out by Islamic militants killed 202 people at the resort of Kuta, Bali, Indonesia on October 12.
• 2003–present – In February 2003, a conflict in Darfur, Sudan began and soon escalated into full-scale war. It is soon considered the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. By 2008 it is believed that up to 400,000 people have 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 crimes against humaninty and 2 accounts of war crimes, although the ICC currently has no power to enforce these charges.
• 2003–present – The U.S.-led coalition invaded Iraq on March 20, 2003 and overthrew the government of Saddam Hussein (who was 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. After the U.S.-led coalition initiated a troop surge in 2007, casualty numbers have decreased significantly.
• 2003–2005 – A series of nonviolent revolutions known as the colour revolutions overthrew governments in Georgia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, and Lebanon.
• 2004 – The European Union expanded by 10 countries, including 8 former communist countries, plus Malta and Cyprus.
• 2004 – On March 11, bombings carried out by Islamic militants killed 191 people on the commuter rail system of Madrid, Spain.
• 2005 – A series of bombings carried out by Islamic militants killed 56 people in London on July 7.
• 2005 – Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip on September 11.
• 2006–2008 – The dismantling of former Yugoslavia continues after Montenegro gained independence on June 3, 2006 and Kosovo declared independence on February 17, 2008. However, Kosovo's independence is disputed by Russia and many of its allies and is currently only partially recognized.
• 2006 – On July 12, Hezbollah militants crossed the border of Lebanon and captured two Israeli troops. Israel responded by sending troops across the border and bombing Hezbollah strongholds, while Hezbollah fired missiles on towns in northern Israel, approximately 6 each day. At the end of the war 300–450 Lebanese civilians, 600 Hezbolla troops, 44 Israeli civilians and 121 Israeli soldiers died. A ceasefire was signed on August 14, after which Israeli troops withdrew from Lebanon. Many military sources in Israel have warned about the danger of a new Israeli-Lebanese conflict back in the year 2000, when Israel has withdrawn from Lebanon.
• 2006 – On July 11, bombs planted on the train system in Mumbai exploded, killing 209 people.
• 2006 – North Korea conducted its first nuclear test on October 9. This was preceded by years of political wrangling with the U.S. over the status of their nuclear program.
• 2007 – A civil war escalated in the Gaza Strip throughout June, which resulted in Hamas eventually driving most Fatah-loyal forces from the Strip. In reaction, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh and dissolved the Hamas-ruled parliament. Scattered conflict continues.
• 2008 – Armed conflict in August 2008 between Georgia on one side, and the Russian Federation together with Ossetians and Abkhazians on the other. Russia officially recognized independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
• 2008–2009 – Israel launches a military campaign on the Gaza Strip, due to continuous rocket launching on south Israeli cities, in a period of 8 years, endangering the lives of 1.5 million civilians.
• 2009 –Barack Obama is elected first African-American president of the United States
• 2009 – North Korea tests a nuclear bomb beneath the ground in north east of the nation, which creates an earthquake that shows as 4 on the Richter scale

Science and technology

Space exploration

• 2001 – Dennis Tito becomes the first space tourist by paying $19 million to board the International Space Station.
• 2002 – Mars Odyssey arrives in orbit around Mars.
• 2003 – Space Shuttle Columbia disaster February 1.
• 2003 – The Chinese space program launches its first manned space flight, Shenzhou 5 on October 15.
• 2004 – Mars Exploration Rovers land on Mars; Opportunity discovers evidence that an area of Mars was once covered in water.
• 2004 – The Cassini–Huygens probe arrives at Saturn.
• 2004 – SpaceShipOne makes the first privately funded human spaceflight, June 21
• 2005 – The Huygens probe lands on Titan, the largest of Saturn's moons, January 14.
• 2005 – The Deep Impact probe impacts Comet Tempel 1, July 4.
• 2005 - The Space Shuttle Discovery launches on STS-114 on July 26, the first Return to Flight mission following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. The mission marks the beginning of the end of the current Space Shuttle Program (shuttles Endeavour, Atlantis, and Discovery)
• 2006 – New Horizons is launched on a 9 year voyage to Pluto, January 19.
• 2006 – The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter arrives at Mars.
• 2006 - The Space Shuttle Discovery launches on STS-121, the second Return to Flight mission following the Columbia accident, July 4.
• 2006 - NASA resumes construction of the International Space Station following the Columbia accident with the launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis on STS-115 on September 9.
• 2006 – Pluto is reclassified from a planet to a dwarf planet, leaving the solar system with eight planets.
• 2008 – NASA's MESSENGER flies by Mercury, becoming the first spacecraft to do so in 33 years.
• 2008 – Phoenix Lander successfully arrives at Mars; later tests conducted by the spacecraft reveal evidence of ice on Mars.
• 2008 – Chinese space program launches its third manned 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, Shenzhou 7 on September 25.
• 2008 – The Indian Space Research Organisation's Chandrayaan-1 is launched on October 22. India becomes the fourth nation to reach the moon.
• 2009 - NASA launches the Kepler Space Observatory on a three year mission to search the sky in the Cygnus, Lyra, and Draco constellations for Earth-like planets, March 6.
• 2009 – The Space Shuttle Atlantis rendezvous with the Hubble Space Telescope on STS-125 to give the Hubble much needed repairs. This mission will enable Hubble to last for approximately 5 to 10 years.
• 2009 - NASA conducts the highly successful Ares I-X test flight of the Ares I rocket. The 6-minute suborbital flight provided NASA with invaluable data on the rocket that (at the time of the test flight) is scheduled to replace the Space Shuttle fleet in the next decade.
• 2009 - NASA/ISRO discovers water on the Moon

Medicine

• 2003 – Completion of the Human Genome Project
• 2003 – Dolly the cloned sheep dies prematurely February 14.
• 2003 – Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) spreads around the globe.
• 2005 – The first successful partial face transplant is performed in France.
• 2006 – Australian of the Year Dr Ian Frazer develops a vaccine for cervical cancer.
• 2008 – Japanese scientists create a form of artificial DNA.
• 2009 – The mouse genome is fully sequenced.
• 2009 – Influenza A virus subtype H1N1 spreads around the globe.
• 2009 - The horse genome is fully sequenced.

Personal technology

• Mobile phone usage approaches 100% in Europe.
• Digital audio players are widely used in developed nations.
• Digital cameras are making traditional film cameras virtually obsolete.
• Wireless technologies are beginning to play a greater role in people's lives.

Other

• 2003 – Discovery of an old dwarf human species, Homo floresiensis by modern humans (published October 2004).
• 2004 – The first ever recorded hurricane in the South Atlantic forms.
• 2007 – The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) releases its Fourth Assessment Report.
• 2009 – Details of Darwinius, a vital ‘missing link’ in human evolution dated to 47 million years ago, are published.

Conflicts

• Colombian armed conflict (1964–present)
• Sri Lankan Civil War (1983–2009)
• September 11, 2001 attacks on USA
• War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
• 12 October 2002 Bali bombing
• Moscow theater hostage crisis October 2002
• Iraq War (20 March 2003–present)
• Darfur conflict (2003–present)
• 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings
• War in North-West Pakistan (2004–present)
• September 2004 Beslan school hostage crisis
• 7 July 2005 London bombings
• 2006 East Timorese crisis
• 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings
• 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
• Civil war in Chad (2005–present)
• War in Somalia (2006–2009)
• War on Terrorism (2001–present)
• Russian-Georgian War (08/07/2008–08/16/2008)
• 26/11 - 2008 Mumbai attacks
• 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict
• War in Somalia (2009-present)

Worldwide deaths from war and terrorist attacks

• Second Congo War, approximately 1.8 million deaths (3.8 million since 1998)
• Iraq War, a wide variation in the number of casualties quoted, ranging from the tens of thousands, up to approximately 1 million deaths, Iraq Body Count project, ORB survey of Iraq War casualties.
• Darfur conflict, approximately 400,000 deaths
• Civil War in Côte d'Ivoire, 3,000 deaths
• September 11, 2001 19 members of al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial airliners, intentionally crashing two of them into The World Trade Centers in New York City, and one into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The fourth plane's intended target was the White House, but passengers aboard the plane resisted the initiatives of the hijackers and crashed the plane into a field in Pennsylvania. 2,997 people from 90 different countries died. It remains one of the worst terrorist attacks in contemporary history.
• December 13, 2001 attacks, Terrorist attack on Indian Parliament, terrorists storm the Indian Parliament Building in New Delhi and kill six police officers.
• October 12, 2002 Bali terrorist bombings kill 202 people.
• March 11, 2004 terrorist attacks shake several train stations on Spain's capital Madrid, killing 191 people and injuring 1,247.
• 7 July 2005 London bombings, Suicide terrorist attacks shake London transport system killing 52 people and injuring 700.
• 29 October 2005 Delhi bombings, terrorists attack various markets in New Delhi, killing 61 people and injuring 188 more, right before the start of the festival season in India.
• July 11, 2006 six bombs explode in train stations in Mumbai, killing 190.
• November 2008 Mumbai attacks, a series of ten coordinated terrorist attacks across Mumbai, India, killing 195 people and injuring 290 more.

Civil Unrest

2000s

• 2001 riots in Argentina
• 2005 civil unrest in France
• 2005 Cronulla riots
• 2006 Muhammad cartoons controversy
• 2007 Danish riots
• 2007 Bronze Soldier riots in Estonia
• 2007 Burmese anti-government protests
• 2007 Georgian demonstrations
• 2008 Greek riots
• 2009 Moldova civil unrest
• 2009 Riga riot
• 2009 Iranian election protests

Natural disasters

The tsunami striking Ao Nang in Thailand on December 26, 2004.

2000s

• 2001 Gujarat Earthquake - An earthquake in Gujarat,India on January 26, 2001 killed approximately 20,000.
• 2003 European heat wave - Approximately 30,000 people were killed across europe in a summer long heat wave.
• 2003 Bam earthquake - An earthquake in Bam, Iran on December 27, 2003 killed more than 26,000.
• 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake - On December 26, 2004, an undersea earthquake resulted in a massive tsunami striking southeast Asia killing approxomately 230,000.
• 2005 Hurricane Jeanne - Over 3,000 people are killed by Hurricane Jeanne in Haiti in September 2004.
• 2005 Hurricane Katrina - The hurricane killed 1,836 in southeast Louisiana and Mississippi (mostly in New Orleans). A significant portion of the city, most of which sits below sea level, was submerged.
• 2005 Kashmir earthquake An earthquake in Kashmir on October 8, 2005, killed at least 74,500 in India and Pakistan
• 2005 Cyclone Nagris - lead to massive landslides, leading to a death toll in excess of 100,000 and making millions homeless.
• 2008 Sichuan earthquake - An earthquake in Sichuan, China killed 18,396.
• 2009 L'Aquila earthquake - A 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes near L'Aquila (Italy) in April 2009, one of the worst in Italian history.
• 2009 flu pandemic - A worldwide outbreak of Influenza A virus subtype H1N1 spread around the world forming a pandemic by June 2009.

2010s

• 2010 Haiti earthquake - At least 230,000 are killed in Haiti after a massive earthquake. As of late February 2010, the death toll is expected to rise. Three million people were made homeless.
• 2010 Chile earthquake - a massive earthquake, magnitude 8.8, strikes the central Chilean coast.

New countries

Some territories 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 foreign governments.

• Abkhazia¹
• East Timor (Timor-Leste)
• Kosovo²
• Montenegro
• Serbia
• Serbia and Montenegro³
• South Ossetia¹

1: Both Abkhazia and South Ossetia are disputed regions in Georgia and have been recognized as independent states by Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Nauru.
2: Kosovo has been recognized by 64 UN member nations and the Republic of China.
3: The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was reconstituted as the State Union Serbia and Montenegro in 2003, but the new country lasted only three years, splitting apart into Serbia and Montenegro in 2006.

Sports

Olympic Games

2000s

• 2002 Winter Olympics were held in Salt Lake City, United States
• 2004 Summer Olympics were held in Athens, Greece
• 2006 Winter Olympics were held in Turin, Italy
• 2008 Summer Olympics were held in Beijing, China

2010s

• 2010 Winter Olympics were held in Vancouver, Canada
• 2012 Summer Olympics Will be held in London, United Kingdom
• 2014 Winter Olympics Will be held in Sochi, Russia
• 2016 Summer Olympics Will be held in Rio de Janerio, Brazil

Association Football

International 2000s

• 2000 European Championships is won by France
• 2002 FIFA World Cup is won by Brazil
• 2004 European Championships is won by Greece
• 2006 FIFA World Cup is won by Italy
• 2008 European Championships is won by Spain

Domestic 2000s

• 2000 FIFA Club World Cup is won by Sport Club Corinthians Paulista
• 2005 FIFA Club World Cup is won by São Paulo Futebol Clube
• 2006 FIFA Club World Cup is won by Internacional
• 2007 FIFA Club World Cup is won by AC Milan
• 2008 FIFA Club World Cup is won by Manchester United
• 2009 FIFA Club World Cup is won by Barcelona

Athletics

2000s

• Usain Bolt broke various world records including the 100ms at the 2009 World Championships putting the record at 9.58 Seconds.
• United States won all Three Olympic Medal Tables for the Athletics.
• A record low amount of Athletes failing drug tests occurred in 2008 for Athletes, with only one recordedly failing a drug test in the Women's Long Jump.

Basketball

2000s

• 2000 NBA Finals - Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Indiana Pacers
• 2001 NBA Finals - Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Philadelphia 76ers
• 2002 NBA Finals - Los Angeles Lakers defeated the New Jersey Nets
• 2003 NBA Finals - San Antonio Spurs defeated the New Jersey Nets
• 2004 NBA Finals - Detroit Pistons defeated the Los Angeles Lakers
• 2005 NBA Finals - San Antonio Spurs defeated the Detroit Pistons
• 2006 NBA Finals - Miami Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks
• 2007 NBA Finals - San Antonio Spurs defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers
• 2008 NBA Finals - Boston Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers
• 2009 NBA Finals - Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic

Cycling

2000s

• 2000 Tour de France - started in France Futuroscope, France (winner United States Lance Armstrong)
• 2001 Tour de France - started in France Dunkerque, France (winner United States Lance Armstrong)
• 2002 Tour de France - started in Luxembourg Luxembourg, Luxembourg (winner United States Lance Armstrong)
• 2003 Tour de France - started in France Paris, France (winner United States Lance Armstrong)
• 2004 Tour de France - started in Belgium Liège, Belgium (winner United States Lance Armstrong)
• 2005 Tour de France - started in France Vendée, France (winner United States Lance Armstrong)
• 2006 Tour de France - started in France Strasbourg, France (winner Spain Oscar Pereiro)
• 2007 Tour de France - started in United Kingdom London, United Kingdom (winner Spain Alberto Contador)
• 2008 Tour de France - started in France Brest, France (winner Spain Carlos Sastre)
• 2009 Tour de France - started in Monaco Monaco (winner Spain Alberto Contador)

Golf

2000s

• 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 and last this decade was won by USA 16 and a half to Europe's 11 and a half.

Rugby Union

2000s

• 2003 Rugby World Cup - host Australia (winner England defeated Australia)
• 2007 Rugby World Cup - host France (winner South Africa defeated England)

Tennis

2000s

• Roger Federer wins 16 grand slam titles (4 Australian Opens, 1 French Open, 6 Wimbledon titles, and 5 U.S. Open titles) to beat Pete Sampras' record.

• Rafael Nadal beats Roger Federer at the 2008 Wimbledon final with a score of 6-4,6-4,5-7,5-7,9-7. People consider this match the greatest tennis match of all-time. The match lasted for 8 hours (with 2 rain delays).

• Roger Federer played Andy Roddick in the 2009 Wimbledon final for his 15th Grand Slam championship. Roddick won the first set 6-4, then after a 6-2 Roddick tiebreak lead, Federer came back and won the 2nd set 7-6 and the 3rd set 7-6. Roddick then won the 4th set 6-3. Federer led Roddick 15-14 in the 5th set, finally broke Roddick and won the 5th set 16-14.

Others

2000s

Formula One

• F1-Michael Schumacher wins World Championship for the third time at Suzuka, Japan 2000 in a Ferrari F1-2000, Ferrari's first driver's championship in 21 years

• Ralph Dale Earnhardt, Sr. (Dale Earnhardt) passes away after a last-lap crash during the Daytona 500 in February 2001

Aquatics

• Michael Phelps won six gold medals in the 2004 Olympics, and a record eight in the 2008 Olympics (some of those medals coming from split-second wins). meanwhile back in the 2000 games, Dara Torres and Jenny Thompson got a bronze each after they made a 1 in a million occurrence of finishing the race both at the exact same time.

American Football

• 2000 Super Bowl XXXIV- St Louis Rams defeated the Tennessee Titans
• 2001 Super Bowl XXXV- Baltimore Ravens defeated the New York Giants
• 2002 Super Bowl XXXVI- New England Patriots defeated the St Louis Rams
• 2003 Super Bowl XXXVII- Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Oakland Raiders
• 2004 Super Bowl XXXVIII New England Patriots defeated the Carolina Panthers
• 2005 Super Bowl XXXIX New England Patriots defeated the Philadelphia Eagles
• 2006 Super Bowl XL Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Seattle Seahawks
• 2007 Super Bowl XLI Indianapolis Colts defeated the Chicago Bears
• 2008 Super Bowl XLII New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots
• 2009 Super Bowl XLIII Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals
• 2010 Super Bowl XLIV New Orleans Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts

Business and industry

• Music Industry: The early 21st century has had a profound impact on the condition of music distribution. Recent advents in digital technology have fundamentally altered industry and marketing practices as well as players in unusual rapidity.
• Many American auto brands have been phased out such as Plymouth by Chrysler in 2001 and Oldsmobile by General Motors in 2004. General Motors will also be phasing out Pontiac as well as Saturn by 2010. There has been speculation that Mercury by Ford could be phased out in the near future.

Issues and concerns

There are several points-of-view pertaining to the following items, all of which should be considered accordingly.

Issues that have been frequently discussed and debated so far in this century include:

• Globalization. Advances in telecommunications and transportation, the expansion of capitalism and democracy, and free trade agreements have resulted in unprecedented global economic and cultural integration. This has caused (and is continuing to cause) economic and cultural shifts which have been the subject of considerable controversy.
• Overpopulation. The United Nations estimates that world population will reach 9.2 billion by mid-century. Such growth raises questions of ecological 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. Considerable 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. Evidence suggests that developed countries (such as Japan) suffer population implosion, and the population debate is strongly tied with discussions about the distribution of wealth.
• Authoritarianism. Some currently democratic states, such as the United Kingdom, are felt by some to be moving quickly in the direction of a police state, with biometric identity cards, continuous surveillance and long term detainment without trial all having been introduced by the government. A shift in education can be noticed towards more emphasis on discipline and control mechanisms by the state. A good indicator of authoritarianism being a serious concern for the 21st century are the recent anti-authoritarian protests staged around the world. Examples include the 1999 Carnival Against Capitalism, the protest activities surrounding the 2001 Genova G8 Summit and the 2007 Heiligendamm G8 Summit, as well as the 2008 civil unrest in Greece, all with strong anarchistic and thus anti-authoritarian character.
• Abortion. Debates between "Pro-choice" and "Pro-life" factions on the controversial procedure continue. The approximate number of induced abortions performed worldwide in 2003 was 42 million.
• Gay rights are a major political issue in many places, with same sex marriage being legalized in several jurisdictions during the first decade of the century, but outlawed by constitutional amendment in other places. Meanwhile, some countries such as Uganda moved to toughen their laws against any sort of homosexual behavior. Political battles over pro- or anti-gay legislation provoked much activism in the streets and on the Internet.
• Dysgenics. Due to the negative correlation between fertility and intelligence, human genetic integrity may be deteriorating, lowering the intellectual capacity of the average human.
• Poverty. Poverty remains the root cause of many of the world's other ills, including famine, disease, and insufficient education. Poverty contains many self-reinforcing elements (for instance, poverty can make education an unaffordable luxury, which tends to result in continuing poverty) that various aid groups hope to rectify in this century. Microcredit lending has also started to gain a profile as a useful anti-poverty tool.
• Disease. AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria each kill over a million people annually. HIV remains without a cure or vaccine, and is growing rapidly in India and much of the African continent. Antibiotic resistance is a growing concern for organisms such as tuberculosis. Other diseases, such as SARS, ebola, and flu variations, are also causes for concern. The World Health Organization has warned of a possible coming flu pandemic resulting from bird flu mutations. In 2009, the outbreak of swine flu in Mexico and later around the world caused widespread panic and concern, and is currently still a problem.
• War and terrorism. Active conflicts continue around the world, including civil wars in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the largest war since World War II), Chechnya, Côte d'Ivoire, Somalia, Senegal, Colombia, and Sudan (mainly in Darfur). The 9/11 terrorist attacks triggered invasions of Afghanistan and partially and controversially Iraq. The War on Terrorism has seen controversies over civil liberties, accusations of torture, continued terrorist attacks and ongoing instability, violence, and military occupation. Violence continues in the Arab–Israeli conflict. Considerable concern remains about nuclear proliferation, especially in Iran and North Korea, and the availability of weapons of mass destruction to rogue groups.
• Global warming. Climate scientists have postulated that the earth is currently undergoing significant anthropogenic (human-induced) global warming. [1] The resulting economic and ecological costs are hard to predict. Some scientists argue that human-induced global warming risks considerable losses in biodiversity and ecosystem services unless considerable sociopolitical changes are introduced, particularly in patterns of mass consumption and transportation. Others, however, doubt or deny human influence and counter-action were in effect significant, or question whether global warming will actually be a significant detriment to the planet.
• Power in international relations. Issues surrounding the cultural, economic, and military dominance of the United States and its role in the world community have become even more pointed given its recent military activities, problematic relations with the United Nations, disagreement over several international treaties, and its economic policies with regard to globalization. Integration of the European Union and the African Union have proceeded.
• 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 networks, has raised concerns in the media industry about copyright infringement. Much debate is proceeding about the proper bounds between protection of copyright, trademark and patent rights versus fair use and the public domain, where some argue that such laws have shifted greatly towards intellectual property owners and away from the interests of the general public in recent years, 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 current entertainment industry). Domain name "cybersquatting" and access to patented drugs and generics to combat epidemics in third-world countries are other IP concerns.
• Technology developments show no sign of ending. Communications and control technology continues to augment the intelligence of individual humans, collections of humans, and machines. Cultures are forced into the position of sharply defining humanity and determining boundaries on desire, thought, communication, behavior, and manufacturing. Some, notably Ray Kurzweil, have predicted that by the middle of the century there will be a Technological Singularity if artificial intelligence that outsmart humans is created. If these AIs then create even smarter AIs technological change could accelerate in ways that are impossible for us to foresee. (However, gradual and simultaneous use of AI technology to increase our own intelligence might prevent this from ever occurring.)
• Fossil fuels are becoming scarce and more expensive, due to the escalating demand for petroleum ("oil") and oil-based products such as gasoline and kerosene, unmatched by production. Discovery of new oil fields has not been sufficient to sustain current levels of production, and some fear that the earth may be running out of economically viable oil, pressing for alternatives. As Agrofuel, one possible alternative, yields further hazards for the environment and endangers food security, debate is far from over.
• NATO–Russia relations seem to remain strained as the "Western Alliance" and NATO square off with Russia and other nations over international policy and the future of the ex-Soviet sphere. An Eastern Europe Missile Defense Shield, military and social conflicts in former Yugoslavia and the Caucasus (particularly Georgia and Chechnya), fossil fuel infrastructures like the Nabucco pipeline and the future of nuclear arsenals are among the topics that have strained the relations between the two sides with eerie reminders reminiscent of the Cold War.

The United Nations lists global issues on its agenda and lists a set of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to attempt to address some of these issues.

Astronomical events (passed or to come) in the 21st century

List of the long total solar eclipses

• Solar eclipse of July 22, 2009, saros 136, 6 min 38.8 s. The longest of the century.
• Solar eclipse of August 2, 2027, of 6 min 23 s, saros 136.
• Solar eclipse of August 12, 2045, of 6 min 06 s, saros 136.
• Solar eclipse of August 24, 2063, of 5 min 49 s, saros 136.
• Solar eclipse of May 11, 2078, of 5 min 40 s, saros 139.
• Solar eclipse of May 22, 2096, of 6 min 07 s, saros 139.

Other phenomena

2000s

• Wednesday, May 7, 2003: Transit of Mercury, the first of this century.
• Wednesday, August 27, 2003: Closed approach of Mars, closest since the middle Paleolithic.
• Tuesday, June 8, 2004: First transit of Venus for 122 years.
• November 8, 2006: Transit of Mercury.
• December 23, 2007: grand conjunction a galactic conjunction which happens every 26,000 years.
• 2009: Triple conjunction Jupiter–Neptune.

2010s

• 2010/2011: Triple conjunction Jupiter-Uranus.
• July 12, 2011: Neptune completes its first orbit since its discovery on September 23, 1846.
• Wednesday, June 6, 2012: Transit of Venus to occur a second time (and last time) this century.
• May 9, 2016: Transit of Mercury.
• Monday, August 21, 2017 [2] : First total solar eclipse of the 21st century for the United States, and the first visible in the continental US since February 26, 1979 [3].
• November 11, 2019: Transit of Mercury.

2020s

• 2024 (plus or minus 5 years): Next predicted return of Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks.
• 2025/2026: Triple conjunction Saturn-Neptune.
• Friday, April 13, 2029: The asteroid 99942 Apophis (previously better known by its provisional designation 2004 MN₄) will pass within 30,000 km (18,600 mi) of the Earth.

2030s

• November 13, 2032: Transit of Mercury.
• 2037/2038: Triple conjunction Jupiter-Uranus.
• November 7, 2039: Transit of Mercury.

2040s

• 2041/2042: Triple conjunction Mars-Uranus.
• October 1, 2044: Occultation of Regulus by Venus. The last was on July 7, 1959. After 2044, the next occultation of Regulus by Venus would occur on July 22, 3126, although some sources claim it will occur again on October 6, 2271.
• 2047/2048: Triple conjunction Jupiter-Neptune.
• May 7, 2049: Transit of Mercury.

2050s

• November 9, 2052: Transit of Mercury.

2060s

• July 2061: Next return of Halley's Comet.
• 2063: Triple conjunction Mars-Uranus.
• November 11, 2065: Transit of Mercury.
• November 22, 2065: At 12:45 UTC, Venus will occult Jupiter. This event will be the first occultation of a planet by another since January 3, 1818. This event will be very difficult to observe, because the elongation of Venus and Jupiter from the Sun on that date will be only 7 degrees.
• 2066: Triple conjunction Jupiter-Uranus.
• July 15, 2067: At 11:56 UTC, Mercury will occult Neptune. This rare event will be very difficult to observe, because of the constant low elongation of Mercury from the Sun, and the magnitude of Neptune always under the limit of visibility with the naked eye.

2070s

• 2071/2072: Triple conjunction Mars-Neptune.
• November 14, 2078: Transit of Mercury.
• 2079: Triple conjunction Saturn-Uranus.
• August 11, 2079: At 01:30 UTC, Mercury will occult Mars.

2080s

• Friday, November 10, 2084: Transit of Earth as seen from Mars, the first and the only one in this century.
• November 7, 2085: Transit of Mercury.
• 2085/2086: Triple conjunction Jupiter-Neptune.
• October 27, 2088: At 13:43 UTC, Mercury will occult Jupiter.

2090s

• 2088/2089: Triple conjunction Mars-Neptune.
• 2093: Triple conjunction Jupiter-Uranus.
• April 7, 2094: At 10:48 UTC, Mercury will occult Jupiter.
• May 8, 2095: Transit of Mercury.
• November 10, 2098: Transit of Mercury.

Pop cultural references to the remaining years of the 21st century

Television and film

• The new series of Doctor Who which began in 2005 depicts many fictional events that take place in the 21st century.
• The television series seaQuest DSV takes place between the years 2018 and 2032.
• In the sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey, a joint American-Soviet space expedition is sent to Jupiter in 2010.
• The Adult Swim series Sealab 2021 takes place in the year 2021.
• The events of Stargate SG-1 continue into the early 21st century.
• Stargate Atlantis is set in the early 21st century.
• The Transformers: The Movie: is set in the year 2005. The subsequent third season of the Transformers series takes place after the events of the movie.
• The Japanese anime show The Super Dimension Fortress Macross spans the years 1999 to 2012 (its final episode takes place in January of 2012, and a direct to video epilogue featurette takes place in September 2012). Its prequel and sequels take place in 2008 (Macross Zero), 2040 (Macross Plus), 2045–2046 (Macross 7) and 2059 (Macross Frontier). A dramatized historical fiction movie about the First Space War, The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love?, premieres in 2031.
• The American cartoon show Robotech, composed from the footage of three unrelated anime series (including Macross, above) spans the years 1999 to 2015, 2030–2031 and 2044–2045.
• Part of the sequel Back to the Future Part II is set on October 21, 2015.
• The Japanese anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion is also set in 2015.
• The film Blade Runner takes place in November 2019.
• The cult series Dark Angel is set in 2019.
• The film Daybreakers is set in 2019
• The film The Running Man starring Arnold Schwarzenegger is set in 2019.
• Both parts of the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Past Tense" take place in 2024.
• The dystopic sci-fi novel and film Metropolis takes place in 2027.
• The film Children of Men is set in 2027.
• The anime universe of Ghost in the Shell, its sequel Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, and anime television series based on the same premise (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG), are centered somewhere around 2029.
• The Terminator is set up during the early years of the 21st century in terms of the wars between humans & Skynet. Some of the intervening years are dealt with by the two sequels, Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, with the whole franchise building to a conclusion of the War in 2029.
• The 2002 version of The Time Machine has scenes that take place in the 2030 and 2037 NYC.
• The Doctor Who story The Enemy of the World is set in Australia in 2030.
• The comedy series Time Trumpet is set in 2031, and "looks back on" the first 30 years of the 21st century.
• The anime OAV series Bubblegum Crisis (2032–33), its sequel Bubblegum Crash (2034), and its TV-series re-imagining Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 (2040).
• Demolition Man is set in 2032.
• I, Robot was set in 2035.
• Deep space vessel Event Horizon was sent to test an artificial wormhole (black hole) in deep space in the year 2040. The lost ship is found 7 years later by a rescue team on board the ship Lewis and Clark on low orbit around the planet Neptune.
• The Outward Urge has a major nuclear war in 2044 and the first manned landing on Mars in 2094.
• Bollywood movie Love Story 2050 was partly set in 2050.
• Minority Report was set in April 2054.
• World War III ends in 2053 according to Star Trek: First Contact, with 600,000,000 dead and most major cities destroyed.
• The 1998 remake of Lost in Space was set in 2058.
• Most of Star Trek: First Contact takes place in 2063. In Star Trek canon, the human Zefram Cochrane develops faster-than-light travel and makes first contact with an alien race during this year.
• Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within is set in 2065.
• The Doctor Who story The Moonbase is set in 2070.
• The Japanese anime show Cowboy Bebop is set in 2071.
• The Nicktoon My Life as a Teenage Robot is set in 2072.
• Equilibrium is set in 2072.
• The Doctor Who story Day of the Daleks is set in 2073, albeit in an alternative timeline.
• The film Total Recall, and the Doctor Who story Warriors of the Deep is set in 2084.
• In Star Trek: Insurrection, it is discovered that the Ba'ku moved to the Briar Patch at some point in this century.
• The Jetsons is supposed to take place in the late 21st century.
• Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century and its sequels takes place in the years 2049–2054.
• The final episode of The X-Files sets December 22, 2012 as the date for alien colonization.
• The CGI animated series Cubix: Robots for Everyone takes place in 2040.
• The Doctor Who story The Seeds of Death is set in 2090.
• The Doctor Who story Nightmare of Eden is set in 2096.
• The events of Leprechaun 4: In Space takes place in 2096.
• The 2008 Disney Channel movie Minutemen is based between the dates September 3, 2005 and September 8, 2008.
• The tagline of Torchwood series one is: "The 21st century is when everything changes. And we have to be ready." In series two, the second sentence changes to: "And Torchwood is ready."
• The 2008 film Repo! The Genetic Opera is set in the year 2056. Plastic surgery and a fictional pain-killing drug known as Zydrate are commonplace as fashion statements and addictions.
• The events of the Sci-Fi anime Planetes is set in the year 2075.
• The 2009 disaster film 2012 takes place in the year 2012. It is based on an end of the world event on December 21, 2012.

Computer and video games

• Microsoft Releases Windows 7 In October 2009
• The events of Metal Gear Solid take place in 2005, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty takes places in the years 2007 (Tanker Chapter) and 2009 (Big Shell Chapter), and the events of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots take place in 2014.
• Duke Nukem 3D is set in the early 21st century and contains evidence (such as calendars) that suggest it is more specifically set in October or December 2007
• Uplink is set on the internet of the year 2010.
• Perfect Dark Zero is set in 2020 and Perfect Dark is set in 2023.
• The races in San Francisco Rush 2049 take place in 2049.
• The events of Deus Ex take place in 2052.
• The levels "Breaking and Entering" and "You Genius, U-Genix" in TimeSplitters: Future Perfect take place in 2052.
• System Shock is set in 2072.
• Future Cop: LAPD takes place in the year 2098.
• The discovery of the Zohar in Xenosaga takes place in 20XX.
• The Great War of the Fallout universe starts on October 23, 2077; nuclear bombs are launched, nobody knows who the aggressor was.
• The events of Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne occur in 20XX.
• In Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction, the 2nd Korean War starts early in this century.
• Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, takes place sometime around between 2008 and 2010.
• The Mega Man Classic series takes place sometime in the 21st century, represented as 20XX.
• The MegaMan Battle Network series takes place in 20XX.
• The arcade game Robotron: 2084 takes place in the year 2084.
• One Must Fall: 2097 takes place in 2097.
• The Mr. Driller series (and Dig Dug: Digging Strike, a game in its related timeline) takes place in 20XX.
• The events of Half-Life takes place around 2000–2009.
• The events of Half-Life 2 and its expansion packs takes place around the early 2020s.
• The video game and cartoon 20X6 of Homestar Runner supposedly takes place in the seventh year of an unspecified decade in the 21st century.
• The nuclear holocaust of the AquaNox universe takes place in mid-21st century, followed by the massive exodus of survivors underwater.
• Trauma Center: Under the Knife and Trauma Center: Second Opinion take place in 2018, when AIDS and cancer supposedly have cures.
• The events of Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow takes place in this time; specifically 2035. The sequel, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow takes place one year later, in 2036. These are the only two Castlevania titles to have taken place beyond the early to mid 20th century thus far.
• The events of Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Drift and Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Drift 2 take place during 20XX, when Japanese highways have supposedly been opened as racing circuits.
• The events of Namco × Capcom takes place during 20XX.
• In the Command & Conquer: Tiberian series, the 2nd Tiberium War between the Global Defense Initiative and the Brotherhood of Nod begins in 2030. The 3rd Tiberium War takes place 17 years later in 2047, which also sees the arrival of the Scrin to Earth.
• Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 (GRAW 2) takes place in 2014
• The events of Grand Theft Auto IV take place in the fall of 2008.
• The fictional story line of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, supposedly takes place in 2016.
• The events that are set in the 'present' of both Assassin's Creed and Assassin's Creed 2 take place in the year 2012. The plot of both games builds toward a worldwide catastrophe prophesied to occur on December 21, 2012. See 2012 phenomenon

Internet

• Stinkoman 20X6, of Homestar Runner fame, takes place in the seventh year of an unspecified decade in the 21st century.

Novels

• Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey, 2010: Odyssey Two and 2061: Odyssey Three.
• Tad Williams' Otherland series is set at some undefined point in the 21st century
• Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age is also set in the 21st century, after some disaster befell the centralized telephone network. This led people to build a decentralized network, which they used to transfer money, thus destroying normal methods of taxation and bringing down most large governments.
• Red Mars of Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy begins in 2027.
• Some books by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky are set in 21st century
• The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein takes place in 2075.
• Turnabout by Margaret Peterson Haddix, is set in 2005–06, 2057, and mainly 2085.
• Twilight saga by Stephenie Meyer are set in 21st century

Decades and years

2000s

Main Article: 2000s (decade)

• September 11, 2001 – Al-Qaeda terrorists hijack four aircraft in the US, and deliberately crash them; three of them reach their targets, two hit the WTC, another the Pentagon, with one more missing its target, a total of 3,000 people die from the attacks.
• December 26, 2004 – the 2004 southeast Asian tsunami killed up to 250,000 people.
• December, 2007 – the late-2000s recession begins, as the United States would see their biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression.
• June 11, 2009 – The 2009 Flu Pandemic begins as its declared a pandemic, less than two months into the spread the World Health Organization.

2010s

Main article: 2010s

External links

• Reuters - The State of the World The story of the 21st century
• Long Bets Foundation to promote long-term thinking
• Long Now Long-term cultural institution
• Scientific American Magazine (September 2005 Issue) The Climax of Humanity
• http://www.futuretimeline.net - a timeline of the 21st century and beyond